Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

How To Outsmart Decision Fatigue: 3 Strategies for Clearer Thinking

Listen

Description

Mid-year always feels like it should be a breather... but somehow, it’s not. If you’re feeling foggy, stretched thin, or stuck in reactive mode right now—you are not alone. This episode is all about decision fatigue, that sneaky mental exhaustion that piles up without us noticing. I’m breaking down why this happens (especially mid-year) and sharing three simple, practical strategies nonprofit leaders can use to lighten the load. These are tools I use with my coaching clients—and myself—to protect clarity, energy, and focus for the second half of the year.

🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn:

💡 Key Takeaways:

  1. Decision fatigue is structural, not personal. It’s not about being bad at leadership—it’s how the brain works.
  2. Defaults and rules protect your mental energy. Remove recurring micro-decisions before they drain you.
  3. Narrow your time horizon. Zoom in from big, overwhelming goals to the next right step.

🔧 Step-by-Step Framework to Reduce Decision Fatigue:

  1. Design Default Decisions:
    • Turn anything you do more than twice into a default.
    • Examples: Assign writing days, set standing meeting cadences, or use the same reflection questions after every event.
  2. Set Compassionate Rules:
    • Pre-decide boundaries to eliminate repetitive mental negotiations.
    • Examples: No emails after 7 p.m., “If it’s not in the budget, it’s not on the table,” or “I only say yes to things that strengthen our funding pipeline.”
  3. Shrink Your Time Horizon:
    • Stop solving the whole year and just solve today—or the next step.
    • Example: Instead of fixing the staff burnout problem completely, commit to enforcing 6 p.m. log-off times for two weeks.

Want to work together?

Apply for the Next Level Nonprofit Mastermind, a high-touch coaching and training accelerator for established organizations that are ready to install a powerful nonprofit Operating System to sustain impact at scale.

Budget under $800K? Join Elevateand get proven step-by-step playbooks + coaching support to build each of the core elements of your nonprofit's operating system - strategic clarity, a fundraising engine, a high-performance team, and an active and engaged board!

Connect with me!