Decision Fatigue – Tip # 438

Being a part of a military family can often mean you are making decisions for yourself and your absent or very busy family member too.  I am a firm believer in the theory that the human mind is only capable of making so many good decisions in one day.   This applies to you and everyone in your family.  When you were growing up did your parents consult with you on every little decision to whether or wanted milk or juice to where you were going on holiday?  No, they didn’t.  Parents right now seem to be giving more and more decisions over to their children and this leads to decision fatigue, anxiety and they can become disengaged when it is time to make more important decisions.  Kids don’t need to be included in every little decision and neither does your absent family member.  By making smaller every day decisions you will feel more in control and your family will be able to contribute to the important ones when they need to.

Tips:

* Make your most important decisions earlier in the day

* Make sure you have eaten prior to making decisions or asking others to

* Prioritize your big decisions and make a maximum of five a day

*  Eliminate the some decisions from your child’s life (don’t ask them what they want for dinner, just make it; don’t ask what they want to drink, give them a milk or glass of water; don’t ask about where they want to go on holiday, choose somewhere you know everyone will enjoy)

* Put all major decisions into two categories – need to make right away, need to make soon.  This way you make the right ones at the right time.

* When you are asking for decisions from your family, ask yourself if you are asking because their decisions will impact yours or because you want to make them feel better or included?  Know this before you ask as often you will discover you have already made the decision and everyone knows it

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Filed under: Military Family Support - Tips from the 101 Tips books, Re-integration Tips, Tips for Educators and Deployment Support Workers Tagged: | decision fatigue, decision making, deployment, family, military, military life