Decision fatigue.
It’s real.
If you spend two minutes per day deciding what to wear that adds up to 12 hours per year.
Not a lot, in and of itself.
But think about all the other little decisions you make each day that take time and add up over the course of the day, week, month, year.
What should I have for breakfast today?
I know I should just have a protein shake.
But I forgot Corey was bringing donuts to the office since it was Tuesday.
Ugh but if I eat a donut I’ll feel bad afterward.
Maybe I’ll just stop for a coffee instead.
^How many times each day do you have a similar dialogue in your head?
If “shit ton” was a metric, that would be my answer.
Let’s take a quick look at some of our greatest thought leaders.
Einstein. He always wore the same sweater. He had better things to do than decide what he was going to wear that day. Like developing the Theory of Relativity. And winning a Nobel Prize.
Steve Jobs. He always wore that black turtleneck. Thank goodness those aren’t in style anymore. And thank goodness for the iPhone.
Obama. He was quoted saying he only wears gray and blue because he has too many other important decisions to make in a day rather than worrying about what he’s wearing.
Mark Zuckerberg. If you follow Zucks at all, you’ve likely seen this picture of his closet.
I’ve seen him in person one time. He was wearing that exact thing. Gray shirt, hoodie, jeans and sneakers.
He spends his time creating a platform online that currently has two billion users. Imagine how many different outfits he could own if that’s what he chose to do. It would be a huge waste of time - and a disservice to the industry - if he spent brain power each day picking out something different to wedecision-making upper limit to the number of decisions you can make each day.
At some point your decision making muscles get tired. So you begin to make poorer decisions.
Scenario.
It’s 730pm. You’ve been at the office since 730am. You’re tired. Exhausted. Know you need to get to the gym. Or at the very least go home and cook something healthy for dinner. But what would you make?
F- it. Stop for fast food on the way home.
That’s an example of decision-making muscles getting tired after a long day. It happens to all of us.
This is why systems are so important.
Think back to the leaders we mentioned above. The most creative among us are the most boring in every other aspect of their lives.
If you are trying to lose fat, this is how you should think about your diet.
Most people, while well-intentioned, overcomplicate things. They try to make egg white omelets for breakfast. A homemade paleo chili for lunch. Then a fish stir fry for dinner.
And each day they feel the need to change it up. Because they don’t want to eat the same thing all the time. And because they are self-proclaimed “foodies.”
The most creative among us are the most boring in every other aspect of their lives. The most successful dieters are the most boring when it comes to the foods they eat.
They find a few “Go-To’s” that they know:
- Taste good
- Are low in calorie
- Are easy to make
Breakfast everyday is mostly the same. With 2-3 different variations. Same with lunch.
This works so well for two reasons.
One, this frees them up to live a little vicariously at dinner. They have a pretty good guess at home many calories they’ve had in the day with their Go-To’s at breakfast and lunch. Now they free themselves up to eat something different for dinner each night.
Two, because they are boring (automate decisions earlier in the day), they have decision-willpower to make sensible decisions at dinner. They aren’t brain dead and pulling through fast food lines like a zombie.
In Essentialism, Greg Mckeown tells us to make a decision once so you don’t need to make it 1000 times.
Going back to the first example of this post. If you spend two minutes per day deciding what to wear, that adds up to 12 hours per year.
One decision is technically not a big deal. But add up all the times you make decisions on things you could have put on auto pilot.
Instead of “What am I going to have for breakfast today?”
You make the decision on the front end. “I have protein shakes for breakfast.”
Done. Decision made. It’s settled. You made the decision once.
Breakfast is a protein shake. Now there’s no need to use your decision making muscles to figure out what’s to have.
Instead of “Am I going to meditate this morning?”
Make the decision once so it’s done. “I meditate every morning for 5-10 minutes.”
When you wake up tomorrow morning, you don’t decide whether or not you’re going to meditate. You do it because the decision has already been made.
Now what I want you to do is take note of all the little decisions you make every single day. All those little decisions that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t really matter.
Make a decision about each of them, once.
Especially if you are wanting to - or trying to - lose fat. Don’t overcompliate things. Be boring. Find a few low calorie, easy to make meals that taste good. Make these your Go-To’s.
And save up your decision-making muscles for more important matters.
--Brian
PS If you enjoyed this post and got some value from it, please do me a favor and "upvote" or comment below. Or whatever puts it in front of more eyeballs. Still learning my way around here :) I plan on trying to post at least every other day. So be sure to follow me as well. And if you have any specific questions as it relates to nutrition / fat loss / etc, just ask. I'll be happy to help if I know the answer. And if I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to help you find it.