Last March, decision-making became much harder. What used to be no-brainers — like going grocery shopping or visiting the grandparents — can be, at best, a logistical time-suck. And at worst, it may have life-threatening consequences.
This stressful reality does a number on focus and productivity. Heap on the whiplash-inducing news cycle, and even the sharpest among us are dulled by brain fog.
Ironically, what complicates decision-making — uncertainty — can be a force of good. No, really.
That’s because it helps you think more critically about your choices and what you can control. So if you’re over feeling overwhelmed, now’s the perfect time to dig into your daily processes to reclaim your focus.
Decisions, decisions
When you think about it, almost everything is a decision.
As business coach Rob Hatch points out in Attention! The Power of Simple Decisions in a Distracted World, your brain doesn’t handle multiple tasks simultaneously. It continually jumps from one to another. This builds diminishing returns into your day.
Research indicates that for every decision we make, our ability to make subsequent decisions is negatively impacted.
Of course, all choices aren’t equal — some are simpler to make than others. Under normal circumstances, we humans naturally develop habits that take decision-making out of routine activities.
Nowadays, though, all bets are off. In an age of disinformation, disruption, and high anxiety, analysis paralysis abounds. Stress has been shown to make your brain process things more rigidly, turning to our cognitive biases rather than creative problem solving to find a way forward.
If you think there’s got to be a better way, then you recognize that regaining your mental acuity is a choice. And that’s the first step.
The shrewd abides
While there are many ways to get your focus back, including mindfulness practices, Hatch advocates systems to help build new habits and break the cycle of decision fatigue.
Topping the list is a concept Hatch calls “putting success in your way.” It’s based on the premise that willpower is limited, decisions are distractions, and habits are biologically empowered. All it takes is a little forethought and prep.
So, for example, if you want to get back to jogging a few days a week, put your sneakers, exercise clothes, and charged phone and ear buds your bedside the night before. Before you know it, rolling out of bed and hitting the road becomes a habit.
Ditto for work. Just pick three things you need to accomplish the night before and make the first two hours at your desk an interruption-free zone. Then if the day goes sideways, your productivity is still intact.
Sounds simple, right? And that’s because it is. Decisions aren’t hard when you diffuse their ability to distract you.
Why Is Decision-Making So Hard During a Pandemic? (Psychology Today)
Attention! The Power of Simple Decisions in a Distracted World (Amazon Associates)
