Decision Fatigue

Decision Fatigue by John Tierney (tierneylab@nytimes.com) of the NY Times, explores how extended willpower can cause ego depletion, therefore affecting the human decision making process. Tierney describes, amongst other things, how glucose acts as a form of brain fuel that recharges our mental energy, making it easier for us to make decisions just after lunch for example.


It's long, but well worth a read. Here's a taster. Enjoy:

People with the best self-control are the ones who structure their lives so as to conserve willpower. They don’t schedule endless back-to-back meetings. They avoid temptations like all-you-can-eat buffets, and they establish habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of deciding every morning whether or not to force themselves to exercise, they set up regular appointments to work out with a friend. Instead of counting on willpower to remain robust all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for emergencies and important decisions.

“Even the wisest people won’t make good choices when they’re not rested and their glucose is low,” Baumeister points out. That’s why the truly wise don’t restructure the company at 4 p.m. They don’t make major commitments during the cocktail hour. And if a decision must be made late in the day, they know not to do it on an empty stomach. “The best decision makers,” Baumeister says, “are the ones who know when not to trust themselves.”