Teachers make hundreds of decisions every single day—from the most trivial to the most consequential. Does the number of decisions we make have any impact on the quality of our decisions, especially at the end of the day? The answer is ‘Yes.’
No one sets out to make a bad decision, and yet we often end up making decisions we regret. We say ‘Yes’ to things we want to decline and we say ‘No’ to things we want to say ‘Yes’ to. Or we just give in. Why do we do that?
Sometimes we make decisions because we are afraid of what people might think. We do not want to disappoint others. We want to appear as a team player. Or pick any other number of reasons why we do what we do – sometimes intentionally, other times not.
However, I think there is another reason that comes into play more often than not.
The Worst Time to Make Decisions
Ask any educator and they will tell you that every day is a long day and decisions are both endless and important. Unfortunately, oftentimes teachers are put in situations that increase the likelihood they are not on top of their game when it comes to making decisions that are good for the students and good for themselves.
As a teacher and school administrator, I felt not only the physical fatigue by 3:00 pm but also the decision-making fatigue. Yet, some of the most important meetings and conferences I had to facilitate or be a part of occurred after 3:00 pm. In terms of scheduling, after school always seems a better option. In terms of decision making, after school is probably the worst option.
Why? A tricky little thing called decision fatigue. Yes, it is a real thing and it has very real consequences for us in the workplace (and in our personal lives).
What is Decision Fatigue?
Researchers have found that self-control and decision-making both tap the same psychological resource (executive function), which is both “shared and limited.” They have also found “. . . making many decisions leaves the person in a depleted state and hence less likely to exert self-control effectively.”
Practically speaking what does this mean for an educator?
It means that as your day moves on, the countless decisions you make every second of the day impacts your self-control and further decision-making. The place from where your brain makes decisions and summons self-control is not an unlimited resource, but rather is depleted with use. It makes no difference whether you are making small decisions or large decisions, or whether you are using self-control to deny yourself a donut or control your tongue. “Decision making produces at least a temporary impairment in the capacity for self-control.”
Have you ever found that you had great will power and resisted the treats in the faculty lunchroom all day and then you walk through at 4:00 pm and you just cannot resist?
The culprit is decision fatigue!
All those decisions you’ve been making all day long, all those times you walked by treats and had will power, depleted your reserve. It is much more difficult to have self-control or make a good decision at the end of the day.
I want you to make your best decisions when you are not in a depleted state of decision fatigue. Although decision fatigue helps us understand some of our choices, it does not absolve us from the decisions we make.
So how can we place ourselves in a position to make the best possible decisions we can? Check out these strategies:
6 Strategies to Avoid Making Decisions You’ll Regret
1 – Avoid making big decisions at the end of the day
Do your best to schedule important meetings early in the day. Especially those meetings that will significantly affect you or will require you to commit to something long term. You have the greatest reserve and are much more likely to make a good decision without regret.
2 – Routinize daily decisions to minimize resource depletion.
Create routines to eliminate as many decisions as you can. For example, decide ahead of time what your meals will be, when you will exercise, how you will spend your free time, what you are going to wear, etc. Make a routine so you can eliminate unnecessary decisions throughout your day, leaving you more decision making reserves.
3 – Review and plan the night before.
Take 10 minutes to review your day. Look at your schedule for tomorrow and make any decisions you can that will relieve the decision-making load the following day. For example, decide what your meals will be, pick out your clothes, take note of any potential decision-making situation you may face, especially at the end of the day, and decide how you are going to handle it. As Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
4 – Make decisions ahead of time about what you are willing to commit.
When possible, decide ahead of time what time, energy, and resources you have and are willing to commit especially when you know you are walking into a situation with people who are going to ask you to commit to something. Then stick with your decision.
5 – Make it your personal policy to wait 24 hours before making a decision.
When someone asks you to make a decision and you did not see it coming, you need time to process the information. The more significant the matter, the more important it is to NOT make a decision on the spot. You will be more likely to say ‘Yes’ when you mean ‘No’ or just give in because of fatigue. Tell them you will get back to them with an answer in 24 hours.
6 – Eat a healthy snack at the end of the day as part of your routine.
You will have greater success if you eat a healthy snack before you walk through the faculty lunchroom and are exposed to the siren call of sweet treats. Better yet, take a different route and avoid it altogether. Your self-control is lagging at the end of the day. Do not place additional demands on your self-control as it is temporarily impaired at the end of the day.
One of the best ways you can take care of yourself is to make decisions that will not create lingering problems or stress for you. Be aware of the power of decision fatigue and be strategic in how you approach decision-making. Your decisions affect not only you, but the students you teach.