Decision-Making Fatigue

1. Based on your personal experience, these readings and our in-class study, do you think decision fatigue is a self-fulfilling prophecy (i.e., an outcome created by an expectation of the outcome) or a physiological condition? Is technology enabling you to achieve your goals or just distracting you from them? Make sure to support your ideas with reasons/evidence (one point from each article, and at least one point from your own experience.

I think that it is a physiological condition because even today, before i read this article I began to take short cuts in school. Then, when I got off my bus (which drops me off halfway across town from my house) I was so tired that I subconsciously decided to take the shorter way home, even though I knew it had the potential for danger, hobos, drugs, that sort of thing, I chose it because this path is faster and my feet hurt so much with a 20 pound back pack that I chose the easy route. Like the article says, we are not consciously aware of being tired, but we're low on energy. My point is that I was thinking straight and when I got home, I unloaded, sat down, and then thought to myself, "that was stupid of you!" This can also relate to my time spent on the computer. I think it's a good idea to play WoW for 5 hours straight and then when I log-off or my computer crashes I look up and say to myself, "Why the bloody hell did you just waste all that time on a virtual life?!?!" Technology really isn't helping me achieve my goals at all, if anything, it's hindering my ability to make good decisions. When I don't want to choose between making doing my homework or doing the laundry, well it's Facebook time! They both need to get done, the problem is I can't do them because all I wanna do is be on the computer! I REALLY would like to learn how to use my computer as a tool and not just a force of entertainment.

2. On a scale from 1-10 (1 being least able and 10 being most able), how able are you to concentrate for long periods of time on tasks you don't really want to do in the first place?

It's quite hard for me to do that. I have to give myself brakes in between. However, for long periods of time I say a 4.
 

3. Are you prepared for the possibility that you may be able to concentrate much more effectively than you previously believed?

I'd say yes, but I'd be lying. The fact that I spend sooooo much time on my laptop doing stupid things that will never amount to any good, means that as much as parts of me don't like it when i do that, other parts are equally enthused about escaping from reality. And I'm not saying this in an "I will never change" way. I want to, but before I do, I'll need to get rid of some old habits. Before I can concentrate more effectively I'll need to learn how to use the inter-webs as tool.

4. How can you use what you've learned to increase your capacity for concentrating over an extended period of time?

This might be a stupid answer, but I seriously think I need to take more naps. If we make more lax decisions when we're tired, then I need to take a rest or a 9 minute break and compose meself.