All day, every day, we are faced with decisions, from what to wear to whether to pursue a new job. Even deliberating in the toothpaste aisle at the drugstore can feel overwhelming. The pandemic added even more choices to our daily routine, as we pondered safety concerns and time allocation when work and school came into our homes. Faced with too many options, we can become anxious or even paralyzed. This is “decision fatigue” -- a state of mental overload that can impede our ability to make additional choices. 
 
When decision fatigue kicks in, you may feel you just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with more decisions. This can lead to depleted self-control, causing you to avoid making certain choices entirely, to go with the default option, or to make choices that don’t align with your values.
 
In a series of experiments, researchers asked people to choose from an array of consumer goods or college course options or to simply think about the same options without making choices. The choice-makers experienced reduced self-control, less physical stamina, greater procrastination and lower performance on tasks; the choice-contemplators didn’t experience these depletions.
 
We can't entirely eliminate decision fatigue, but experts say the following can help cope with an over-abundance of choices:

• Sleep on it:  Decision fatigue builds up during the day. Sleep restores energy.
• Make some choices automatic:  For example, keep a master grocery list, and choose a consistent time to exercise or meditate.
• Enlist an advisor: Ask someone you trust to check your thinking.
• Check Your Expectations:  If you're buying a new TV or phone do you need the top model, or just one that’s workable.
• Pace Yourself:  Try not to make one decision after another. If you’ve had a demanding day filled with lots of decisions, put off making another one, if you can.

 
How do you cope with the feeling of having too many choices? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

Saying “thank you” is the ultimate win/win. Research shows that expressing gratitude increases feelings of personal well being. Our official day of giving thanks isn't the only day we can say "thank you". Perhaps all of us can take a moment to consider how we might make gratitude an ongoing part of our lives.

If you are looking for someone to practice your “thank you” on, start close to home. John Gottman, Executive Director of the Relationship Research Institute of Seattle says: “Masters of relationships have a habit of scanning the world for things they can thank their partner for. People whose relationships go down the tubes scan the world for their partner’s mistakes.”

What happened when you upped the level of thanks you expressed to people around you? To join the conversation, click "comments" above the photo.

Many working parents feel they're “running on empty.” Soldiering through the pandemic, juggling work-at-home and school-at-home, and now often returning to work in person has moms and dads juggling commitments and scrambling to stay on top of obligations.
 
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Daisy Dowling CEO of Workparent coaching, offers these tips to help counter that ground-down feeling: 

• Round-Up: To maintain a sense of forward momentum, make a list of everything you’ve accomplished at your job and for your family since March 2020.
• Close it Out: The human mind craves completion. Draw a label for each phase of the pandemic (e.g. the “I-Can’t-Believe-This” phase and the “Endless-Winter-Zoom-School” phase). Then draw a line through the ones in the past and create a new label for the one you're entering now.
• Identify your Point of Control: Whether it’s doing a daily crossword or a 5-minute exercise routine or grinding the perfect cup of coffee, celebrate something you do that gives you a feeling of engagement and pleasure.
• Future Anchor:  Picture something you would like to have in your life a year from now. What does that look like for you? Keeping it firmly in mind can help you cut through daily stresses.
• Give Your Career Some Attention:  Instead of just treading water at work, put some focus on your overall career trajectory. Set aside a small amount of time each week to, for example, reach out to a former colleague or peruse LinkedIn profiles of people you admire.
• Mentor Another Working Parent: When you generously share your talent, experience, and knowledge with other people, you immediately feel more confident and capable,

 
What has been your greatest pandemic parenting challenge and how are you dealing with it? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

Empathy has always been a critical skill for leaders, but it is taking on a new level of meaning and priority as new research demonstrates its importance for everything from innovation to retention. Writing in Forbes, Tracy Brower PhD, author of The Secrets to Happiness at Work, says that empathy is the most important leadership competency to develop and demonstrate. 

Leaders will be most successful not just when they consider others, but when they inquire directly about employee challenges, and then listen to and paraphrase what they hear. The results?  According to a new study by Catalyst these can include:

• Innovation. When people reported their leaders were empathic, 61% were more likely to say they were able to be innovative, compared to only 13% of employees with less empathic leaders.
• Engagement. 76% of people who experienced empathy from their leaders said they were engaged compared to 32% who experienced less empathy.
• Retention. 57% of white women and 62% of women of color said they were unlikely to think of leaving their companies when they felt their life circumstances were respected and valued by their companies.
• Inclusivity. 50% of people with empathic leaders reported their workplace was inclusive, compared with only 17% of those with less empathic leadership.
• Work-Life. When people felt their leaders were more empathic, 86% reported they are able to navigate the demands of their work and life—compared with 60% of those who perceived less empathy.

Does your performance improve when you experience your leader as empathic? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.