Study Highlights Decision Fatigue: How to Avoid ‘Choice Overload,’ According to Experts

A new insight into daily human behavior reveals that the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions each day—many of them unconscious—leading to a phenomenon known as “choice overload.”

According to The Decision Lab, choice overload refers to “the difficulty of making a choice when presented with many options, especially when all options seem to have equal value.” The issue is explored in the book "Out of Your Mind" by Jorge Cham, an engineer-turned-cartoonist, and Dwayne Godwin, a neuroscientist.

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Cham and Godwin explain that too many choices can result in heightened fear of missing out (FOMO) and increased social comparison. “You not only think you made the wrong choice, but you think someone else made a better one,” they write. Social media exacerbates this feeling, they note, with constant exposure to curated portrayals of others' lives.

A referenced study found that while happiness increased with income, it decreased when individuals perceived their earnings as lower than their neighbors’, further highlighting the psychological burden of comparison.

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To combat this overload, the authors recommend practicing simplicity. Drawing from the lifestyle of Buddhist monks, who live with minimal possessions, they suggest that “reducing choices lets Buddhist monks avoid the stress and anxiety that can come with making complex decisions.”