Decision Fatigue – Jekyll Island, Georgia, USA – May 20, 2022

I found myself completely paralyzed at the donut shop.  There were so many to pick from and I just stood there completely unable to do so.  I found myself in this situation a couple times recently since coming off the boat.  I believe I have caught a case of decision fatigue.  One of the hazards of living a nomadic life is it is literally impossible to put anything on autopilot.  You think about where you are and how to get there every time you get in the car.  There are no automatic commutes to work anymore where you know every turn and curve.  Which switch is for the dining room lights?  And now that we are staying in a house, we cannot seem to find anything because it’s so BIG compared to what we have become used to.  It’s amazing.

All the complications of land life make me crave the simplicity I have become accustomed to.  In the Bahamas, there were few decisions that weren’t made for us.  It was never “where do you want to go?”  It was simply this cay offers the best protection for the next storm and the weather told us when to be there.  The answer was not negotiable. 

As I thought through the dilemma of decision fatigue and the concept of autopilot for everyday life, it makes me grateful at the opportunity I have to make every decision and to chose what each day looks like.  Land life gives us the chance to decide where and how to spend our time.  It’s a gift.  I don’t want to live on autopilot as I have been guilty of in the past and maybe I don’t have decision fatigue.  I am simply not asking the right questions.

Our walks in the morning are the only thing that haven’t changed, and we have been lucky in that in Jekyll right now since it is loggerhead turtle season.  We have come across 6 fresh turtle nests so far walking the beaches.  This is good news as their populations are threatened due to habitat destruction (development) and their numbers are closely watched.  Jekyll is home to one of only a few turtle rescue centers on the east coast as well.  Turtles don’t make their decision, they simply come back to the place they were hatched, if they can.  No questions, no decisions.