Today at work you have to organize and plan the Christmas event. You love Christmas so when it’s time to decide the decoration you are extremely excited.
You enthusiastically pick the music, decide on Christmas gifts, arrange the chairs, decide how to design the invitations — It’s fun!
But as the day drags on and you have to make more and more decisions you get more and more tired (and irritated). Your colleague asks you the 5th time where to place the Christmas angels. And why can’t she decide herself?
And why did you have to end up preparing the event anyways?
And finally, after work your boyfriend asks you: Hey honey where do you want to eat out?
Tired you answer wherever you want. Ending up eating Greek food, when you would have preferred to just snuggle in front of the TV. This feeling is called decision fatigue.
You might wonder, what has decision fatigue to do with buying presents? If you are curious read on:
What is Decision Fatigue?
Your willpower is like a muscle. So, when you use that muscle you use energy. As the day goes on and you exert the muscle it gets increasingly tired. You get decision fatigue. James Clear defined it as follows:
Decision fatigue happens every day in your life as well. If you have a particularly decision-heavy day at work, then you come home feeling drained. You might want to go to the gym and workout, but your brain would rather default to the easy decision: sit on the couch. That’s decision fatigue.
So, in the evening, when it’s time to pick the presents for your family, your willpower muscle is exhausted. You chose the quick gift. The easily available one. You know it isn’t personalized at all.
You know it isn’t something your mum or dad would love, but because you are tired you chose it anyways.
Or you chose no present at all. You avoid making another decision and end up with time issues later.
Decision Fatigue can be a key element of Procrastination.
[ Read: 25-Day Gratitude Challenge for the Christmas season]
5 Ways to avoid decision Fatigue when you get Christmas Gifts
1. Make a Gift Idea List ahead of time
Whenever you are out with a family member or friend during the year and they show interest in something write it down. We all have our phone with us most of the time anyways.
Make a quick note and check the list for special events later.
I know for this year it might be already a little late. But the next birthday or Christmas is just around the corner!
For example,…
You are in the market with your mum. She checks out some earrings. When she isn’t looking take a picture. (Don’t get in trouble with the store clerk! — Be warned some don’t like pictures taken. Politely asking never hurts.)
or.. your sister is raving on and on about a new series.
Maybe you find one with similar content or a limited edition.
2. Decide on Presents in the Morning or the Day Before
In the mornings you still have plenty of energy and willpower. Because of that, the mornings are the perfect time to decide on presents.
You might still buy them later in the day. But if you have already planned them out you won’t fall back on simple knick-knack no one wants.
Make the buying process later as simple and decision free as possible. Decide the store or the online site you’ll buy from ahead of time. Make sure you have money on your Visa.
[Read: 13 Simple Ways to avoid this year’s Christmas Stress]
3. Pick the important presents first
You need presents for your family and distant relatives. You know your distant relatives will give you something simple anyway.
Pick the presents for your most important people first.
On whom do you want to spend your energy and willpower? The ones that matter or half strangers?
Simple…
Pick the important presents first to avoid decision fatigue and pick the “easy” presents later. Unless you really want to impress somebody 
.
[ Read: 6 Essential Self-Care Products in 2020 – Self Love Ideas ]
4. Stop if you get tired
You’ve had a long workday? Or you’ve decided on presents all day long?
Maybe now is not a good time to make more decisions. Instead you can make plans on what you will buy and postpone the buying decision until you are refreshed.
Eating a healthy meal can help you recharge. Or you can take a powernap!
As James Clear mentioned:
When you want to get better decisions from your mind, put better food into your body.
5. Schedule Christmas Gift Picking
Make space for the important decisions in your life. If you commit to a specific time you don’t have to decide after work will I buy Christmas gifts today or not. You will already know. It’s no longer a decision, but a fixed date.
And since you know that for example next week, it’s time to buy presents you will start thinking about what to get way before the actual gift picking date.
Your brain will start working on possible presents while you sleep.
When you walk around the streets your focus will be on what you might get next Thursday.
Scheduling is an extremely useful tool to plan Christmas gift ideas ahead of time.
To sum it up:
We all have a limited amount of willpower. If we exert our willpower too much and make too many decisions, we will get decision fatigue.
Decision fatigue causes us too avoid decision or to make rash and stupid ones. Like buying a crappy present.
To buy nice presents and to avoid decision fatigue you can:
- Make a List ahead of time
- Decide on Presents in the Morning or the Day Before
- Pick the Important Presents first
- Stop when you get tired
- Schedule Christmas Gift Picking
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Love from Germany,
Julia and Carina
