How to make smart decisions more easily

翻译人员: Tianyun Liu 校对人员: Lexi Ding

In a 2011 study, researchers followed a group of judges

在 2011 年的一项研究中， 研究人员跟踪调查了一组法官，

deciding whether or not to offer imprisoned individuals a chance at parole.

这些法官有权决定 是否准许被监禁者假释。

Logically, one might expect things like an imprisoned person’s crime,

从逻辑上讲，人们可能会认为 被监禁者的罪行、

existing sentence, and current behavior to be the primary considerations.

现有刑期和当前表现之类的事情 是首要考虑因素。

But while those details were duly examined,

但尽管那些细节被认真考虑了，

one variable had a remarkably large impact:

还有一个变量影响显著，

the time of day.

那便是时间。

Imprisoned people who met with the board in the morning

早上被裁定的被监禁者

were far more likely to receive parole

与下午的相比

than those whose cases were reviewed in the afternoon,

更有可能获得假释，

even if their crimes and sentences were practically identical.

即使他们的罪行和判决几乎相同。

This finding might seem strange, but the researchers’ explanation was simple:

这一发现可能看起来很奇怪， 但研究人员的解释很简单：

in the afternoon, the judges were likely exhausted.

在下午，法官可能感到疲惫，

Specifically, they were experiencing decision fatigue.

具体地说，他们正在经历决策疲劳。

This kind of cognitive exhaustion occurs after a period of extended decision making

这种认知疲劳通常发生在 长时间的决策过程之后，

and it can make people more impulsive and less confident while making choices.

它会使人在做选择时 更加冲动、更不自信。

The dangers of decision fatigue are clear in high-stakes scenarios like this study,

在假释裁决这样的高风险场景中， 决策疲劳的危险显而易见，

but it can have a serious impact on our day-to-day lives as well.

但它也可能严重影响 我们的日常生活。

So what kinds of choices lead us to this state,

那么，什么样的选择 会导致我们进入这种状态，

and what can we do to fight fatigue?

我们能做些什么来对抗疲劳呢？

Everything our bodies do— whether physical or mental— uses energy.

我们身体的一切行为， 无论身体上还是精神上，都消耗能量。

But while it’s unclear exactly what resources

但在心理紧张的情况下，

are depleted during mental strain,

究竟耗尽了哪些资源尚不清楚。

studies have found many individuals seem to have a daily threshold

研究表明许多人似乎在做决定方面

for making decisions.

有每日的阈值。

And once that threshold is met,

一旦达到了阈值，

most people make the conscious choice to “take it easy”

大多数人会有意选择“放轻松”，

and save serious thinking about any new decisions for another day.

任何严肃思考和决策制定 都会留到第二天。

How quickly you reach this threshold depends on several variables,

你达到这个阈值的速度 取决于几个变量，

including the frequency, complexity, and novelty of the decisions you have to make.

包括决策的频率、复杂性和新颖性。

For example, choosing what to eat for breakfast isn't very taxing.

例如，选择早餐吃什么不太伤脑筋。

Not only is this decision limited by what's available,

不仅因为这个决定的可选项有限，

it's also a choice you expect to make once a day with fairly low stakes.

还因为这个选择风险较低， 你每天都要做一次。

And even when you’re not quite sure what to eat,

即使有时候你不太确定要吃什么，

the time between this minor decision and the next one

这个小决定和下一个决定之间的时间

should give you ample room to recover whatever cognitive energy you expend.

也足够你恢复消耗掉的认知能量。

But let’s imagine something much trickier.

但是，让我们想象一些 更加棘手的情况。

For example, your car suddenly breaks down

例如，你的汽车突然发生故障，

and you need to replace it right away.

你需要立刻替换它。

This is an unexpected, complicated decision with serious consequences.

这是一个意料之外的、复杂的决定， 并会带来严重的后果。

In this case, there are countless options to choose from,

在这种情况下， 有无数个选项可供选择，

and you won't find them all in one place.

而且它们也不在同一个地方。

To make the optimal choice,

为了做出最佳选择，

you’ll need to do hours of thoughtful research

你需要进行数小时的深思

to consider the various pros and cons.

考虑各种优缺点。

And since this is a decision you don’t often make,

而且，由于这不是你经常做的决定，

you’ll also have to identify what considerations are most important.

你还必须确定哪些因素最重要。

The time pressure can add additional stress

无论决策中还是决策后，

both during the decision-making process and afterward,

时间压力也会带来额外的负担。

as you expend more energy wondering if you would have made

因为你会花更多的精力思考， 如果你拥有更多的时间，

a different decision with more time.

是否会做出不同的决定

After just a single decision of this magnitude,

做了一个这么重大的决策之后，

most people would have already reached their decision-making threshold.

大多数人就已经达到了决策阈值。

But in professions where individuals need to make multiple high-stakes decisions

但是，在每天都需要做出

every day,

多个高风险决定的行业中，

decision fatigue can be much more dangerous.

决策疲劳可能会更加危险。

Judges, like those in the 2011 study,

法官们，就像 2011 年 那项研究中的一样，

often encounter difficult decisions back-to-back,

经常连续遇到艰难的决定，

with no time to recover.

并且没有时间恢复。

Many researchers are especially concerned about decision fatigue in medicine.

许多研究人员特别 担心医疗中的决策疲劳。

Doctors often work long shifts full of life-or-death decisions,

医生们经常长时间工作， 且工作中的决策都生死攸关，

and some studies have found that medical workers

一些研究发现，医务工作者

are much more likely to make critical mistakes

在长时间轮班工作时

when working extended shifts.

更容易犯严重错误。

Addressing these issues requires institutional changes,

解决这些问题需要制度变革，

but there are much more direct ways most of us can avoid fatigue

但是我们大多数人 可以采用更直接的方法

in our daily lives.

来避免日常生活中的决策疲劳。

One simple strategy is to make fewer daily decisions,

一个简单的策略是减少每天的决策，

tackling your to-do list over multiple days,

分多天处理待办事项，

or even removing some rote decisions from your day altogether.

甚至把一些机械化的决定 从你的一天里完全删除。

It’s also typically less draining to offer advice on a hard decision

给一个艰难的决定提供建议

than it is to make that choice yourself.

通常也比自己做出选择更省力。

So it can be helpful to imagine your decisions as someone else’s

因此，在考虑决策的后果 对你的具体影响之前

before considering how the consequences impact you specifically.

把你的决定想象成别人的 可能会有所帮助。

Finally, it's essential to remember that not every choice is equally important,

最后，必须记住， 并非每个选择都同样重要，

and learning how to relax about the small stuff can help you save energy

学习如何轻松对待小事

for the decisions that truly matter.

能帮你为真正重要的决策节省精力。