According to the theory of decision fatigue, the simple act of making any decision depletes us of a limited store of willpower.
I'm a bit worried about this theory becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ever since first reading about it, my thoughts sometimes go along these lines:
- I should do X now.
- But wait, I've already done A, B, and D. Man, I feel like I have depleted my willpower on those three tasks! So, I'm leaving it till tomorrow.
And so I'm confused because I suspect I would be better off if I never found out about the theory, but there's no way to 'unread' it and make myself a control for checking the limits of my own willpower.
I'm a bit worried about this theory becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ever since first reading about it, my thoughts sometimes go along these lines:
- I should do X now.
- But wait, I've already done A, B, and D. Man, I feel like I have depleted my willpower on those three tasks! So, I'm leaving it till tomorrow.
And so I'm confused because I suspect I would be better off if I never found out about the theory, but there's no way to 'unread' it and make myself a control for checking the limits of my own willpower.