I'm sure there is research that demonstrates how kissing has a positive impact on our health, but what we are talking about today is...."Keep it simple, stupid" (KISS Principle) and its benefits to our wellbeing.
KISS is actually a design principle that states, "Wherever possible, complexity should be avoided in a system—as simplicity guarantees the greatest levels of user acceptance and interaction." The term was first used in the US Navy under the idea that to increase the likelihood of safety and success "designs should be simple enough to be repaired by a man in a combat situation with only some basic mechanic’s training and simple tools." This valuable principle not only saves lives in combat and increases customer engagement, but when applied to our daily lives, can benefit our wellbeing.
The average person makes 35,000 decisions every day! What to eat for breakfast? What shirt to wear? Which door to go through? Where to go for lunch? According to research by Kathleen Vohs and colleagues from the University of Minnesota, making repeated choices depletes our self-control; decision making depletes the same resources used for self-control (i.e., less physical stamina, reduced persistence in the face of failure, more procrastination, and less quality and quantity of arithmetic calculations). Simply put, even when we have something we are looking forward to, as choices increase, our ability to maintain self-control decreases. This is otherwise known as decision fatigue.
In The Willpower Instinct we read that there is great power in being boring. While the Harvard Business Review puts it, if you want to maintain long term discipline and have more mental resources throughout the day, it’s best to “identify the aspects of your life that you consider mundane — and then ‘routinize’ those aspects as much as possible. In short, make fewer decisions.”
Dan Ariely’s 2012 book The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty describes some fascinating experiments that show a tired brain makes us more likely to eat junk food, lie, or otherwise exhibit poor self-control. Instead of wasting mental energy, let's increase our stamina for doing what is important, and brainstorm ways to reduce decision fatigue in order to be healthier. What comes to mind?
1. Go "minimalist" and keep only the essential possessions. This will eliminate many small and unnecessary decisions. For example, we could limit our wardrobe like Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg. Remember, Steve Jobs became famous for a black turtleneck, jeans, and New Balance sneakers! If we aren't game to make this kind of change to our wardrobe we could try it with our workout clothes....wear, wash, wear. repeat.
2. Identify key meals that are worth repeating, and then use an app like Wunderlist to create shopping lists that can be updated from multiple devices. Also, food delivered through a service such as Home Chef and these others can really simplify life.
3. Automate what we can. For example, use Amazon subscribe to have items that we routinely order sent. This will save money, because they offer a discount for subscribing. There are also services that will select and send clothes such as Stitch Fix or these.
4. Delegate the energy drainers. For a small fee virtual personal assistants (such as Fancy Hands) can be hired to do some of the mundane things. They are ideal for tasks requiring a response from a 3rd party, coordinating back and forth, or research.
5. Avoid treating all decisions with equal importance. For less immediate decisions that have limited long term impact, choose the simpler option. Which option makes us feel less overwhelmed? Which is the easiest thing to do right now? As consumers, it is easy to over-value the importance of a decision (such as what tooth paste to buy), and end up standing in the store isle for much longer that we realize.
Photo by Caroline Attwood on Unsplash
6. Plan and prep ahead of time. Setting the workout clothes right near our bed, so that as soon as the alarm goes off we can roll out of bed and into the workout clothes before we are hardly awake. Batching meals so that when we are in the kitchen making dinner we are also preparing an additional meal or two. Making lunches and snacks the night before can also increase the likelihood of sticking with a healthy plan.
7. Aim for “good enough” instead of perfection. Complete something until it is good enough, and if it ends up affecting us later, we can always go back and make some changes.
8. Put it on the calendar as a repeated event. Whether we like meeting friends to walk, have tasks that need to be completed regularly or enjoy gathering to try new recipes, make it a routine and put it on the calendar so that it comes up at the set time. This will automate in all kinds of health-benefitting ways.
KISS "decision fatigue" good-bye...analyzing where we are putting our energy and making small changes in our routines will increase our self-control and wellbeing!
Looking forward to hearing additional things you are doing to fight decision fatigue in order to increase your health and wellness...
Wendy Dellis is a certified wellness coach. She joins years of training and work in the area of behavior change, experience as a fitness instructor and run club coordinator with a passion for adventure and people. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, Jay, and two sons.
The information contained on this page is for general information purposes only. Nothing here should be construed as medical or healthcare advice, but only topics for discussion. No physician-patient relationship exists; please consult your physician before making changes in diet or lifestyle.