Decision fatigue is the idea that repeated decisions can make later decisions feel harder or lead to more passive, shortcut-driven choices. The term shows up in psychology, management, and medicine, and the exact size of the effect can vary by setting. The basic pattern still makes practical sense: a day full of trivial choices can leave less mental energy for the ones that actually matter.
The useful part is not obsessing over whether every study agrees. It is designing your day so your brain wastes less effort on junk. Pre-decide recurring choices, use default options where you can, batch similar tasks, and reduce the number of things you have to choose between when you are already tired.
If you feel stuck, do not ask for a perfect answer from an exhausted brain. Shrink the decision until the next action is obvious, then move.
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