How to make smart decisions more easily
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- čas přidán 29. 11. 2023
- Explore the psychology of decision fatigue, what kinds of choices lead us to this state and what we can do to fight it.
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Everything our bodies do- whether physical or mental- uses energy. Studies have found that many individuals seem to have a daily threshold for making decisions, and an extended period of decision-making can lead to cognitive exhaustion. So, what kinds of choices lead us to this state, and what can we do to fight fatigue? Explore the psychology of decision fatigue and ways you can avoid fatigue.
Directed by Jolene Tan.
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1) Making fewer daily decisions: Tackling your To-Do list over Multiple days
2) Imagine your decisions as someone else's, before considering how those consequences impact you specifically
3) Remember that not every choice is equally important
I was about to go back to listen to the end again to take notes on the tips, but then found that you'd done it for me! :)
❤
thanks
I should have looked for that comment it would have saved me 5 minutes of my life
What did they mean by "not every choice is equally important"?
The decision to watch this video was the smartest decision I've made
@@coollibrarian3601 probably but my mind only agonizes over the bad decisions even the seemingly insignificant ones, also I'll never know if an alternative to the "good" decisions would have been better.
@@coollibrarian3601 I think that it was supposed to be a joke.
Yes
True
I was exhausted and i pressed the like button
1.Take important decisions in the morning.
2.Create routines so as to make fewer small decisions daily.
3.Making a todo list and tackle few decisions daily.
4.Imagine taking decisions for others, as we are good at making decisions for others than overselves.
5.Remember not every choice is equally important.
THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you for the summary.
"Choosing what to eat in the morning isn't a taxing decision." I got burnt out my first month of living alone because of the sheer magnitude of decision fatigue caused by having to consider what to eat every day.
My mom stresses about what we eat for dinner most of the time. How did you handle it?
I personally find it easiest to decide what to eat for the week on one day, and then make a list to go shopping. So everything you need will be in the house. This works two ways, because what you're going to eat will dictate what you're going to buy, so you don't need to think about that. But The other way around, groceries often have sales or clearances. So what is cheaper will in turn dictate what you eat and if you're alone, you won't consume an entire cauliflower in a day. So you'll have to make multiple dishes with it, narrowing your options and thus the amount of decisions you'll have to make. What also helps, I really like watching food videos on CZcams, and I save them all to organised playlists. So if I really don't know I scroll through those and see what catches my fancy. But I also have a dedicated list, called soon. In it I safe recipes I would like to try soon, so that is a decision made previously ( generally as I watch the video ) and all I have to do is wait for the opportunity to execute it. Hope this helps you to😊
Just buy a freezer and a whole cow.
Learn to cook - cook a big batch and eat it for dinner for the next 4 days. Repeat. For lunch, have a rotation - sandwich, healthy choice, salad, etc.
I live alone and deciding what to eat is probably one of the hardest decisions I have to make everyday. If I can’t make that easy for me I pretty much shut down at the idea of making anymore decisions.
This video came in time. Sometimes I'm unable to make any decisions because I get overwhelmed. I had even made wrong decisions too which I regret. Having a routine or pretending you're giving advice to someone else to make that decision is actually good. For me having routines work well. Its a lot easier deciding beforehand what I'll wear, eat and how should I spend the rest of my day.
Yeah same
Same. I have autism and ADHD so routine is key to doing anything on time (almost on time😅)
thank you for this comment
I hate making desicions, because I end up spending to many hours thinking all the pros and cons. This even includes some basic things like shopping or going somewhere sometimes. I usually end up regretting if I rush at making desicions and I guess that's why. But planning things in advance is not really my thing. I love going with the flow and letting things happen on it's own.
@@tugbanayir3698 oh yes thats me. But sometimes I do have to make decisions while thinking about the pros and cons and that's when it gets exhausting. I do it for almost everything tho :(
The Paradox of Choice is a good read on the topic. The author repeatedly stresses that not maximizing (trying to get maximal value from your choice) is often the best course of action, at least fro small to medium scale decisions. While maximizing you may increase your chances of ending up with a more optimal option, however you're also increasing your chances of being less happy with it. You'll probably invest a lot of time in making that choice and thus increase your expectation from it, not to mention thinking back about it afterwards, wondering if you've made the correct choice.
Good point. In the same context, it would interest you to read up on "satisficing" and why going for "good enough" often keeps us happier than striving to go for the best.
This makes me curious how decision fatigue varies amongst neurodivergent people. I'm especially interested in the relationship between decision fatigue and perfectionism.
yeah perfectionism and or obsession, for me every decision has made me spiral at some point down to breakfast, because I will overthink “well this is what I have or want but is it healthy? how will that make me feel later. or what should I wear?” and then in what order? lol its just a mess! idk what to do
For me I’ve learned that making decisions on walks is very helpful since I have the time to talk it out with myself to not get overwhelmed
I'm neurodivergent and I definitely get decision fatigue a lot
This is so true! As a teacher, I know I grade differently (harder or easier) depending on the time of day, so I try to grade all assignments in one seating, in order, to be consistent among all the classes
I'm the same. I grade the writing assignments/ tests first.
As a student I always knew that a teacher has to do these in a huge chunk so I'd always try to break up my paper with a few things the teacher said during class and tried to make them laugh. A short chuckle and a 'they remembered what I said?' probably got me a whole letter grade higher over my academic career. Alternatively just know the material and present it and get an A+ but who has time for that?
I works in medical, and financial sector, both of which need fast and correct decision making. Indeed lowering the burdens of daily decision making made easier, and better working conditions.
I love the way that the animation scenes beautifully transition according to the text. It was a nice package filled with information, creativity, artistic flair, and insight.
This video came to me during a week where i have to prepare for exams, a journalism competition, and my birthday all at once. Thank you TED ED.
Good luck with your competition and exam!
Discipline in daily tasks save mental energy which can be used for better decision making
Imo discipline also takes energy
4:29 This right here is my savior because emotional pressure is significantly lowered by thinking of the issue at hand to be someone else's instead of mine.
TED-ed never fails to make great animation!
the one about bipolar was pretty weak when it came to pairing the animation with the meaning of the narration. it was distracting. i had to rewind multiple times because my mind failed to figure out how the animation is supposed to support the narration.
Well before mentioning the medical field, I immediately thought to myself that decision fatigue is very common within the emergency side of medicine. As a paramedic myself who regularly works 48 hour shifts and previously at a high volume service, I think I’m very fortunate to have Not made any grave errors. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for past and present coworkers. You would be surprised how many studies exist regarding the correlations between sleep, diet, and mental health within the world of first responders.
Love how you casually described the horrible injustice of inconsistency of the judicial process. Years of lives lost, because of the whim of some powerful men/women. Thanks for the middle finger towards lives in general.
It was my 10th grade English teacher who told me that I have difficulty in decision making. Before then I had always thought that I am good at making decisions. I could neither accept nor deny what she had told me about myself. But after 5 years I realized, she was right. I used to lose self confidence while making decisions when stakes were high.
As a business owner, decision fatigue is real - especially on those really busy, hectic days where there are a ton of NB meetings etc.
So I do my best to make the most NB ones in the mornings…
I could never put a proper word on it before seeing this video, but _decision fatigue_ was certainly one of the key reasons I had to leave huge work responsibilities behind and seek a lower role in the hierarchy. Less omnipresent stress and constant need for important decision making at full speed. Much happier this way tbh.
"You need to make better decisions" is a phrase often heard. I think "know the consequences of your decisions" is better advice.
👏👏👏
As a indecidesive person,this video was a powerful miracle.Before I made important decision,I would consider the consequences of my decision whether that regret me or not.I will follow your rules from now on.
If we can't decide which is better between 2 choices, most of the time it's because neither choices are worse or better than the other.
If one choice is the better one, most of the time we obviously would choose that option already.
That’s an v interesting take on it
It happens with doctors, too. Don't have procedures in the afternoon; if possible.
I rarely make decisions of my own, but when I do, it always blows up to my face. It's a superpower of mine
One smart advice I got from this video is stop making decision for others when clearly it is not your decision to make. Focus on what really matters, that is your own peace of mind and sanity. I am struggling at this, so thank you Ted Ed for making me realize this!
I'm reevaluating how much I obsess over making decisions. Thank you for the tips!
2:08 Lmao they lost me at the very first example. Hilariously enough, breakfast was the first indicator that I had decision fatigue (or something more serious) - needing to decide every morning was legitimately too much for me, and I constantly asked people for help on how to make it easier and less worrisome. Finally, in my mid 20s, I decided to just eat the same breakfast every morning - a protein bar and a granola bar. A couple of years later I added a banana to the breakfast. And after another 4 years I added a frozen breakfast sandwich to it. A year ago it started to unravel as it got a bit too complex for me again... even though it was always a protein bar, a granola bar, a banana, and a breakfast sandwich, I had started buying multiple protein bars, granola bars, and two kinds of breakfast sandwiches. Still a relatively simple decision, but it was enough to put me over the edge. I've reduced it to just 2 kinds of protein bars, still a lot of variety of granola bars (but I mix them together and grab at random), don't always have the banana anymore (it got stressful because I had to eat them before they went bad, I didn't like that feeling), and just one kind of breakfast sandwich.
I'm still pretty stressed in the morning because of breakfast, but at least I don't think about it and worry throughout the day like I used to.
Have you considered just NOT even eating breakfast? Just skipping the problem altogether.
For some people they'll prefer to have breakfast otherwise it'll impact on their performance somehow
What helps me at making this kind of decision is to always have default / last minute choice. It means that if you unable to make decision or not in mood for it, that'll be your choice.
Then add a decision time restriction, let's say 1 minute for breakfast. If you're unable to make decision in that timeframe, you either choose the option that you haven't choose for a long time, or use the default one.
In paper it sounds stressful but in practice it makes me understand that the choice is not that important.
@@snorre-849 I do that on my days off, but on my workdays it's just not practical - I've tried it but I just lose too much weight (and likely lack necessary nutrients) by just eating one meal per day (my job doesn't have a break time).
Agree with it. I know someone in family that too serious in deciding breakfast, he use too many energy & exhausted already after lunch & getting angry almost at dinner time
This was beautifully made, thank you to the creators and TED ED for posting this
One thing that seems to have helped me is accepting that you won't do the optimal decision. Calculating the optimal decision might be very exhausting, so instead just focus on the less points you want to optimize, and have a back-up plan if you make a bad decision. And accept the fact you will do such bad decisions in your life.
You have taken your fantastic animation to a new level. Excellent.
As a girl, I often spend my time making decisions on "what to wear", "what to eat/cook", how do I decorate this/that, which color, which pair, which music, which subject first for homework, waiting/planning for the perfect time, etcetera, etcetera...
Now I know, where to give the required importance. Thank you Ted-Ed
The smartest decision of my life is to follow Teded .
❤❤
For those who don't want to waste time on this. There are only two points: 1. reduce the number of decisions per day, 2. prioritize decisions
“Oh making bad decisions, oh making bad decisions, making bad decisions for you.” The Strokes
Funny, I'm watching CZcams now because I'm tired of doing anything productive
Amount of value in a ted ed video is more than hours of motivational videos
I just noticed with this video, that when I decide the previous day what to eat the next day the day flows in a much more relaxed way. So I think I would change that. I would consciously decide the previous day what to eat the next day without being hungry so that I would not have to decide in the day, I think that would help me a lot.
And here I thought I was indecisive when it comes to one-time decisions such as choosing lunch in a restaurant we came to for the first time on our vacations. 😐Bravo TED-Ed, you were a spot on again! 👏
Beautiful animation, pure art. Thank you
"How to avoid Decision fatigue?"
TedEd: "Take fewer decisions per day"
Wow!!! What a solution!!! Thank you TedEd.
This is an incredible video. I love the way mental health was integrated in the end.
Great video , great animation. Thank you.
I love this and agree with a lot of things said. However, for the first tip, it's rather the opposite for me. Making more daily decisions has negatively impacted me in the short run (by causing decision fatigue), but positively impacted me in the long run. Decisions that I would consider as 'hard' a while ago are now 'medium' or even 'easy' for me to make, based on the frequency of their making and the heavy thoughts that would go into them initially.
I want to cry rn because I'm 18 and I'm good n all but I still hv so many decisions to make
it could be experience. I don't know how to separate influence of experience and decision tolerance. For example you can say that it became easy to choose in restaurant, but you live in same region and restaurants have approximately same food. But when you move to other part of the globe where every dish is unknown to you, it again becomes hard to choose. So, tolerance didn't change, but familiarity with choice options changed.
Sometimes I just need a video like. The video just validated some of my decisions in life. It’s just a good conversation I could never actually have with another human even though we all go through decision fatigue.
I love you TED-ed, thanks for existing!
I’ve got some mix of decision fatigue mixed with/exacerbated by just being terrible with decisions. My mind spins out into eternity and becomes overwhelmed with the complexity. And relaxing about the small stuff is a struggle. I’ll see if I can think about offering advice to myself.
i’ve been watching you for 9 years. (i started watching you at 2013 is crazy) i love you guys.
The voice and the animation is so soothing and of course the learning also, Thank you very much .😊
Am I crazy or is all of this COMMON SENSE???
"You're not as good at making decisions when you're tired/fatigued"
"Make a to-do list."
MIND = BLOWN!
Loving the animations on every little episode ❤
It's ok whatever flows ..in life...🙂i m ready to accept...
This video is very relatable for me.
Kailangan natin pag isipan ng mabuti kung meron tayong mga desisyong gagawin sa ating buhay.
A bit unrelated, but i would like to say that the visuals have a very eye-catching style. i love it!!
1. Just go to the grocery store. You will get "decision fatigue" after 20 to 30 minutes. There are just too many choices of similar items.
2. Say you work an 8 hour shift. There is much more "decision fatigue" after 7 hours than your first hour. You just get more tired after time being active.
3. It helps to rank, or triage, your decisions. This means you prioritize what's the most important, or what needs to be started and finished first.
Dude you just explained the video. Wow.
TedEd, what a way to start the day! Keep doing what you are doing, please.
Beautiful motion design!
I am terrible when it comes to decisions. It could take me hours for minor decisions and days, weeks or even months for major ones.
This is the kind of videos I kept looking for. Thanks so much
I love these kind of videos
Thanks Ted-Ed team
Amazing video, also a wonderful animation thanks ❤
This is absolutely helpful to me. Thanks guys
I guess this is why we have the expression "sleep on it".
thanks
The phenomenon of decision fatigue reveals the intricate balance our minds navigate daily. Choices, especially those requiring significant cognitive effort, deplete finite mental resources. Complex decisions, numerous options, and constant decision-making contribute to this fatigue. To combat it, simplifying routines, prioritizing crucial choices, and incorporating breaks can replenish cognitive reserves, fostering better decision-making. Understanding the psychology of decision fatigue empowers us to navigate the delicate interplay between choice and cognitive well-being.
lmao i smell chat gbt all over this response
@@elizabethmartin1820 ChatGPT* you're right anyway.
Going to use that video for class today :) thanks a lot
The art is beautiful!
The Mark Twain quote should be "I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up."
The decision making is one of the toughest things in the world when you fail for your Bad decision you worry for it The Decision fatigue comes for many people not taking decision rightly to make it simple to do list more over Priority of our things to make it simple decision in toughest situations
amazing animation and sound!!!
the animation is meticulous! well done TED-Ed
Thank you.
Making a decision by imagining it as giving advice to a friend is an amazing tip. It's worked for me in the past (mostly unconsciously!) and it's good to be reminded of it in this video. Also, the study on the judges was interesting. Thank you!
Decision making is one of the most taxing things one can do . I realised it when I was assessing answer copies of my students.
true. growing up and in my early adulthood, I am shocked how adults like teachers, school, parents, officials make some haphazard decisions on major concerns without considering their state of emotion, health, and energy.
I have been very fatigue by just deciding which frog should I eat first. Never thought there's actually a word, "Decision fatigue." Now I see why Buffet tells us that keep your decisions simple.
"Not every choice is equally important" is a game changer for overthinkers
Deciding to binge-watch TED-Ed videos just before bed when I have work in the morning...smart decision? I'll say yes, but my future self might have a different opinion.
Thank you Ted Ed
Stanford University Professor of Psychology Carol Dweck found "that while decision fatigue does occur, it primarily affects those who believe that willpower runs out quickly." She states that "people get fatigued or depleted after a taxing task only when they believe that willpower is a limited resource, but not when they believe it's not so limited". She notes that "in some cases, the people who believe that willpower is not so limited actually perform better after a taxing task.
"choosing what to have for breakfast isn't very taxing" Um. Yes it is. It's a daily struggle.
I think taking a break or rest is important to avoid not only decision fatigue but every fatigue ~ i also put all my energy into one thing when i was into one thing when i was little.. but it is not wise i think now
ohhh thank you! It was really helpful!!!!
Thank you!! learnt something. As a graphic designer I awe these kind of videos
Great info
What does "Tackle your To-Do list over multiple days" mean?
- Plan out your tasks over more than one day at once (at night before sleep and after any important decisions so you can recover your decision-making resources for the next day)?
- Do your tasks for one day over multiple days instead (spacing out the decision workload instead of having one day where you make a bunch of decisions you would spread it over several days? If so then do you construct the To-Do list over several days or the night before like I guessed above?)?
This was a great video and gave me some grace with how I go about making decisions.
Took until 4:15 to get to the point.
More than 80% of this video is unnecessary filler. Great job.
I like the Ted intro music and animations.
What an interesting topic! And such lovely animation as well ✨️ good one Ted Ed!!
Loved the video
I love how the steps showned are all plausible if the decisions can be extended to multiple days while in the day to day, they aren't.
Really a nice video on an important topic....
amazing!
Amazing !!
Watch this video in the morning!
❤figuring out whats important
The game of life in the background was nice.
The opening case study result reminds me of a music competition I was in. There were nine candidates, six of which were to be selected for the second round. Of the original nine, the first, eighth (myself) and ninth were the ones eliminated. I couldn't help but think that it was really because the jury was so exhausted after hearing seven performers that they couldn't hear the last two in a favorable light... and the first was eliminated because they couldn't remember anymore what he did!
I feel like this doesn't apply to an energetic competition like dancing and singing because of the crowd hyping it.
@@Samantha-vlly right: it was modern-classical pipe organ improvisation.