Master Emotional Intelligence: Recognize Decision Fatigue

Like the fatigue you feel when you engage in hours of physical exertion, a stretch of intense mental effort exhausts your mental capacities. Yet, unlike physical fatigue, decision-fatigue victims tend not to notice. For instance, the snacks placed by the check-out counter in supermarkets are crafted to avail themselves of customers' decision fatigue. After spending an hour deciding what to purchase, customers struggle more to resist the sweet junk food, despite the fact that they know it is a bad idea. 

Decision fatigue especially affects your capacity to comprehend and make trade-offs, and kicks in rapidly whenever you need to make a choice between many options or make successive choices. For instance, after spending a lot of time deciding which automobile to buy, buyers of cars are less capable of logically making the determination that a clear coat or high-end stereos are necessary. Rather, they rely on the salesperson's suggestion. There are options to avoid decision fatigue and reduce its negative effect on your decision-making capacity, though. 

First, be aware that the longer your day continues, the weaker your logical decision-making capacity gets. So attempt to make your most vital and challenging decisions early in the day when you are most alert. Similarly, reserve less taxing tasks such as paperwork for later in the day. By taking care of mundane tasks the night before, this will also assist you. Even removing small decisions in the mornings, such as what to wear or what to eat for breakfast by making the decision the night before, will enhance your will power. 

The most effective means of recovering your thinking powers when you're tired is eating. Research indicates that consuming a meal or a small snack can refresh you and enhance your capacity to balance pros and cons. Lastly, familiarize yourself with your limits. If you are not thinking logically, return home, rest, and begin anew in the morning.