After auditing hundreds of people, certain patterns emerge consistently:
The Morning Maze Most people face 50-100 decisions before leaving home. The "simple" morning routine is actually a decision gauntlet: - When to wake up (snooze or not?) - What to wear (weather check, matching, accessories) - Breakfast choices (what, how much, when) - Information consumption (news, social media, email) - Departure logistics (what to bring, which route)
Sarah discovered she made 73 decisions before 8 AM. No wonder she arrived at work exhausted.
The Digital Quicksand Your phone generates more decisions than any other single source. Marcus tracked his digital decisions for one hour: - 47 notification responses - 23 app switches - 31 content choices (what to read/watch) - 19 interaction decisions (like, share, respond) - 14 setting/preference choices
That's 134 decisions in 60 minutes, just from one device.
The Workplace Avalanche Knowledge workers face constant micro-decisions: - Email triage (read now, later, delete, forward) - Meeting participation (speak up, stay quiet, what to say) - Task switching (what next, how long, which tool) - Communication choices (email, chat, call, walk over) - Focus protection (allow interruption or not)
Lisa, a marketing manager, made over 300 work-related decisions before lunch. Her actual "work" happened in the gaps between choosing.
The Evening Collapse By evening, decision quality craters. Your audit will likely show: - More time spent on trivial choices - Higher difficulty ratings for simple decisions - More unhappy outcomes - Increased decision avoidance
This isn't weakness—it's depletion. Your brain is running on fumes.