The Hidden Cost of Decision Fatigue

Have you ever spent time planning a project, only to find yourself feeling unable to actually take action?

You plan a great dinner, then pivot to takeout because you’re exhausted.

You plan a good workout, then scrap it because you no longer have the energy.

You plan a great marketing campaign, social media post, or blog post, but can’t seem to string the words together to form coherent sentences.

During the planning phase you were filled with excitement and motivation. But once it comes time for implementation you suddenly feel “unmotivated.” Maybe even a sense of apathy, like I don’t even care about this anymore.

What’s going on when this happens?

You’re not lazy.
You’re not unmotivated.
You’re not burned out.

You’re suffering from decision fatigue.

What is Decision Fatigue?

Every choice you make during your day pulls from the source of energy — your executive function “fuel tank.”

It doesn’t matter what the decision is: what to wear, what to eat, which email to answer first, what exercises to do in your workout, whether to sleep in, how to phrase a text, whether to call that lead, which platform to post on, whether to cook, and so on.

When you buy a product or search for something online, every option you scroll through is using a little bit of that executive function, even if you’re not yet actively considering that option. Even your most micro decisions use that fuel.

The problem is that the supply of executive function is limited.

Once you’ve depleted the resource, you’ve hit decision fatigue.

And the cost of decision fatigue isn’t just being exhausted; it also impacts your ability to implement and take action.

Why Decision Fatigue Affects Implementation

The act of planning is different from the act of doing. Planning involves lots of decisions, but once the plan is in place, doing simply requires showing up to implement. In theory, they should be completely separate.

That’s often the case for neurotypical people. They can plan and implement in sequence without much of a break.

For people with ADHD, it’s not so simple.

The problem is that task initiation also requires executive function, and you’ve depleted that resource with decisions.

How to Navigate Planning and Doing

To better implement your plans, you must either avoid decision fatigue in the first place or separate planning and implementation with enough time between them to restore your executive function.