By Katy Ripp
If making decisions at work feels more exhausting than it used to, you’re not imagining it.
It’s not that the decisions are necessarily more pressing. It’s that everything around them is louder. There are more opinions, more advice and more pressure to get that decision just right.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped trusting our first instinct and started outsourcing clarity. We ask one more person. We wait one more week. We gather more information. Not because we’re incapable, but because we’ve been taught that certainty equals safety.
At work especially, decisions can feel heavy. You’re not just choosing a direction — you’re managing expectations. You’re thinking about how a decision will be perceived and calculating risk. You’re trying to be smart, responsible and likable all at the same time.
That’s a lot to carry on top of everything else we’re already managing.
The Real Problem Isn’t Information
We’ve been told that good decisions are the result of considering the data, analyzing it and gaining consensus from colleagues. And while those methods can help, they’re not the whole story.
Most decision fatigue doesn’t come from a lack of information. It results from a deficit of clarity.
When everything feels important, it’s hard to tell what actually matters. Even small decisions start to feel high stakes, and your mental energy gets drained fast.
That’s when hesitation creeps in, not because you don’t know what to do, but because you don’t have a clear filter to decide.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Once you recognize this pattern of hesitation, it shows up everywhere.
You’re asked to take on a new project. It’s not technically part of your role, but you could probably handle it.
You think about how it might look to say no or if it’s a “good visibility” opportunity — or you might replay the last time you stretched yourself too thin.
So you say yes out of habit, not intention.
Weeks later, your workload is heavier, your patience is thinner and you’re frustrated. Not because you agreed, but because the decision never felt intentional. The energy it took to ignore your hesitation ended up costing you more than a clear “yes” or “no” would have.
This isn’t about a lack of boundaries or being too ambitious. It’s about how often indecision quietly turns into overcommitment.
Why This Isn’t a Personal Failure
Feeling stuck does not mean you’re bad at making decisions. It usually means you’re trying to decide without a filter.
Decision-making becomes easier when you stop chasing the “right” answer and start focusing on what truly matters to you. That’s where values come in, which we’ll talk about next month.
For now, the first step is to recognize what’s really happening.
A Quick Action to Try This Week
Think about one decision you’ve been avoiding.
You don’t need to take a course of action. Just ask yourself: What decision am I already making by not deciding?
Write it down. Seeing it on paper usually puts that dilemma in perspective.
Clarity doesn’t come from waiting longer. It comes from understanding what’s underneath your hesitation.
Next month, we’ll talk about how values can become the shortcut that makes decision making simpler.
Katy Ripp is a certified coach, business strategist, and podcast host of “#ActuallyICan.”
