How many decisions can you eliminate today?

Some sources suggest that the average person makes about 35,000 decisions per day. While this number might sound high, even if you half it, that’s still 17,000 decisions a day. And although it might not be obvious at first, every one of those decisions leads to a choice that carries consequences. Now while the consequences for each decision don’t carry equal weight, the sheer number of decisions do carry a cognitive load and require you to spend energy thinking about them.

So how can you eliminate or even automate some of your decisions?

Well, one way is to set rules for yourself. Think about it for a moment. If you set a rule about the food you eat or the clothes you’ll wear, then you eliminate that decision. Eliminating what could be considered, trivial decisions free up your mind, or your cognitive capacity to focus on other, potentially bigger, or more important decisions.

Another way to eliminate decisions is to delegate or let others make them for you. This can be tricky especially if you’re one of those people that needs to be in control. One of the best ways to see if this works for you is to have someone you trust to make a few, not so important, decisions for you. While you might recoil at the idea of someone else making decisions for you, if you think about it, when you seek medical or legal advice, you are in some cases asking others you believe are more qualified than you to help you make life-changing decisions.

So, as you go through your day today, think about decisions that you can set rules for, outsource, or eliminate. Work on freeing up your mind so that you can spend more energy focusing on the big decisions in life. After all, your entire life is based on the decisions you make.

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