Tips we’ve relied on to conserve mental energy and boost creativity.

As an entrepreneur, you're faced with countless decisions every day. From the small, mundane choices (what to eat for breakfast) to the big, game-changing ones (who to hire), the pressure to make the right decision can be overwhelming. Pair that with the fact that the majority of us are in some capacity working from home, then the amount of decisions required of us amplifies twofold. Over time, this constant decision-making can lead to what's known as decision fatigue.

Decision fatigue is the mental exhaustion that comes from making too many decisions. It can lead to poor decision-making, decreased productivity, decreased creativity, and even burnout. But there are things you can do to avoid decision fatigue and keep your mind fresh and focused. Here are a few tips that have worked for us:

1. Prioritize your decisions

Not all decisions are created equal. Some are more important than others. By prioritizing your decisions, you can focus your mental energy on the ones that matter most. Start by identifying the decisions that will have the biggest impact on your personal and business life this season or within a specific project and prioritize those.

2. Set a deadline

If you have no timeline for when a decision needs to be made, you will find yourself going back and forth, overanalyzing and criticizing each option until you move on to the next task at hand and never make a decision (we see this A LOT with creative entrepreneurs and picking their specialties or niche). Do yourself a favor and set a specific deadline. If that doesn’t work - you can try a hack from Mel Robbins and her book “The 5 Second Rule”- “when an opportunity arises, don’t think about it - just count down 5-4-3-2-1 and decide.”

3. Routines

Whenever possible, automate decisions to reduce the mental load. For example, having a “uniform” or 5 go-to pieces that are Zoom-appropriate will help you get started with your day that much quicker. Got a favorite breakfast or lunch that you can organize in the kitchen for easy access? Even better! We might not be the next Steve Jobs but we can at least learn a thing or two from his discipline and fashion choices.

4. P.A.D.E (Pause / Automate / Delegate / Eliminate)

The beautiful thing about being a business owner today means that you have an abundant list of support at your fingertips. When the to-do list seems too daunting, prioritize the list by importance and then assign each task as either a task to…

Pause (while it tends to feel this way sometimes, not everything is urgent),
Automate (systems will save your sanity and it’s never too soon to start them!)
Delegate (This can either be to your team, a Subcontractor, or an expert in that given task that can do it much better and faster anyway)
Eliminate (The noise of what you should be doing can sometimes feel overwhelming, there is a high likelihood that you could eliminate quite a few things off your list and still hit your goals - be ruthless!)

5. Create Space

As a small business owner, it can feel nearly impossible to step away and prioritize our own business needs. The first few years are generally spent serving and growing and learning, and it almost feels like you are drinking out of a fire hydrant. But, it is so crucial to find that quiet space to think, reflect, and prioritize. Not only for your business but also for what you need as a human being. This is one of the reasons why we started hosting the quarterly planning sessions in partnership with The Salon PGH and why we created the quarterly planning workbook. No one says it better than Viktor Frankl…

“Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. And in that space lies our freedom and power to choose our responses. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”

By implementing these tips, you can avoid decision fatigue and keep your mind fresh and focused. Remember, your mental energy is a precious resource – use it wisely.

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