Monday, March 11, 2019

Decision Fatigue


I've thought a lot about Emily Freeman's term: decision fatigue. We are presented with thousands of choices on a weekly basis and it is no wonder we are tired in this area.

Frequently I need to remind myself of another common phrase she uses, "Doing the next right thing." Sometimes my next right thing is simply to get out of bed or brush my teeth, it is to get dressed and face the day ahead or pick up the phone and make that hard phone call. Doing the next right thing might mean inviting a friend to lunch or canceling something on my schedule to lighten my load. It might mean spending time at home with my family or tackling a task I've put off for too long only to be energized by how little time it really takes me. You know those tasks right?!


Emily has a new book coming out in April on this very topic and there are some great pre-order bonuses including free access to an online course complete with workbook. I love workbooks, do you? Filling in those blanks feels very satisfying to me and like I'm completing something! And I find such value in writing things down because this is one layer of learning a new thing.

I just pre-ordered both Emily's new book and also Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty and Peace by Christie Purifoy. Ordering a book is like giving a hug to the author - it cheers his/her work and cheers them on in what is often a solitary calling.

I'm straying from my original topic, but this is how my brain works so let's go with it! Buying a book can sometimes feel like decision fatigue - there are so many great books out there and so many books I want to read, but do I have time to read them all and will I want to keep them and/or re-read them?

This question's answer goes in spells for me as I usually try to read a book for free by getting it from the library or borrowing from a friend. But then at other times, I decide to take the plunge, order the book and pass the blessing on to a friend when I'm finished with it.

Since getting home from Christmas, I've been very intentional about reading books that were already on my nightstand waiting to be read before checking books out from the library. I notoriously check out too many books and don't have time to finish them all, while books on my nightstand get paused because they don't have a due date. I have four more books to finish and my nightstand stack will be caught up! Am I the only one who does this?


Since we are talking about ordering books, it reminds me that for the past few years, I've waited until summer to see what has accumulated on my Amazon wishlist. Then I pick two or three books I've been wanting to read and order them right before we go camping. This has become a fun tradition and treat to look forward to and I've read some great books this way plus it is summer so I have more time and brain power to invest in new ideas!

All of this reminds me how much I love to read, and what a gift it is to be able to read and to enjoy stories, ideas and beautiful images. I love a variety of books - but Christian fiction is probably my number one category.


Well, this post has gone a direction I didn't expect! Would love to hear your thoughts on decision fatigue, books and reading!

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4 comments:

Leanne said...

I frequently get decision fatigue... especially when it comes to meal planning... I'm working on a book that I saw on your blog "Hope when it Hurts" due to a really difficult circumstance in my life right now...and I'm reading "How the Light gets In" by Jolina Petersheim... but seriously, if everything could be the same every day, I would be so happy :-)

Kimberly Lottman said...

I check out TOO many books from the library and rarely finish half of what I bring home. I think my desires far outweigh my reality! I also understand letting books that you own sit because, as you said, they don't have a due date. My wish list on Amazon is SOOOO long. Almost embarrassingly. Often I will go through and weed out impulse "saves" so that what is left truly reflects the topics I am interested in. Something that I have found helpful is to go through my list on Amazon and search for those titles that are available from the library and save them to a list there. Then I delete the ones I know I can get from the library from my Amazon list. After that I watch for them to be reduced in price (this often takes awhile). But occasionally I will find them at Modern Mrs. Darcy's website where she lists books that are temporarily reduced in price. I've purchased a number of them this way, although they are typically in Kindle format. Though I much prefer to hold a book in my hand, I'll take an ebook for $3.99 with no shipping any day. As for the ones I get from the library, I've been trying to be more realistic with how many books I check out. If there one I know I really want to read I'll try to pick it up on Thursday and set a goal to read it over the weekend, which has helped some. Anyway, my response has now turned into a post of its own! But I just wanted you to know that you are not alone!

*carrie* said...

You know I get the decision fatigue stuff!

Of course both books you ordered are on my to-read list as well. (My, ahem, loooong to-read list!)

Love you!

Mom said...

I'm definitely feeling decision fatigue!! I'm reading the book "The One Thing" right now which may be similar to the "next right thing" you mentioned.