Decision fatigue: what it is and what it means

Decision fatigue is the phenomenon whereby the quality of choices declines progressively after many consecutive decisions, even small ones. The mechanism acts on the prefrontal cortex: making decisions, even trivial ones, consumes a limited cognitive resource that builds up over the course of the day. The effect described is a measurable decline in decision quality after a high number of cumulative choices: the choices accumulated over the course of the day weigh more than any single one. In a state of decision fatigue, planning tends to be more reactive: you add the urgent items you have just received, confirm the commitments already set, and avoid the decisions that require weighing; the result is distorted classifications in the priority matrix, typically an overestimation of urgency.

Distinctive: the quality of choices declines progressively
Distinctive: limited cognitive resource that builds up
Distinctive: measurable decline in decision quality
Distinctive: distorted classifications in the priority matrix
Essential: after many consecutive decisions
Essential: making decisions
Essential: consumes a limited cognitive resource
Essential: after a high number of cumulative choices
Essential: overestimation of urgency
Constant: over the course of the day
Constant: planning tends to be more reactive
Constant: choices accumulated over the course of the day

Glossary

Decision fatigue

A phenomenon whereby the quality of choices declines progressively after many consecutive decisions, because making decisions consumes a limited cognitive resource.