Is Decision Making Tiring You Out?
If you lead people, there’s a good chance you’ve had this experience:
You start your day with good energy. Your mind feels clear. You’re making smart calls, moving things forward, and communicating with confidence.
But by mid-afternoon?
Every question feels heavier.
Every choice takes longer.
You reread emails three times before responding.
And decisions that should take thirty seconds suddenly feel like a mental marathon.
Sound familiar?
This isn’t a personal flaw.
It’s not a discipline issue.
It’s not a time-management problem.
It’s decision fatigue—and it’s quietly draining the effectiveness of leaders across industries.
The scary part? Most leaders don’t recognize it until it’s already eroding their judgment, energy, or relationships.
Let’s unpack why this happens, what the research says, and what leaders can do to reclaim their clarity and confidence.
The Science Behind Decision Fatigue
The concept became widely known after social psychologist Roy Baumeister’s research showed that willpower and decision-making draw from the same mental pool. Every choice—big or small—uses cognitive energy. But more recent research has reinforced (and refined) this reality:
1. The more decisions you make, the worse they become.
A well-cited study from the Israeli parole board found that judges were far more likely to grant parole early in the day or after a break. As the day went on, approval rates plummeted—simply because mental resources were depleted.
2. Decision-making consumes glucose.
The University of South Dakota showed that even minor decisions tap metabolic energy. This is why low blood sugar leads to impulsive decisions or avoidance.
3. Mental load is cumulative.
Research from the Journal of Neuroscience highlights that repeated decision-making causes “neural fatigue,” reducing the brain’s ability to evaluate trade-offs clearly.
4. Leaders make exponentially more decisions than they realize.
From calendar choices to hiring decisions, from strategic pivots to answering Slack messages—all of it draws from the same battery. This means leaders aren’t just managing decisions; they’re managing the cost of those decisions.
Why Leaders Are Especially Vulnerable
Leaders, by definition, sit at the center of choice. But several systemic pressures make them more exposed to decision fatigue than ever:
More communication channels (email, Slack, text, meetings, AI tools).
More real-time demands.
More ambiguity in today’s workplace.
More pressure to get decisions “right” in a changing landscape.
Fewer peers to talk through choices with as they rise in seniority.
And perhaps the biggest contributor: Leaders often feel they should know the answer.
So, instead of delegating or simplifying, they take on more mental burden than is healthy.
The result? A form of cognitive overload that slows execution, heightens stress, and undermines leadership presence.
Signs You’re Experiencing Decision Fatigue
Most leaders experience decision fatigue long before they have a name for it. Some common indicators:
You procrastinate decisions you’d normally make quickly.
Your inbox suddenly feels overwhelming.
You revisit the same choices multiple times.
Your patience is thinner than usual.
You default to “no,” “later,” or “let’s discuss again” more often.
You feel mentally foggy by mid-afternoon.
You say yes to things you shouldn’t—or no to things you should say yes to.
Small decisions (responding to a simple request) feel inexplicably heavy.
If two or more of these resonate, you’re likely in the zone.
The Organizational Impact (It’s Bigger Than You Think)
Decision fatigue isn’t just a personal performance issue—it creates ripple effects across teams:
1. Slow decision-making weakens momentum.
Teams lose clarity. Projects drag. Opportunities slip.
2. Inconsistent decisions erode trust.
When leaders’ choices vary depending on their energy level, people start to feel the ground shift under their feet.
3. Constant escalations burn everyone out.
If a leader is too fatigued to decide, decisions bounce around the system or get pushed downward with unclear guidance.
4. Overinvolvement chokes growth.
When leaders hold too many decisions, teams never truly mature.
Great leaders don’t just make decisions—they create environments where others can make them too.
So How Do You Reduce Decision Fatigue?
Here’s the good news: Small shifts can dramatically reduce cognitive load and improve decision quality.
1. Reduce low-value decisions
Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, and many CEOs famously wore the same style of clothing daily—not for fashion, but to eliminate trivial decisions.
In your world, this might look like:
Pre-set meeting agendas
Standardized approval processes
Default lunch options
Routine automation
“Rules of thumb” for recurring issues
Every removed micro-decision gives you back mental bandwidth.
2. Build a decision-making framework
Leaders make better decisions when they make them in consistent ways.
Some common frameworks:
RACI (clarifies ownership)
OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act)
ICE score for prioritization
Decide–Delegate–Delay sorting
A framework reduces the emotional load—because the process does the heavy lifting.
3. Delegate earlier than feels comfortable
Leadership researcher Liz Wiseman’s work on “Impact Players” shows that high performers thrive when given more responsibility—but only when leaders release control.
If you’re making decisions your team should be making, you’re draining your leadership battery unnecessarily.
4. Batch your decisions
Many executives reserve one window each day for:
Approvals
Email responses
Strategy choices
Personnel issues
Research shows we make better decisions earlier in the day—before cognitive resources decline.
Morning = strategic.
Afternoon = tactical.
5. Embrace “good enough”
Perfectionism is a massive contributor to decision fatigue.
You don’t need the perfect answer—you need a workable one that moves things forward.
Momentum beats mastery, especially in fast-changing environments.
The Bottom Line: Clarity Is a Leadership Advantage
Decision fatigue doesn’t mean you’re unfocused or undisciplined.
It means you’re human.
Leaders today operate in a nonstop decision environment. But with the right structures in place, you can protect your mental clarity, strengthen your leadership, and improve the consistency and speed of your choices.
The goal isn’t to make more decisions. It’s to make the right decisions with the least cognitive strain.
When leaders master this, everything improves:
Team confidence
Organizational momentum
Personal well-being
Strategic clarity
Decision-making is the work of leadership.
Managing decision fatigue is what makes that work sustainable.