Comments on: Decision Fatigue

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:51:15 +0000

Analysis paralysis, I love it!

For Father’s Day we took my hero to this ice cream place we had been looking forward to trying. All I had ever heard about it was that they made their own ice cream. I almost regretted going there when I discovered that, not only did we have to choose between all these wonderful flavors I’d never heard of, it was also one of those places that custom mixes the chunks in for you.

Thankfully I was able to make a choice and we really enjoyed it. Unfortunately it will probably be so long before we go again that it’ll be like starting all over again!

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:09:33 +0000

Oh, I’m so with you on that. My husband and I call it analysis paralysis. I believe he heard the phrase first in a business class, but it definitely applies to home matters as well. It does seem to pop up around dinner time. At home we normally just do our own thing because we have such different tastes, but when eating out it’s absolute awful.

It’s also probably one of the major reasons why I over-pack when traveling. Shopping is pretty tough sometimes, too, but my solution has been to take the stuff I think I want home and then decide what to keep or return. Fortunately, I live pretty close to a good number of stores so returning stuff doesn’t usually mean going far out of my way.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:59:45 +0000

You’re right, Oxanna, he doesn’t buy toilet paper often. But it’s the finding the brand that’s best that I think gets tricky. And then remembering it!

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:03:30 +0000

Indeed!

I was astounded at the number of variants of microwave popping corn at the grocery store the other day. And could I figure out which one to buy?

By: Oxanna

Oxanna — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:41:16 +0000

I don’t feel this way about fashion (my closet isn’t *that* big…) but I do in other things. Recently I’ve been doing the Nike thing: “Just do it!” without worrying too much over whether I should buy 45″ bleached or unbleached cotton muslin.

Mentally, I think we often shut down other options once we pick one, which is how we get into “ruts”. For example, I don’t think you would have had much of a problem picking a toilet paper. You’d probably buy the brand that you know is “best”. Whereas your husband doesn’t often buy toilet paper (I’m assuming here…sorry if I’m wrong!), so all the choices hit him at once.

By: lady laura

lady laura — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:03:20 +0000

I know exactly what you mean. I have longed for the days when women had 3 dresses, one of which was “nice”. How easy it was to decide what to wear!

Decisions about what kind of peanut butter to buy can give me a headache.:)