Last modified 23/11/16

Wearing the same T-shirt everyday will not cure your decision fatigue.

by Elizabeth Van Den Bergh

You probably didn’t miss this one. When asked why he was wearing the same T-shirt everyday Mark Zuckerberg replied “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve the community”.

The theory behind this is that even daily choices that seem trivial, like what to wear or what to eat for breakfast, can be exhausting—an idea in psychology known as “decision fatigue.”

Making decisions about unimportant things, even if you have the time to do so, isn’t a benign task. It’s pulling precious energy and willpower from the things that matter.

Don’t we all want a simpler life?

A few years ago I found the book ‘L’art de la simplicité’ by Dominique Loreau on minimalism in all aspects of life (material, physical, psychological and spiritual) on the train. A great source of inspiration.

So I cleaned out my wardrobe, my shoe collection, my old magazines and got rid of stuff I hadn’t used nor needed in the last 2 years.  It was liberating, made me feel lighter and it freed my head.

Today, I am seriously considering limiting my wardrobe to a few outfits per season to limit my decision fatigue. But the pleasure I have of going ‘shopping’ in my own closet is something I could not live without.

Not that I have a crazy amount of clothes, I have a very reasonable amount of clothes.

Yes, but not that simple

Like many people (or women) I like to dress following my mood of the day. Also, clothes serve to express our personality.

When a woman says ‘I have nothing to wear’, she actually means ‘ I have nothing in my closet that suits my mood.’

I stick to Albert Einstein’s advice ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler’.

So, thanks, but no thanks to the ‘same outfit everyday idea’.

Back to work

In communication the same rule applies. One message doesn’t fit all audiences, nor fits all channels.  Variety is welcome, and even necessary.