The common belief for most people is that they are tired because they do too much. However, the problem is, surprisingly, different, and the key is not the amount of work. The main problem is the number of decisions.
We start making decisions the moment we wake up, and every, and we mean every, decision takes energy (not only the decisions you make for work). Our brain has a daily limit on decisions made, based on the hormones and chemicals we need for that activity. The moment you run out of chemistry, there’s little more you can do.
From the moment you wake up, your brain starts choosing: what to wear, what to eat, how to reply to messages, and what to focus on first.
Each decision feels small, and some of them you don’t even notice, but together, they slowly drain your energy by using the decision-making chemicals again and again.
By the middle of the day, you may feel unfocused, irritated, or simply exhausted, even though you just started working, because the amount of decisions you had to make is already used up.
This is called decision fatigue, and it affects almost everyone.
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Why Small Decisions Feel So Heavy
At first, it sounds strange. How can choosing what to eat or wear be tiring?
The answer is simple, though: the brain has limited energy for decisions, and even the smallest choice requires attention and energy.
The point is that we always want to make “the right” decision, the one that works for us; we rarely decide whatever.
Now think about how many times you do this every day.
- Should I answer this message now or later?
- What should I cook tonight?
- Do I start this task or that one?
- Is this important, or can it wait?
Even choosing what to eat for breakfast, even scrolling your phone, or picking a playlist for commuting to work requires decisions.
On the scale of your life, these decisions are small, but your brain doesn’t see them as small because they still consume energy, almost equally with “big” decisions, simply because the chemistry is the same. Over time, this creates mental overload.
What Happens When Your Brain Gets Tired
Decision fatigue does not always feel obvious; in fact, most people are not even aware of the concept.
Decision fatigue shows up in subtle ways; even the simplest choices feel annoying; you start avoiding even entertainment because you know you will have to choose where to go and what food to eat – and your brain just doesn’t want any of that.
People tend to choose the easier options instead of trying to find the best ones because they are out of focus. They become more emotional, procrastinate more, and even the simplest questions that require their answer can trigger a panic attack.
It is due to the decision fatigue that many people ghost others online or disappear from the radar. They might simply have no energy to decide what to do with the conversation, and don’t want to deal with explaining what’s wrong with them right now (often, they don’t know either). When the brain is tired of choosing, literally anything that requires some will and decision-making is pushed away.
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Why Modern Life Makes It Worse
Of course, it is up to the person to decide (decide!) how to use their energy, and prioritize. Scrolling your social media is being bombarded by decisions, and it feels reasonable to avoid it before more important work is done. However, let’s be realistic; no one commutes on their way to work staring into the wall with the thought “I need to save my mental decision making energy for work and then later in the evening, when I have some space decision-making energy, I can scroll my Instagram”, or “I will play with my voucher code Jackpot City Canada no deposit bonus later because I have two spare hours now but I’m supposed to save my decision-making chemicals”. No one does it because it is insane.
And yet, modern life makes it even harder.
Today, we have more choices than ever. You can order food from dozens of places. Watch hundreds of shows. Buy thousands of products. Talk to people across multiple apps.
This sounds like freedom, but it also creates pressure to choose literally every minute.
At the same time, digital life keeps interrupting you with notifications, messages, updates, interesting new content at Casino Hunter, and all the extra tasks, and each one forces a new decision. Even deciding to put it away for later is – again! – a decision to make.
Your brain never gets a break.
So next time you feel exhausted, think not about how much work you do, but how many decisions you make during the day, starting from the minute you wake up.