How to reduce decision fatigue as a digital nomad
Are you not dreaming about becoming a digital nomad? If that's the case, then you are lucky as you can simplify your life and reduce decision fatigue by staying in one place, if you can wear the same t-shirt every day it's even better. Not having to worry where you'll go next will save you mental capacity to focus on something else that matters to you.
On the other hand if you have a bucket list full of places you want to go to and wouldn't want to live out your life and miss out on visiting these places you are a bit screwed, however there are other ways how to reduce decision fatigue and make it work.
This problem is something you have to face when you travel more around places with limited visa duration of stay.
Pandemic lockdown - how easy life is if you have no options
Oh how simple it was, stay home, be careful when going outside. Avoid social gatherings. If you are introverted you must have loved it a bit. It also helped me realize that I am not willing to travel if there are more obstacles added to the equation.
So over time I ended up thinking more and more about how difficult life is if you have too many options, but I think I developed a relatively good system on how to make it bearable, and don't get me wrong I probably prefer freedom over quarantine.
Tips on how to reduce decision fatigue
Over time develop a system that reduces how many decisions you are making so you can run on autopilot. You could have a summer and winter routine that's mostly consistent, but there is no point in keeping this too .
1. Find balance between explore and exploit
At some point you will have some favorite places that you know well and can come back to "exploit" them, yet there will always be more and more places to explore (diving into the unknown).
I have reached a point where I am maintaining a list of top places for living that I can navigate between or decide to settle in one of them at some point.
2. Eliminate as many places as you can from your travel list
If you don't like chopsticks just don't ever go to Asia, make life easy for yourself. Hate Spanish language? great, you just saved yourself having to ever go to Mexico, South America and Spain.
You don't need to travel the whole world, go where you want based on your likes and needs (e.g. fast internet, good air quality, low chance of being kidnapped).
If you are like me and love spicy Mexican food, had a dream of becoming a luchador at some point in your life, really liked Guacamelee! videogame then maybe you will have to go to Mexico.
Protip: if are you tempted to go to Los Angeles just play GTA V, it's nearly identical.
3. Rent for at least a month
If you are renting primarily on Airbnb you can save both money and time having to make another decision by renting for a longer period. After staying a month in a place you don't like that much you will be more careful with your future choices.
4. Resist any FOMO
If you read this far you are probably unable to get rid of wanderlust from your life and there is probably no need. Just keep in mind that travel in general is overrated. There is an opportunity cost whenever you go somewhere and it contributes to climate change.
Why not just watch a documentary about the place you are interested in, or find foreigners in your home country? Sure it won't be as exciting but you might actually learn more about the world than most travelers do by getting on a plane.
