Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? – NYTimes.com.

This is sort of off-topic, but I thought worth sharing.

A while ago, someone forwarded this article to me and I just re-read it. Interesting stuff – and some food for thought for how we work and deal with things during the day.

On the work front — the research suggests scheduling meetings in the morning versus late afternoon and not to be low on blood sugar may be the best plan for a good productive meeting.  I guess bringing those cookies to meetings could have a multi-pronged effect.  People love cookies and will be more apt to come to your meeting in the first place if there is food, and the glucose hit may help folks make better decisions.

On a  more personal note, I now know that the “low blood sugar excuse” that I give my kids and husband when I’m cranky has some science behind it.  At the end of a long day, I know to make sure I’m fueled up before the barrage of small decisions thrown at me by the kids when they get home.

No matter how big or small the decisions are during the day, if they all deplete one’s will power, I’ll be thinking a bit more about the advice at the end of this article:  “… people with the best self-control are the ones who structure their lives so as to conserve willpower. They don’t schedule endless back-to-back meetings. They avoid temptations like all-you-can-eat buffets, and they establish habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of deciding every morning whether or not to force themselves to exercise, they set up regular appointments to work out with a friend. Instead of counting on willpower to remain robust all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for emergencies and important decisions. “