- Decision fatigue explains why mental exhaustion occurs without physical activity, due to constant decision-making.
- The brain's willpower is like a muscle that can become depleted, leading to ego depletion where mental resources are exhausted.
- Studies, such as one on Israeli judges' parole decisions, show decision quality declines as more decisions are made throughout the day.
- Microdecisions accumulate and consume cognitive load, occupying working memory even when not actively thought about.
- The Zeigarnik effect indicates that unfinished tasks are remembered better, causing intrusive thoughts and impairing performance.
- Creating concrete plans for pending tasks can reduce mental strain by allowing the mind to stop monitoring unresolved decisions.
- Strategies to manage decision fatigue include reducing trivial decisions, externalizing tasks, and avoiding revisiting past decisions.