Do you struggle to decide what is for dinner? Do you feel paralyzed by what to watch? Do you feel like you will burst if I ask you one more question? Ignoring that last question, you might be struggling with decision fatigue if you said yes to any of those questions! We are breaking down what decision fatigue is, why it affects dyslexics and giving you 3 strategies for reducing your decision fatigue.
What is decision fatigue?
The dry google definition of decision fatigue is "difficulty in making a good decision experienced as a result of the number of decisions one needs to take."
A more dyslexic-friendly way of looking at it is like this:
Every day each human has 200 "decision dollars," and every time you make a choice, it costs you 1 dollar. Not too bad, right, but when your decision bank account is down to its last 15 bucks, the choice to spend it gets harder and harder, and eventually, you end up with a negative account balance.
How does decision fatigue affect dyslexics?
Great question; glad you asked! The simple answer is that we make WAY more choices than the average person.
Breaking it down again in a dyslexic-friendly way:
So you have 200 decision dollars (like everyone else), but you make way more decisions each day, simple stuff like "is that my right or left?" or "how do I spell because?". All those little double-triple checks that dyslexics do each day count as decisions. Being dyslexic means that by the time you have lunch, you have probably already spent all 200 of your decision dollars, which means you will have to operate in the negative for the rest of the day.
How to reduce decision fatigue for dyslexics?
Being dyslexic is incredible (sometimes), but decision fatigue is one of those things that we will always live with. The goal is to reduce the number of choices we have each day (and to be patient). We are running you through 3 quick strategies for reducing decision fatigue.
Find your signature color:
Pick a color (black counts), and make it your signature color. Whenever you have to pick out a phone case, t-shirt, car, computer, etc., pick the one that has your signature color. Reducing the number of choices further by only shopping in physical stores; they have less inventory than Amazon.
Roll the Dice:
Have a lot to do but don't know where to start? Don't know what to make for dinner? Let the dice decide for you! Make a list, then roll a die (or flip a coin). Rolling a die takes all the control and decision-making out of your hands.
Trim the Fat:
We are not talking about stake here; we are talking about your choices, fat! How many clothes do you have in your closet that you are not wearing? What about books? Credit cards? As humans, we tend to collect things as dyslexics, which causes us WAY too many choices. Get rid of your old clothes, and reduce the number of streaming services you have. Limiting your options is critical to minimizing the decisions you have to make daily.
Decision fatigue is one of those things that we dyslexics will always struggle with; the goal for us should be to decrease the number of choices we have and accept that we will probably be choice tired in a way that others aren't. Remember, you can always ask for help (or vent to The Hive). Got other tips to reduce decision fatigue? Drop them in the comments!