You’d think having a lot of choices would be the optimal situation. Living in the Washington, DC area, there are hundreds of restaurants to choose from. For a recent date night out, my husband and I struggled to narrow down all the options in our area to settle on one. After several days of scrolling through the choices, we finally decided to just go to a restaurant we usually go to.
While having so many choices can be a luxury, it can also cause mental fatigue and result in wasted time and energy.
A research study was conducted by psychologists from Stanford and Columbia Universities in which a tasting display of jams was set up in an upscale food market. The purpose of the study was to determine if the number of choices impacted consumer purchasing behavior.
- On one day, the display offered six types of jams to taste test.
- On another day, the display offered 24 choices of jam flavors to taste.
Although more people visited the display with 24 choices of jam, those who encountered the display with only six choices of jams were 10 times more likely to purchase jam after the taste test.
The researchers concluded that when faced with extensive choices, people lose motivation to buy. This is called choice paralysis.
We often become so overwhelmed by all the options, that we avoid making a choice altogether.
If you’ve ever eaten in a diner, you are familiar with this experience—flipping through a menu where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are always available—pages and pages of choices (not to mention the dessert counter with every cake you can imagine!).
Replacing an appliance can take more time than doing your taxes as you grapple with narrowing down the hundreds of options to the one that best fit your needs. Or perhaps every morning when you look at your to-do list, you are so overwhelmed by what you have on your plate, that you avoid getting started (and instead find yourself piddling the time away by scrolling through email or checking your bank account).
Even getting dressed in the morning can take a lot of energy. Some successful leaders like Richard Branson wear the same thing every day to reduce decision fatigue and make their mornings easier and less stressful.
I recently started researching different credit card reward programs so I could get the best rewards for my business card. Even just comparing the myriad options from my current credit card company was so overwhelming and time consuming, that I chose to keep my current card, even though I’m sure I could be getting higher rewards elsewhere.
While it’s great to have so many options, sometimes less choice makes things easier and allows us to decide faster.
Every day, leaders are faced with countless decisions and choices, and our inability to focus our energy and attention not only increases anxiety and stress, but can keep us from accomplishing goals and getting results.
There are several simple habits and mindsets that can dramatically increase your clarity and focus, and reduce overwhelm and fatigue. Try these:
Simple is powerful. Whether it’s the credit union’s strategic goals or your department initiatives, simplicity creates clarity which drives focus. Having too many goals spreads everyone’s attention and decreases performance. Many organizational challenges can be tied directly to a lack of clarity or confusion on where to best focus time and energy.
Narrow your to-do list. Writing down what you need to do is a great way to get things out of your head, but most people get overwhelmed by a long list of things to complete. At the end of each day, review your list and pick the top two most important tasks or projects to work on the next day. This narrows your focus so you can jump right into your first task without hesitating. This simple exercise can be a powerful way to accomplish more in less time.
Ask a focusing question. Anytime you feel overwhelmed, it’s often a sign that you lack clarity. A great strategy is to ask yourself a focusing question: What is the most important thing I should be working on right now? This question directs your mind to filter through all your obligations and distills it down to the most important. A lack of clarity often causes leaders to put off important tasks and projects and instead spend time on low value items.
Schedule Productivity Sprints. Productivity sprints are blocks of time where you eliminate as many distractions as possible and focus solely on one task. While writing this article, I closed my email, left my office, and went to a quiet room in my house without any of my other work to pull my attention away. This very powerful practice will force you to focus on what is in front of you so you will make significant progress on a project and feel a great sense of accomplishment.
By intentionally reducing the choices you have in each moment, you can save wasted time and get more done faster.
Gaining clarity is the first step to help you narrow your focus so you can be purposeful about how you are spending your energy and time.
In my experience, these principles sound so simple, that most people underestimate their power and just don’t implement them. By consistently practicing these habits, you will gain more clarity, reduce overwhelm, and dramatically increase your productivity.
** In The Exceptional Leader Program we focus on productivity in one of the sessions! Learn more about the program and register to attend if we can help you be more productive or improve in any of the other 5 areas of the training!
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Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!