Latest / Talking FACS / Decision Fatigue: Reclaim Your Mental Energy

Transcript

Decision Fatigue: Reclaim Your Mental Energy · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Decision fatigue is something that many of us feel, but we may not have words
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  to describe it. From what to wear, to what to cook, to important work and family
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  choices, our brains are constantly making decisions, and it can take a real
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  toll on our mental energy.
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  Welcome to Talking FACS, where we bring research-based insights to help you
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  improve your everyday life.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support.
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  Joining me today is Dr. Natese Dockery, Clinical Assistant Professor and Extension
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  Specialist for Mental Health and Well-Being.
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  She is here to help us better understand how decision fatigue impacts our lives
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  and what we can do to simplify our days.
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  Welcome, Natese. Hi, Mindy. Glad to be here.
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  I am so glad that you're here because I have some things I need to talk about.
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  So one of the things that is challenging for me every day is the decision of what to have for dinner.
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  I don't mind the preparation so much as having to make the decision about what
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  we will eat, which makes me think I suffer from decision fatigue almost daily.
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  So tell us what exactly is decision fatigue?
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  Yeah, that dinner question is a big one for a lot of folks. I feel like my sister's
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  always putting in the group message, what's for dinner to my parents.
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  Sometimes they know, other times they don't.
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  So that seems to be a recurring theme for families across the board.
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  But thinking about decision fatigue, by definition, decision fatigue is the
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  mental and emotional exhaustion that happens after making a high volume of choices.
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  So the idea is that our brain kind of has this mental budget,
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  for lack of better words, for making decisions each day.
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  Every choice we make, no matter the size, draws from that same pool of energy.
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  And just like a muscle, the more you kind of use it without a break,
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  the more worn down it kind of gets.
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  By the time we hit that limit, our brain starts looking for shortcuts.
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  So we might start making impulsive choices like going through the drive-thru
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  instead of going home and making dinner.
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  We might avoid making decisions altogether. Thinking about some signs that might
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  show that you've kind of hit that limit, you might start to procrastinate on
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  things that are typically easy for you. I know I do that a lot. I'm very guilty of that.
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  You might feel way more irritable than usual, or you might catch yourself just
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  going along with whatever someone else suggests because you generally just don't
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  have the bandwidth to kind of weigh in on it.
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  I would like to add that none of that is laziness. It's just your brain telling
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  you that it's probably time for you to take a break.
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  I guess the decisions that I make throughout the day are really what are impacting
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  my ability to decide what to eat each night for dinner.
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  So how does this constant second-guessing of minor daily choices increase our
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  stress and drain our mental batteries?
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  Yeah, it's funny because you would think that the bigger decisions that we typically
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  make or those more important decisions are what kind of drains us the most,
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  like a job change or moving across the country.
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  But research on mental well-being tells us that it's actually those smaller,
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  repetitive decisions that kind of pile up quietly and tends to wear us down.
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  So what to eat, what to wear, how do I respond to the text that Sarah just sent me?
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  These things might be small, but they definitely add up and they all cost us something.
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  And when we start to second guess these small choices, we're actually making
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  the same decision twice, three times, sometimes more.
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  We make a decision or we think we've made a decision, then we doubt that decision,
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  then we reconsider our decision.
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  So it's this really perpetual loop that ends up being exhausting even when the
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  stakes are low. So over the course of a day, that adds up to a lot of stress
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  that people don't even realize they're carrying.
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  So when our mental battery is low, everything feels harder. It's like we're
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  on hard mode in the game. Our patience starts to wear thin.
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  We're less creative than we usually are. And we're less present with the people
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  around us. It's not that we suddenly become this bad person or partner or parent
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  or whatever you want to call it.
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  It's that we've used up entirely too much mental energy before we even get to
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  the things that matter the most to us.
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  So you went through your whole day at work and now you're at home trying to
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  enjoy time with your kids, but you're just so drained and beat down that you
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  just don't even want to listen to them talk about their favorite cartoon at the moment.
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  So what are some practical ways we can simplify or automate our routines to
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  protect our daily mental energy?
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  Yeah. So we really have to start by changing our mindset and not see every little
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  thing as a task that has to be completed right now or even every day.
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  And I'm also speaking to myself when I say that.
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  Some really simple starting points could be planning your meals on Sunday.
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  So that what's for dinner question is kind of answered before Monday rolls around.
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  You might lay out your clothes the night before. That way, when you wake up,
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  you don't even have to think about it.
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  You can also set a default answer for low stakes questions. So thinking about
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  setting Fridays as pizza day, for example. So when Friday rolls around,
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  you're like, we always do pizza on Fridays. So you just have to go order your pizza, go pick it up.
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  And those decisions really make a difference. So these might sound overly simplified,
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  but they genuinely free up that mental space for the things that actually need
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  your attention, like your kids.
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  So for people who tend to second guess themselves a lot. One thing that can
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  really help is giving yourself a good enough standard for small decisions.
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  Not every choice needs to be the best possible choice. Most of them aren't going
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  to be. It just needs to be a reasonable one.
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  So letting yourself make a decision and kind of move on without the loop of,
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  but what if I did it this way or what if I did it that way?
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  It's a skill I know and it takes practice, but it's definitely worth practicing.
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  And really protecting your mental health isn't about being lazy or cutting corners.
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  It's more so about being intentional and saving your focus for the moments and
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  people that matter the most, such as your family. Sure.
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  Well, and I have actually started using the strategy of planning my meals early
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  in the week so that I don't have to depend on my own choice making later in the week to.
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  And I have found that it makes me a better person to be around because I don't
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  get irritable when somebody says, what's for dinner?
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  Yes. It's already done. I have an answer and I don't have to think about it.
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  So thank you so much for joining me today, Dr. Dockery, for sharing your insights
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  on decision fatigue and helping us better understand how to protect our mental energy.
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  Of course. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Talking FACS
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  from your favorite podcast provider.
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  Share it with a friend or colleague who could use a little help simplifying their day.
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  And as always, more resources and tips are available in our show notes.
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  Just remember, small changes in your daily routine can make a big difference
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  in your overall well-being.
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  Thanks for talking Family and Consumer Sciences with us. The University of Kentucky
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