One Schoolhouse

  • STUDENT COURSES
    • School Information
    • Student Information
    • Parent & Guardian Information
    • Summer Courses
    • Register
  • ACADEMIC LEADERS
    • Association for Academic Leaders
    • Join the Association
    • Open Doors Blog
  • CONSORTIUM
    • Join the Consortium
    • Our Schools
  • COURSE LOGIN
  • STUDENT COURSES
    • School Information
    • Student Information
    • Parent & Guardian Information
    • Summer Courses
    • Register
  • ACADEMIC LEADERS
    • Association for Academic Leaders
    • Join the Association
    • Open Doors Blog
  • CONSORTIUM
    • Join the Consortium
    • Our Schools
  • COURSE LOGIN

Is Decision Fatigue Wearing You Out? Three Strategies to Overcome It

8/23/2021

0 Comments

 
PictureLiz Katz
Academic Leaders, I’m worried about you. I’ve been in awe watching you over the past year and a half. You balanced the needs of your students, faculty, staff, and families as you responded to a crisis that few of us had the training or expertise to handle, and you did it with grace, wit, and patience. You’ve been faced with decision after decision in response to circumstances and policies that were far outside your control, and far too often, it felt like even the best possible solution fell short of the ideal. And let’s be honest--it took a lot out of you. 

That’s because making decisions is like lifting weights--you build your strength by practicing regularly over time, but if you try to do too much at once, you run out of power. Last week, we asked Academic Leaders what kind of issues they were working on as school gets started. 96% of our respondents said they were working on problems that are both urgent and important:  high stakes decisions that consume time and energy. If we go back to our weight-lifting comparison, it’s like you’re lifting more weight and doing more reps, and that means you’re tiring out faster than ever. 

If we take away the simile, you’re stuck in what social psychologists call decision fatigue. Human brains expend a lot of energy making decisions, and as they run out of energy, it becomes harder to make decisions well. In other words, there are physiological and cognitive explanations for why it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of problems you have to solve. Researchers who study this phenomenon have documented concrete approaches to managing and minimizing decision fatigue. Here are three of your most effective strategies:
  • If you can’t reduce decisions, limit your choices. The decisions that Academic Leaders face at the start of the school year are a fact of your work, and often, they can’t be delegated. When that happens, try to pare down the possible solutions. For example, if you’re trying to make decisions about COVID-19 protocols, rather than examine all the possibilities every time an issue arises, you’ll make your choices based on the advice from your two (no more, please) go-to sources, such as the Academy of American Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control. When you have fewer options, you deplete less of your mental energy choosing between them.
  • Front-load your day with the most important decisions.  As humans use up their energy over the course of the day, they get worse at making decisions. Most decisions in schools--even the most urgent ones--don’t have to be made right away. Your calendar can help you manage the process so that you make your choices as efficiently as possible. Build a short “finalize decisions” block into your schedule at the start of the day. In the afternoon, when problems arrive, don’t try to solve them immediately. Instead, gather the evidence you need, keeping a running list of the decisions that need to be made, and leave it front and center on your desk when you pack up in the evening. The next morning, start the day by tackling those thorny issues, and you’ll solve them better and faster than you would have the day before.
  • Give yourself what you need to do your job well. You need to have sufficient energy for your brain to make the decisions your work requires. What it takes to provide and renew that energy is both obvious, and frustratingly out of reach at times:  sleep, nutritious food, hydration, and physical activity. You’ll be able to get more done well when you meet your brain’s needs. If you’re in a tight spot, there’s a quick fix to help:  glucose can partially or fully reverse the effects of decision fatigue for a short time. Snack time isn’t just for the kids.

When I say I’m worried about you, Academic Leaders, it’s only because I see how much you’ve shouldered in the past year and a half. I want to make sure you’re doing okay, and I want you to have every tool available to make your work as manageable and visionary as possible. If you can separate out the skill of decision-making from the decisions themselves, they become easier to approach--and this is the year when you deserve to have things a little easier. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Don't miss our weekly blog posts by joining our newsletter mailing list below:

    Authors

    Brad Rathgeber (he/him/his)
    CEO & Head of School
    Beta Eaton (she/her/hers)
    Director of Student Support
    Corinne Dedini (she/her/hers)
    Senior Director,  Academics
    Elizabeth Katz (she/her/hers)
    Senior Director, School Partnership
    Kerry Smith (she/her/hers)
    Instructional Designer for Professional Development
    Peter Gow (he/him/his)
    Independent Curriculum Resource Director
    Sarah Hanawald (she/her/hers)
    Senior Director, PD & New Programs
    Sienna Brancato (she/her/hers)
    Program Manager for PD & New Programs
    Tracie Yorke (she/her/hers)
    Instructional Designer for Equity, Inclusive Innovation & Accessibility
    ​Lorri Palko (she/her/hers)
    Finance & Operations Advisor; CFO (retired)
    Karen Douse (she/her/hers)
    Director of School & Student Support (retired)

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    July 2011
    June 2002

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Organization

About
Welcome
​History
FAQs
​Calendar
​
Team Members
Board of Trustees
Employment Opportunities
© COPYRIGHT 2020, ONE SCHOOLHOUSE, INC.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Policies

Tuition & Policies
Equity and Inclusion & Non-Discrimination Policy
Technology Requirements & Policies
​Privacy Policy

School Resources

Advanced Independent Curriculum
​Partner Professional Learning Courses

Get In Touch

Have any questions?
Send us an email or give us a call.
info@oneschoolhouse.org
202.618.3637

​1701 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036


We'd love to hear from you!​