Make it a Habit: Decision fatigue: What depletes and preserves cognition reserve

Every summer when I was growing up, my mother took me to my grandfather’s shoe store for a new pair of sneakers. We stood in a small shoe store with the faint smell of rubber and canvas in the air.

The choice was simple: red or blue.

I remember the thoughts swirling in my head. What if I picked the wrong color? What if I liked the other one better next week? My mother, patient but firm, would say, “You get to choose. Red or blue. Either is fine. But once you choose, we’re done.”

There were no endless comparisons. No 20 additional options. No agonizing debate. Just two good choices — and the expectation that I would decide. Looking back, she was teaching me something far more important than color preference. She was teaching me how to make decisions without delay or self-doubt.

Many of the people I coach struggle with making choices and being comfortable with what they choose. Others make choices that ultimately undermine their health and well-being, which they later regret.

Psychologists call this decision fatigue.

Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of our decisions after a long session of decision-making. The more choices we have to make, the harder it becomes to make good ones.

We live in what psychologists call a “choice-rich environment.” While choice is a privilege, it also taxes the brain. Paradoxically, more options often lead to more anxiety and less satisfaction.

Decision fatigue has nothing to do with intelligence, competence or worldliness. It is all about mental energy. Every decision — what to wear, what to eat, whether to respond to that email now or later — draws from a finite cognitive reserve.

As the day progresses, that reserve depletes.

By late afternoon, you may notice increased procrastination or its counterpart, impulsivity — that extra glass of wine or a pick-me-up online purchase. Avoidance (“I’ll deal with it tomorrow”) or irritability over small matters are other signs of decision fatigue. Defaulting to the easiest rather than the best option — macaroni and cheese instead of one of many prepared salads with multiple ingredients — becomes more frequent.

For example, my childhood sneaker decision involved just two options. Buying sneakers today might involve choosing from hundreds of styles, endless online reviews, price comparisons and shipping variables. Multiply that by the decisions required in every aspect of modern life — work, personal health, family logistics and social commitments. Factor in constant digital input, where each email, text and notification is a micro-decision: respond, defer, delete or delegate.

In a practical sense what happens when you reach decision fatigue? You might delay medical appointments, remain in a job for the wrong reasons, struggle with personal change, overcommit and resent it or default to habits that are automatic, familiar or immediately gratifying. That is rarely where growth happens.

You cannot eliminate decision making altogether. The solution is to manage those decisions strategically.

You can start by reducing trivial choices. My mother intuitively understood this: two sneakers, not 20. Consider where you can simplify — a limited work wardrobe, a rotating weekly meal plan, and a standing grocery list. Fewer daily variables conserve mental energy for what truly matters.

Make high-stakes decisions in the morning, when your mental clarity is strongest, and protect that time. Avoid starting the day with email if possible; it pulls you into reactive decision-making before you address your priorities.

Pre-decide certain behaviors. For example: “I exercise Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 a.m.” or “I schedule medical appointments within 48 hours of receiving a reminder.” Rules reduce negotiation with yourself.

You can set time limits. “I will research this for 30 minutes, then choose.” Endless analysis drains energy and often does not improve outcomes.

Get comfortable with delegating. If you struggle with relinquishing control, delegate lower-impact decisions to preserve energy for the choices only you can make.

And if you notice poorer decisions happening late in the day, understand the mechanism at play and respond accordingly. Fatigue is not a character flaw. It is biology.

The lesson of those summer sneakers was not about settling. It was about trusting that either good option would serve me well — and that I could live confidently with my choice. You may not be able to narrow every choice in your life to red or blue. But you can design your days to preserve mental energy for the decisions that shape your health, relationships and future.

Sometimes wisdom begins in a small shoe store, with a patient mother, two colors and the quiet expectation that you can decide.