Should you make lunch or order takeout; snack or meal box; discount or quick delivery; have you checked out what’s on offer on the other app?
The multiple micro-decisions involved even in small tasks eat up time and energy, and offer little reward.
Experts say we make thousands before we even start the workday, leaving less energy for the real decisions.
The term was coined by social psychologist Roy F Baumeister in a 2005 study to explain how challenging it is to make good choices when having to continuously make smaller decisions.
And with the pandemic, the going’s got tougher.
Here’s how you deal with it.