RECIPE BY TESS MASTERS, AUTHOR OF THE PERFECT BLEND: 100 BLENDER RECIPES TO ENERGIZE AND REVITALIZE. PHOTOGRAPHY iSTOCK. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KARISSA WOOLFE.MAKE CHOICES
keep it simple
Chicken or ish? Pants or skirt? Go to the party or stay home?
“Each choice requires that you take in and process lots of information,
which can be extremely fatiguing,” says psychologist Professor Barry
Schwartz. Ease brain overload with these simplifying strategies.✱ Aim for “good enough”
“Instead of looking for the best restaurant,
decide on a few key criteria, such as one
that serves fish and is within an easy drive,”
says Schwartz, whose research shows that
people willing to settle for “good enough”
are happier.✱ Limit your options
If you’re shopping for new clothes, check
two or three places where you’ve had
success in the past. Then call it a day
and move on to your next task.✱ Act on others’ advice
Get suggestions from a research-obsessed
friend when, for example, you’re switchingphone plans. Similarly, if you’re looking
for a new doctor or dry cleaner or
dishwasher, call that friend who you
know does extensive research before
making a decision (we all have one)
and choose the option they did.✱ Create a low-choice lifestyle
Plan your meals for each week in advance,
buy outfits instead of separates to prevent
daily fashion dilemmas, and make as many
everyday activities as habitual as you can:
plan to go to the gym every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday; have automatic
payments set up to pay bills; meet friends
for dinner or a movie on Saturday; clean
the house on Sunday.Multi-tasking isn’t
always the fastest
way forward. Talking
on the phone while
following a recipe
or responding to
a work email, or
scrolling through
your Facebook feed
while your partner
tells you about his
day, may make you
feel like you’re being
really productive,
but that’s not true.
Juggling multiple
activities is hard on
your brain. It sucks
up more energy
and can make you
less productive
overall. Instead,
focus on one
activity at a time.
If you have a few
things that need to
be done quickly,
allot 10 to 20
minutes for each
one. “You’ll
accomplish more,
and also conserve
your energy,” says
Professor John
Trougakos, an
authority on
organisational
behaviour.Don’t
multi-task:
do one thing
at a timeMENTAL ENERGY