David Rock, author of Your Brain at Work: Strategies for
Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All
Day Long, gave an excellent talk at Google. Rock noted that
Google’s leadership understands human nature. He also pointed
out that Google was organized around that idea that decisions
take a lot of mental effort. Making choices, as expanded upon
below, reduces physical stamina, reduces persistence, and
encourage procrastination! Here is one study that readers might
find interesting. The current research tested the hypothesis
that making many choices impairs subsequent self-control.
Drawing from a limited-resource model of self-regulation and
executive function, the authors hypothesized that decision
making depletes the same resource used for self-control and
active responding. In 4 laboratory studies, some participants
made choices among consumer goods or college course options,
whereas others thought about the same options without making
choices. Making choices led to reduced self-control