How Burnout Affects Your Decision-Making Process (and How To Fix It!)

Burnout is a state of exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress. It affects your physical, mental and emotional health. You have nothing more to offer. Burnout can be work-related, it can result from stress in your personal life, or a combination of both.

Work-related causes of burnout include unmanageable workloads, unfair treatment, confusing responsibilities, pressure and poor communication. Caring for a loved one at home can lead to burnout. It doesn’t happen overnight. Burnout is a gradual process that builds as your stress levels increase. The signs of burnout are different for everyone but include:

• fatigue affecting every aspect of your life. Even the simplest of tasks can feel overwhelming.
• apathy and dissatisfaction with different aspects of your life.
• tension headache can occur. Some of these can be severe and debilitating.
• sleep rhythm are disturbed. You might find yourself napping to get through the day only to lie there with your eyes wide open at night.

According to surveys, three out of five workers reported negative effects of stress at work, including lack of interest, lack of effort, cognitive exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, and physical exhaustion. Another phenomenon that can occur concurrently with burnout is decision fatigue.

According to the American Medical Association, decision fatigue is an emotional and mental burden that comes from constantly making decisions. Your mental energy will be exhausted. The average person makes 35,000 decisions every day… And that costs energy. There are four main symptoms of decision fatigue: procrastination, impulsiveness, avoidance, and indecisiveness. Ultimately, you may make poor decisions, act impulsively, or avoid decisions altogether.

While decision fatigue is not caused by burnout or vice versa, one can exacerbate the other. Here is an example. When you’re burned out from an overloaded work schedule, especially if it’s a result of working two or three jobs, deciding what to do with your workload can be almost crippling. You may know that one of your jobs or projects has to go, but because your decision-making process is shaky, you either can’t, won’t, or can’t determine which job should go, or, worse, you choose to let go of the wrong job.

Here are some actionable steps you can take to reduce burnout and relieve decision fatigue.

• Focus on self-care. In most cases you can defer a decision. You can’t delay forever, but you can probably wait 24 hours. Use these 24 hours as a mini retreat. Take the day off work, listen to relaxing music, go to the spa, walk the dog, or whatever helps you unplug — and unplug, literally unplug! When you’re overwhelmed you can’t concentrate, so you better take a personal day. A staggering 55% of Americans don’t use their paid time off (PTO). (Fascinating, 63% of Americans will refuse a job if the company doesn’t have a PTO – yet only 45% are likely to use it!)
• Simplify your life. When it comes to decision fatigue, simplifying your life simplifies the decisions you need to make. Here are some examples. Make important decisions when you’re fresh. Decision fatigue increases with every decision you make. Getting rid of the stubborn ones early in the day will help you avoid bad decisions later in the day. Eliminate distractions that require decisions. What looks like simple web browsing actually increases the number of decisions in your day. Simplify your wardrobe or even use a meal delivery service a few days a week.
• Get plenty of rest. Use bedtime reminders to unwind. Turn off your digital devices at least 30 minutes before catching your zzz’s. We naturally have a 24-hour sleep-wake cycle. But blue light – for example from computer screens or mobile phones – disrupts this cycle. It delays the natural production of melatonin. This, in turn, decreases your drowsiness and can decrease the time you spend with slow waves and rapid eye movements in your sleep. These two sleep cycles are critical to maintaining cognitive function. Instead of “decompressing” with your favorite Netflix drama, try yoga nidra, meditation, or deep stretches later in the evening to encourage relaxation.
• Set personal and professional boundaries. Sometimes a lack of boundaries leads to saying yes when you should be saying no. Let’s say one of your borders works Monday to Wednesday from 8am to 5pm, Thursday to 7pm and Friday to 3pm. If you’re asked to work late on Tuesday, that’s a ‘no’ or in exchange for going home at 5pm on Thursday. Without borders, you are much more likely to work late hours on both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Borders protect your free time.

When you’re out of tank, it’s impossible to make good decisions. If you’re suffering from burnout or are struggling to make decisions, use your personal days. Disconnect from the mains for 24 hours. To go for a walk. Make a list of the decisions you need to make and start making them once you’re rested.

In the meantime, tick some of the tips above to live a simple, uncomplicated life.