Studies have been conducted on when its best to make important decisions. In general, it’s best not to make critical decisions late in the day. Typically, morning is best. Our mental resources are put to the test during the day, and as the day wears on, we are getting fatigued. Sustained engagement commonly leads to cognitive fatigue over the course of the day. It seems reasonable and yet we still can find ourselves making critical decisions late in the day.
Scientists Shai Daziger and Liora Avnaim-Pesso studied 1,112 bench rulings in parole court and plotted the results throughout the course of the day. They found judges more likely to deny a request and accept status quo vs a new ruling. Favorable rulings started high in the early part of a day by fell off precipitously later in the day.
Cognitive fatigue has also been documented with clinical decisions. Prescriptions increased as the day wore on for physicians. A study done on Danish student standardized test scores the students performed worse later in the day. More breaks in the afternoon helped improve performance.
As we tackle our “to do list” we should attend to those items that need focused decision making to be earlier in the day. And make sure to take breaks through out your day to keep your performance up.
Here’s to making great decisions!
Mike