Updated: January 2026

Decision Fatigue

noun • /dɪˈsɪʒən fəˈtiːɡ/

Definition

Decision fatigue is the deteriorating quality of decisions made after a long session of decision-making. As the brain's cognitive resources deplete throughout the day, individuals become more likely to make impulsive choices, avoid decisions entirely, or default to the status quo — even when better options are available.

The Landmark Study

The most famous research on decision fatigue comes from a 2011 study of Israeli parole board decisions. Researchers found that judges granted parole in 65% of cases heard early in the day, but nearly 0% of cases heard late in the day — regardless of the merits of each case.

After meal breaks, favorable rulings spiked back up before declining again. The pattern was consistent across thousands of decisions over ten months.

Source: Danziger, S., Levav, J., & Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011). Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(17), 6889-6892.

By the Numbers

35,000

Decisions made by the average adult daily

65% → 0%

Parole approval rate: morning vs. late day

227

Food decisions alone per day (Wansink, 2007)

Signs of Decision Fatigue

•Procrastinating on important choices

•Making impulsive decisions to 'get it over with'

•Defaulting to the easiest or most familiar option

•Feeling overwhelmed by choices that once seemed simple

•Avoiding decisions entirely (decision avoidance)

•Irritability when asked to make yet another choice

Addressing Decision Fatigue

Decision fatigue can be mitigated through two primary strategies: reducing the total number of decisions required (through automation, routines, and elimination of unnecessary choices) and improving the quality of remaining decisions through systematic approaches that reduce cognitive load.

This is the core focus of Decision Intelligence: not just making better individual decisions, but redesigning how decisions are structured and prioritized.

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