Decision Fatigue and Creativity

Creativity doesn't always need more ideas. Sometimes it needs fewer decisions.

Last Monday I returned to work after a few months away. Calling it productive would be generous.

By Tuesday morning I’d written a Substack and a newsletter. After that, the week dissolved into seventeen open tabs, endless possibilities and very little actual progress.

Ideas have never been my problem.

Like most creative people, I have no shortage of them. The problem comes when every new idea arrives with a little burst of excitement and suddenly everything seems equally important. One course, one design, one article, one new direction. Before long, the sheer number of options becomes overwhelming.

And when everything matters, nothing gets done.

By the end of the week my brain was fried. Even my nervous system was beginning to twitch around the edges. Experience has taught me to pay attention when that happens.

Years ago, when I worked in corporate, I had a boss called Derek. He was a patient man. One day he sat and listened while I enthusiastically outlined a long list of projects and opportunities, complete with their exciting potential.When I finally came up for air, he said something that has stayed with me ever since.

“Pick one you’ll enjoy working on.”

Not the one that will make the most money.

Not the one you can finish quickest.

Not even the one with the greatest potential.

Just the one you’ll enjoy.

As it happened, the project I chose on that occasion turned out to be both profitable and successful, but that wasn’t really the point.

The point was that I had enough energy to stay with it.

Decision fatigue is a real thing. Too many options can leave us unable to choose anything at all. I’ve seen it in children and adults alike. Offer more than two or three choices and indecision quickly creeps in.

And, of course, not making a decision is a decision.

I ended last week with a very long list of ideas and very little clarity.

This week I think I’ll follow Derek’s advice.

I’ll choose the one that feels enjoyable enough to hold my attention and energising enough to carry me through. Then I’ll put the list away.

Not because the other ideas aren’t good.

But because creativity needs attention more than it needs options.

Sometimes the next step isn’t finding another idea.

It’s choosing one, closing the tabs, and getting on with it.