Hang on. Choosing Less Is Better?
There is a brilliant milkshake shop near me.
Holy hell, it is good.
Every month they change up their menu and it honestly causes me analysis paralysis.
I want every single milkshake they have.
All of them.
Part of the problem is that I want to fit my older clothes, so deciding what I want to drink with becomes tricky. And Grind Coffee Lounge makes this decision so hard.
I want to lose weight, and having milkshakes is counterproductive to this.
How do I decide? How should I decide? Do I get a small one? Two of them? Now? Later?
While my milkshake dilemma is minor in the messy complexity of choices, it taught me something.
If you don’t have to choose, don’t.
We face a constant barrage of choices, from the milkshake choice to the career path. From TV shows to date nights. What to wear to what to buy.
As a species, we are all crippled for choice.
The vastness of choice chips away at our mental reserves. Then, when those reserves are required, often they are depleted.
This is where Falkland’s Law comes into play. The Falkland’s Law serves as a guide to ensure you’ve always got the brain space for the most important decisions.
“When there is no need to make a decision, don’t make a decision.”
Falkland’s Law advocates for reserving our decision-making energy for matters that properly require our attention. More importantly, our decision-making energy is finite, so don’t waste it on trivial things.
This principle rests on the acknowledgment that not all choices carry equal weight. Some have minimal impact on the grand scheme of things, while others demand careful consideration.
Falkland’s Law is a powerful counter to Decision Fatigue. This is the phenomenon where our ability to make good choices weakens after a long string of decisions. The scale of the decisions does not matter. It’s like your brain’s decision-making muscle gets tired and struggles to perform at its best.
Researchers have studied the concept of decision fatigue, which occurs when repeated decision-making diminishes cognitive resources.
One such study that was conducted was in the judicial domain. Danziger investigated this in their study, “Extraneous Decision Making and Judicial Leniency.”
Their research examined parole decisions made by judges throughout the workday. The findings revealed a significant correlation between the timing of the decision and the outcome. Judges were demonstrably more likely to grant parole earlier in the day, suggesting a decline in leniency as the workday progressed.
This pattern lends credence to the hypothesis that judges experience decision fatigue. It affects their ability to make complex legal judgments potentially compromised by the cumulative burden of prior decisions.
Kathleen Vohs, Roy Baumister and Dianne Tice conducted another study related to decision fatigue in 2008. They conducted a series of experiments where some students got to choose things like clothes or classes, while others just thought about those choices without actually picking anything.
Then, all the students had to do a task that required self-control. The students who had made a bunch of choices beforehand found it harder to decide.
Further experiments showed that just thinking about choices didn’t use up as much self-control as actually making them. It suggests the actual use of the executive function is different from the imagination of the use.
So why Falkland’s Law?
Reduced decision fatigue
It takes effort to choose. The constant barrage of choices depletes our mental and emotional resources.
By consciously choosing not to decide on inconsequential matters, we conserve energy for more important decisions. This mental space allows us to approach significant choices with greater clarity and focus.
Enhanced focus and clarity
When we refrain from making unnecessary decisions, we free ourselves from the mental clutter and distractions associated with constant choice-making.
For example, breakfast has far less weight than a career choice. This clarity allows us to dedicate our mental resources to understanding situations in greater depth. From this analysis, we are often led to more informed and intentional decisions.
Reduced stress and anxiety
The constant pressure to choose can be overwhelming. Often, this leads to stress and anxiety. Humans have a unique, and perhaps crippling, inner matrix when it comes to decisions. We imagine the future, the what ifs, and balance so much in an instant.
By applying Falkland’s Law, we remove the burden of trivial decision-making. It allows us to approach life’s challenges with a sense of calm, composure, and control.
While Falkland’s Law offers interesting advantages, it’s crucial to use it with careful deliberation. Here are some considerations.
Distinguishing trivial from important
Applying this principle requires self-awareness and an understanding of personal priorities.
You need to choose what is important to you. One needs to decide what is trivial and what is crucial.
Recognizing the impact of each decision is essential to distinguish between the trivial and the important.
Avoiding procrastination
While delaying a decision can be beneficial sometimes, an avoidance of all choices will lead to missed opportunities and unintended consequences. This procrastination can be a default without one realising it.
It’s essential to balance conscious inaction and deliberate decision-making.
So, how can we integrate the principles of Falkland’s Law into our daily lives?
Have a decision threshold
Define personal criteria for what makes up an important decision. This framework can guide you towards consciously reserving your decision-making energy for matters that need it.
Automate it
If you can automate it, do it. This can be anything from setting up automatic bill payments to choosing pre-made meals at the grocery store.
By automating these choices, you free up mental space for more important matters.
By consciously opting out of unnecessary decisions, we can conserve our mental energy.
We enhance our focus and cultivate a sense of calm in the face of countless options.
Remember, Falkland’s Law is about the trival. When it comes to milkshake options, it pays to consider it! Falkland’s Law allows us to bring more mental bandwidth to the table so you can make the better choice.
While not a rigid rule, this law serves as a reminder to approach decisions with intention.
It paves the way for a more intentional life while doing so much less.
I’m still going to choose EVERY single milkshake.
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