Willpower · Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney

Decision fatigue examples

Curated by · reviewed 2026-06-01

Decision fatigue is how each choice drains a shared, limited pool of mental energy — so later in the day your decisions get lazier, more impulsive, or avoided entirely. Examples:

What is decision fatigue? Read the full idea →

5 examples of decision fatigue

  1. Checkout candy

    Sweets sit by the till because, after a hundred shopping micro-decisions, willpower is spent.

  2. Judges before lunch

    Parole rulings get harsher as the morning wears on, then rebound after a break — the classic study.

  3. The uniform trick

    Steve Jobs' black turtleneck and Obama's grey suits spared everyday decisions for the ones that mattered.

  4. The 9pm 'just order takeout'

    A whole day of choices leaves nothing in the tank for cooking.

  5. Big calls when tired

    Late-night, end-of-week decisions skew impulsive — which is why it's wise to sleep on them.

How to spot it in yourself

You'll forget most of this by next week.

That's just how memory works. Lock decision fatigue in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.

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