A remedy for advice fatigue

The problem with advice? Telling us what we should do.

I was watching some TED talks recently. They were well presented, the ideas made sense, each had ‘takeaways’ to make it practical.

But hearing what we should do to improve our lives is, frankly, exhausting.

It adds to our mental load and our ‘to-do’ list.

I'm part of the problem, of course. I share advice in my talks, consulting and writing.

So at times I, too, may inadvertently exhaust people.

So, what’s the answer?

What should we do? (haha)

I figure the only way to make this better is to make sure the advice we give is grounded in the realities of human behaviour.

• We are not theoretical beings. 
• We don’t have the same levels of energy and drive on a Friday that we may have had on a Monday. Or 4pm compared to 8am, for that matter.
• We get hangry. 
• We feel slighted. 
• We are cognitive misers with a lazy brain.
• We want less to do, not more.
• We want relief.

Which has led me to rethink my value proposition.

And why I’ve changed my homepage.