Feeling mentally drained? Here’s how to beat decision fatigue
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA
Decision fatigue can make even small choices feel overwhelming. Learn what causes it, how to spot the signs, and 8 simple ways to manage decision overload.
From the moment you wake up in the morning, you’re making decisions. Should you hit the snooze or get up immediately? Should you have coffee or a shower first? Which outfit will you wear today? Should you try to meditate before diving into your inbox? Are you making eggs and pancakes for your kids, or is today more of a milk and cereal kind of day?
Sometimes life feels like one long game of would your rather? and when your days are packed with choices, all of them require mental energy. While you might hope (read: wish) that you have boundless supplies of mental energy, eventually, you’ll hit a point of decision fatigue.
This is the moment when your brain just can’t decide on anything anymore, and simple choices start to feel impossible. In other words, it’s your brain’s way of saying that it needs a break.
If you’re feeling mentally drained and the idea of making one more choice sounds like a nightmare, there are ways you can cope. Let’s explore how you can beat decision fatigue so that you can lessen your mental load.
What is decision fatigue?
Decision fatigue happens when your brain is so full that you feel like you can’t make any more choices. Every decision you make takes mental energy, and once you hit that wall, your brain may start shutting down.
At first, the symptoms can be subtle—you might skip emails or zone out in meetings—but it can escalate to the point of forgetting things, picking fights, or crying over something small. And before you know it, you’re avoiding all decisions. It doesn’t matter how big the decisions are, either. All those daily choices add up and can slowly chip away at your mental energy.
If you’re currently feeling foggy, indecisive, or unreasonably irritated by the grocery store’s 14 different types of bread, this could mean you’re experiencing decision fatigue, and your mind needs a break.
5 signs of decision fatigue
Sometimes, decision fatigue can show up quietly, leaving you unsure if that’s what’s actually going on. If you’re wondering if you might be experiencing it, here are some signs to watch out for:
You’re foggy by mid-afternoon. You frequently reread the same email four times, or you open tabs and instantly forget why.
Dinner decisions make you want to cry. You’re incredibly hungry, but choosing what to eat feels like solving the world’s hardest math problem.
You say yes just to end the conversation. Not because you want to but because choosing feels exhausting.
You avoid choices entirely. You’re constantly telling yourself that you’ll decide later, but that moment never comes.
You spiral after choosing. When you do happen to decide, your second-guessing kicks into overdrive, and you obsess over whether that was the right decision.
What causes decision fatigue?
Most of the time, decision fatigue is caused by the dozens, if not hundreds, of micro-decisions you make every single day. You’re deciding what to wear, what to eat, and whether you have time to finally fix that squeaky hallway door.
All of these decisions can seem small on their own, but your brain has to do a cost-benefit analysis every time you make a choice, which can seriously drain your mental battery. Plus, a lot of these choices have an emotional load behind them. Parenting decisions, work decisions, and relationship decisions can all come with stress, guilt, or anxiety.
On top of that, we live in a world that’s obsessed with optimization. Today, every choice feels like it has to be the right one — the healthiest one, the most ethical one, the most environmentally sound one. This can be hugely overwhelming.
Finally, if you’re a person who experiences anxiety, ADHD, or chronic stress, decision fatigue can hit even harder, as your brain might already be working overtime just to keep up with modern life.
How to deal with decision fatigue: 8 tips to move forward
While making decisions can be overwhelming, there are simple ways you can create little pockets of ease in your day-to-day to help give your mental energy a boost. Here are eight manageable ways you can lighten your mental load.
1. Simplify repeat decisions with routines
Every time you repeat a task, like choosing an outfit or planning a meal, you have an opportunity to put it on autopilot. This can help give your brain a break from constantly reinventing the wheel.
Try this: Consider rotating between two or three breakfast options. You could also create a “uniform” of go-to clothes for certain types of days so that you don’t have to think about it.
If you’re feeling mentally exhausted, here are 10 tips to help.
2. Pre-decide the basics when you’re clear-headed
When your brain is fresh, like in the morning, post-nap, or post-coffee, try doing a little pre-planning for your future self. This planning can help you expend less energy when you’re too exhausted to give anything more.
Try this: Pick your meals for the next few days, choose your workout clothes, or write down your top three priorities for tomorrow.
💙 Consider listening to Prioritize What Matters with Jay Shetty if you struggle with knowing where to put your mental energy.
3. Create “default settings” for recurring decisions
Set some default rules if you find yourself constantly having to choose things like how to respond to texts or when to check your email.
Try this: Tell yourself that you’ve already checked your email twice today, so you don’t need to do that anymore. You could also tell yourself that it’s okay to see a non-time-sensitive text and respond to it 48 hours later. Rules aren’t about rigidity — they’re about freedom from the mental loop.
4. Batch decisions by category
Our brains tend to work better when we stay in the same gear for a while. Instead of making decisions haphazardly throughout your day, consider grouping similar ones together.
Try this: Reply to emails in one big block or prep your week’s meals on one day. Also, once you’re done making big decisions, move to a task that requires less thought, like folding laundry or putting clean dishes away. This can give you a more balanced approach to completing your to-do list.
💙 Listen to our Cathedral of Calm album while you’re folding that laundry if you want some peaceful music to zone out to.
5. Limit your options intentionally
Too many options can lead to analysis paralysis. To help preserve some of your mental capacity, set playful limits. Your life isn’t a test you’re being graded on, and you’re allowed to choose something and then move on.
Try this: If you’re deciding on dinner, limit the possible meals you could make to three options. They don’t need to be amazing and original meals, either. Let “good enough” be more than enough. (Here are seven tips to help you get better at choosing good enough if you’re a perfectionist.)
6. Outsource when you can
As much as possible, remind yourself that you don’t have to do it all. Delegating or using your support system is just smart resource management and can also protect your mental wellbeing.
Try this: If you’re tired, ask your partner to choose dinner or use delivery apps and meal kits to help reduce your mental load. (Here are 10 more tips to help you manage your mental load.)
7. Create a decision-free zone in your day
Intentional pauses can give your brain space to reset and recharge. Look for spots in your day to give yourself a small window where you don’t have to make any choices. It could be your “non-negotiable nothingness” moment.
Try this: Maybe you treat your lunch breaks as a time of day where you eat whatever is simple, listen to familiar music, and zone out. Or maybe you take a walk around the block without your phone so you can be decision-free for a bit.
8. Notice the pressure to “make the right choice” and loosen it
So much of decision fatigue comes from the idea that there’s some sort of perfect choice, but that’s usually not the case. Most of the time, there are several options that are fine, and the world won’t end if you pick the second-best pair of shoes at the mall.
Try this: Whenever possible, let yourself choose the “pretty good” option as opposed to fixating on the “best” one. You can always change course later on, and the best decision is usually the one that allows you to move forward.
Decision fatigue FAQs
Is decision fatigue a symptom of ADHD?
While decision fatigue isn’t exclusive to ADHD, the two are closely connected. ADHD tends to mess with your executive functioning, which is the part of your brain that helps with planning, organizing, and making decisions.
This means that if you're someone who experiences ADHD, making basic choices can sometimes feel overwhelming because your mental energy is already working hard to stay on track.
People who experience ADHD have a brain that processes choices differently—and with more effort—and this extra effort can add up fast.
How do you fix decision fatigue?
One of the best ways to “fix” decision fatigue is to manage it by reducing the number of choices you make, especially the ones that don’t matter that much.
A good place to start is to build in routines, limits, and little systems that protect your brain from getting totally overwhelmed. Also, try to give yourself permission to stop trying to optimize every single little thing. Instead, aim to pick a path, walk it, and then adjust if you need to.
What is the cause of mental fatigue?
Mental fatigue is typically caused by chronic stress, overthinking, emotional labor, and a constant stream of decisions, all coming at you without any real breaks.
Your brain is like a battery, and without moments of rest or recharge, it can start to glitch. This can then make everything feel harder, slower, and heavier.
Why is it so exhausting to make decisions?
It can be so tiring to make decisions because every choice—no matter how tiny—usually requires cognitive energy. Your brain has to weigh options, anticipate outcomes, and sometimes factor in social expectations.
This can be a lot of invisible work, and over time, your brain can just run out of steam.
Your brain wasn’t built for constant and never-ending input, and when it’s forced to process that much information, it can make it that much harder for you to make choices.
Is decision fatigue the same as burnout?
Decision fatigue and burnout are similar but not exactly the same. Decision fatigue is more specific. It’s that drained and overwhelmed feeling you get after having to make too many choices in a day.
On the other hand, burnout is deeper and more chronic. It’s the result of long-term stress and unmet needs that leave you feeling emotionally exhausted and detached from life.
You can think of decision fatigue as a warning light on your dashboard, whereas burnout is what happens when you keep ignoring that warning light and the engine gives out. One is temporary, and the other one needs a bigger repair.
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