Decision Fatigue is Real, and It’s Exhausting (How to Make Choices Without Second-Guessing Everything)

You ever stare at a restaurant menu for so long that when the waiter finally shows up, you panic and just order water? Or stand in the grocery store, paralyzed between two cereals, as if choosing the wrong one might derail your entire life?

That’s decision fatigue.

And at this point, most of us are just one more “What’s for dinner?” away from a full-blown crisis.

What is Decision Fatigue (And Why Do We Have It?)

Decision fatigue happens when you’ve made so many choices throughout the day that your brain just taps out. You start making bad decisions, impulsive decisions, or no decisions at all. By the time evening rolls around, even simple choices feel impossible.

The modern world makes this so much worse. We have way too many options for literally everything. Every decision feels like it carries eternal significance.

• What’s the best career path?
• Should I rent or buy?
• Do I go with organic non-GMO free-range oat milk, or am I a terrible person for still drinking regular dairy?

Even social media fuels it. Scroll long enough, and you’ll start questioning every life decision you’ve ever made because some influencer has convinced you that you need a 4 a.m. morning routine, a side hustle, and a minimalist wardrobe by next Tuesday (I’m sorry lady in the big glasses, but everyone needs at least one loud flowery shirt in their wardrobe to wear on a rainy day).

Decision fatigue isn’t just about making too many choices. It’s about the pressure to get every decision right.

God’s Not Asking You to Figure It All Out Alone (Or Even All Right Now)

The good news? Decision fatigue is not new. People in the Bible wrestled with choices, too.

• Moses was a murderer with a stutter and didn’t feel qualified to lead anything more than grazing animals (and barely that).
• Gideon needed multiple signs before he trusted God’s direction (and stupid ones too, “ugh, I’m gonna move the rug here, make it wet – now make it dry,” look it up Judges 6-8).
• Martha got so caught up in doing all the right things that she missed Jesus teaching in her living room.

Scripture is full of people who doubted, hesitated, and overthought everything. And yet, God didn’t abandon them for it. He guided them, gave them wisdom, and reminded them that they didn’t have to figure everything out on their own.

One of the first Bible verses that I ever memorized in my life was this one and I still have it on “repeat” in my brain: 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)

So, let’s take some pressure off—I’ve said it before, and I will say it 100 times more: God’s not expecting you to have every answer. He’s expecting you to trust Him.

How to Make Decisions Without Overthinking Everything

We don’t need to live in a constant state of exhaustion over every little choice. Here’s some real strategies to take some of that pressure off right now:

1. Reduce the Number of Daily Decisions

If you wake up and immediately have to decide what to wear, what to eat, what to do first, and how to manage your entire day, your brain is already working overtime before you’ve even had coffee. Simplify where you can.

• Meal plan so you’re not figuring out dinner at 6 p.m. every night.
• Create a morning routine that removes unnecessary decisions.
  • Pick your clothes the night before—sounds stupid but trust me, it helps. 
  • Know what your first real, must-do “task” of the day is and make sure you make time to complete it. This helps you understand the important stuff for the day, so you don’t get overwhelmed or overcommit yourself.
• Set up a weekly schedule so you don’t feel like life is happening to you.

The fewer unnecessary decisions you have to make, the more energy you’ll have for the ones that actually matter. And it helps you manage your life for those amazing, all-important “nothing at all” times too. 

2. Set a Time Limit for Small Decisions

Not every choice requires deep contemplation. Some decisions should take 30 seconds or less—what to wear, what to eat, which route to take to work. If it won’t matter in a week, don’t let it steal your energy today.

If you catch yourself overthinking, set a timer. Give yourself one minute to decide and then move on (if you’ve ever played the game of “Perfection” as a kid, you will know that a timer makes a huge difference in forcing decision making-it works).

3. Ask: Will This Matter in a Year, a Month, A Week?

Some choices feel big in the moment but don’t actually have long-term consequences. When in doubt, ask yourself:

• Will this matter a year from now?
• Will I even remember this decision?
• Is this worth stressing over?

If the answer is no, LET IT GO.

4. Pray First, Overthink Second

Most of us do this backward. We overthink, analyze, ask ten different people for advice, stress about it for days… and then, when we’re exhausted, we finally pray about it.

Flip that order. Start with prayer. Ask God for wisdom first. Then, trust that He will guide you in the right direction.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5, NIV)

BTW—This one is so important to me that I keep a sticky-note on my bathroom mirror that reads, “Pray First. Pray Always. Then, Pray Again.” Can’t look at my own face without looking at this reminder.

5. Accept That You Won’t Always Get It Right

Not every decision is going to be perfect. You’ll make mistakes. You’ll choose wrong sometimes. But that doesn’t mean God has abandoned you, and it doesn’t mean your life is ruined.

God’s grace is big enough to cover your mistakes. He’s not standing over you with a mallet, watching your every move, waiting to whack you when you screw up. He’s guiding, shaping, and working in you—even when you do mess up.

Make a Routine (Aka, Learn the Fundamentals of Adulting)

I know—making a routine sounds SO BORING. But all it really is, is just learning the fundamentals of adulting. And here’s the thing—you’ve been doing this your whole life without even realizing it.

• As kids, we learned to brush our teeth and tie our shoes.
• In sports, you learn the basics before you play. (Yes, even toddler soccer has some practices before they let the kids run in circles.)
• In school, they teach you to add before they teach you to multiply. (They still do that, right? I don’t know the new math.)

Adulting is no different. If you’re exhausted from making decisions, it’s probably because you never learned the fundamentals of structuring your life.

1. Make your bed in the morning. (Jordan Peterson was right—if nothing else, you’ve accomplished one thing today.)
2. Sketch out a plan for your day. (It will change, but at least you’re not waking up in full-blown survival mode.)
3. Schedule the hard stuff first. (Your brain will thank you later.)
4. End your day on things that you love. (If life is just one giant to-do list, what’s the point?)

Once you have a solid foundation, you can pivot when needed—just like Jordan would have pivoted around LeBron every single time. (Just saying—GOAT.)

The Peace of Trusting God

Adulting is hard. The world is loud. The choices feel endless. And sometimes, it feels like just making it through the day without a full-blown meltdown is a win.

But hear me on this—you were not created just to survive.

God didn’t put you here to live in a constant state of decision paralysis, afraid of getting it wrong, exhausted from trying to hold it all together. He created you on purpose, for a purpose.

And that doesn’t mean life will be easy. It doesn’t mean you’ll have everything you want or that people will always cheer you on. But it does mean this—your life has meaning. Your choices matter. And even when you don’t have all the answers, you are not alone in the figuring out. I know, even at my *cough* “certain age,” I don’t have it all figured out either.

So take a deep breath. The pressure is off (the overwhelming majority of it at least).

You don’t have to have it all planned out. You don’t have to get it all right. You just have to walk with the One who does.

Ask God. Seek wisdom. And maybe, just maybe, don’t spend 20 minutes debating between Tide and Gain at Target.You’ve got bigger things ahead.

☕ A little faith, a little courage, and a whole lot of stubborn joy. – Tonya

What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever spent way too much time trying to decide? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your stories!