Reduce Your Daily Decisions

I just ran across a delightful post by Natalie Marie-Collins entitled Reduce Your Daily Decisions to Increase Focus and Productivity.

Did you know that you start your day with a limited number of decision-making points? Physiologists think it’s 100.

That certainly explains why it’s so hard to come up with an idea for dinner at the end of the day.

I have found that if I plan my weekly meals and do my grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon, it eliminates that stressor from my life. Try it, it works!

What if you applied that same idea to your work day?

Try this:

On Sunday, take a little time to sit down and plan what you want your work week to look like. Write down any of the things you know are coming up that need to be taken care of and put them on your to-do list.

At the end of each day, write down your tasks for the next day, starting with the 3 most important ones and placing your list on your desk where you can see it first thing. By making the most important tasks first (and actually tackling them), you save some decision making points and become more productive.

Find little hacks, different ways you can simplify things so you don’t have to use your precious points on silly things.

With just a little bit of planning, you can reduce the number of decisions you make in a day and the result will be greater focus and productivity.