Decision Fatigue for Moms: Give Your Brain a Break

Decision fatigue is the new buzz word among overworked, exhausted moms. And while it might be a new concept, I can tell you with 100% certainty it is an accurate description of what I feel every single day. Between homeschooling, managing the house, and the constant mental load of running a family, my brain rarely ever gets a break. And it needs one. So, I started on a journey to find one…

This idea first started percolating when I contemplated why I always felt amazing after a session of taekwondo even if I went into it feeling the absolute worst. Kids needing me, dinner waiting to be cooked, housework staring me in the face done, none of this even remotely fazed me after ninety minutes of martial arts training. I would always come out of it feeling ready and able to take on the world.

How Taekwondo Helped My Decision Fatigue

As I contemplated this, I came to realize it’s because this type of training requires little to no brain power on my end. My instructor tells me when to kick, to punch, and where to stand. I just do what I’m told. I began to understand this gave my brain a much needed break from responsibility and making decisions.

When I’m not training though, I find myself turning to a book or playing games on my phone to escape the myriad of responsibilities waiting for me. I just needed to give my brain a break from the constant lists, planning, and organizing the entire lives of four other people not to mention my own. But I always felt guilty after. Like I’d wasted so much time, and I knew there had to be a better way. 

The Search for Better Brain Breaks

So I started asking God. I felt convicted to find a different outlet to give my brain a break and avoid decision fatigue. Taekwondo worked on that one, maybe two evenings, every week. But what about the rest of the time? Surely there was something better than mindlessly scrolling social media, escaping into a book, or fiddling with the endless apps on my phone.

These things I’ve been turning to are meaningless, and I know every time I get sucked into one of them, I’m wasting time. Yet, it’s been a struggle to find a different avenue to offer my brain the same relief throughout the day. I briefly considered non-fiction books, but learning is my default and picking up something like that would have me taking notes, re-reading passages, highlighting key ideas, and more. Same thing for reading the Bible or a devotional (which actually was my first thought). These would definitely not be a reprieve for my overworked brain.

Then, I started a discipleship group with a couple other ladies and God showed me a better way to combat decision fatigue. However, like with most things that require change, I’ve been procrastinating. I’ve been putting it off and truthfully had even forgotten about it for awhile until I started going through my notes app looking for a topic to write about for a school assignment.

God’s Solution for Decision Fatigue

Drum roll please… because here’s the big idea – PRAY. No thinking required. No brain power needed. Just pouring out my heart to God, and if the situation allows for it, a posture to listen.  

Seems simple right, yet how do we neglect this? How often do we put off conversation with God? Our Father. Our Creator. The one who loves us more than we’ll ever comprehend. I’d say we do it a lot. We get caught up in all the things of daily life. Especially all the homeschool mamas out there who are in the thick of it day in and day out. Extending ourselves more than we probably ought to.

So, here’s my challenge to myself and to you also. This next week whenever you get the urge to check out, be it with a book, a game, social media, whatever your vice is, pray instead. And have a notebook handy. Or maybe just the notes app on your phone. Jot down what you’re sharing with God. Give it all over to him. The bickering kids. The unfinished school assignments. The messy house. The sink full of dishes. Pour it all out to Him and let’s see what happens.

I’m thinking we’ll see big changes. In our hearts, in our responses to the demands of life, in our relationships. Time to challenge ourselves to be more like Jesus. Because while I’ve only got four humans to be responsible for, He had a dozen. Not to mention the hundreds and thousands who followed Him from place to place wanting to hear Him teach, to see Him heal, to experience His miracles. 

The Challenge

We see Him constantly spending time with God, and while our time with God might not look just like His because moms are the busiest of all the people in the world (which is a post for another day), we can still take a time here and there and everywhere to turn off the decision making part of our brain and share our lives with the One who loves us endlessly.