Decision Making Made Easier!
What am I in the mood for?? Vietnamese pho? No, wait, a salad. No wait, a chicken sandwich. No wait, pizza....
Pretty much how a good portion of conversations with myself about what to eat go...and what the poor people who dine with me have to put up with ;) The same can be said when it comes to my free time. I'll read , no wait, watch Netflix. No wait, I'll workout. No, I'll call my family.
How amazing is it having so many choices when it comes to deciding what to eat or what to do?! But honestly, how much time have I spent mulling over every day decisions, trying to figure out what I'm "really in the mood for," or second guessing myself?!
It's been said that in a single day, a person might average 35,000 different decisions. Then it's no wonder that making decisions, particularly when it comes to our health, can be a challenge. In fact, the term "decision fatigue" refers to the feeling of being overwhelmed or exhausted by the accumulated energy used making small and large decisions that occurs over the course of the day. It can result in being more indecisive, making poorer choices, feeling a lack of self-control or just avoiding making any decisions all together . The Katie who finds herself rummaging through the back of the cupboard searching for a forgotten piece of old Halloween candy at midnight knows the feeling well.😵
We've all heard for years (and I've written here before) about the importance of planning when it comes to making the best decisions for your health, but well, deciding to sit down and actually make a plan makes it difficult to even get started! Recently, though, I can feel the impact of taking some decisions literally "off my plate" and the benefits of having a plan that works for me, in particular since I have started to do meal prep for the week. As a result, I've been feeling stronger, healthier and more capable than I have in quite some time!
If you are looking to streamline some of your health decisions so that you can stop wasting so much time talking yourself in or out of a workout, standing in front of the fridge choosing what to eat, or feeling overwhelmed with choices and indecision, try some of these tips!
Make Healthy Decision Making Easier
Start a routine. Choose the day, the time and place you want to commit to your health with an activity like movement, cooking, stretching or more. For instance I spend Sunday afternoon thinking of what to eat for most of the following week, look up recipes, then shop and cook all within a few hours. I devote a specific time to making the choices and decisions so that later I won’t have to.
Set up the environment. Make all of your desired choices highly visible so you barely have to choose them. With my fridge stocked full on Sunday night I cut out 80% of the decisions about what to eat because the answer is obvious and in front of my face.
Keep it small and simple. Overcomplicated exercises and highly detailed nutrition plans may not be ideal for the average person to adhere to. Things like eating an apple for a snack or dancing for 15 minutes are easy enough to implement that they can help take some overwhelm out of choosing them in lieu of chips or scrolling on your phone.
Learn from “lapses” in judgment. So you chose to sleep in instead of going to work out. No sweat. If you are feeling less than pleased with a decision you made there’s no use in beating yourself up about it. You can pay attention to how you feel about your choices and see how you can adjust your plan to make decisions you are happier with in the future!
Of all the choices you make, I’m so happy that you choose to move with me! Please note that I’ll be taking the Double Ten Day long weekend off and we’ll be back with another newsletter the following week! If you want to dance with me during the holiday, check out our On-Demand classes !
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie