Why Monday is easier to make decisions

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Although many people hate Monday, it's easier for our brains to make decisions on this day than on the rest. Find out why this happens and how you can prolong this condition.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed the statistics of Google searches for several words (among them "diet", "gym"), and it turned out that on Mondays, many people have increased interest in achieving their goals. A similar situation is observed on other important calendar dates: New Year, the beginning of the new school year, birthday. In addition, on Mondays the number of requests for "how to quit smoking" increases.

The researchers suggest that this is because such dates separate one era of our life from another. It becomes easier for us to think about the future and let go of our past mistakes. On Mondays, we stop worrying about whether we are climbing fast enough up the career ladder and wonder if this is the right ladder.

For personal and professional success, it is very important to forget about the little things for a while and try to see the whole picture.

But we succeed very rarely. It's not that we choose not to go to the gym, donate money to charity, or call our parents. We just operate on autopilot and don't even realize that we could have done something differently.

Our tendency to let things go by themselves reflects the structure of our brains. Of the ten million units of information that the brain processes in a second, only about 50 units are involved in conscious thinking - this is 0, 0005%. We are not made for constant vigilance.

Our brain simply cannot sort out various options for action every minute and carefully think over every decision we make. Instead, the subconscious is responsible for most decisions about our behavior.

To switch to a mode of informed decision-making, the brain constantly compares the surrounding reality with our expectations.

It is only when we see a threat or something new that the brain is fully involved in the decision-making process.

For some reason, Mondays, as well as the first days of the month and the New Year, knock us out of a rut and make us wonder if we are moving in the right direction. They encourage us to think about solutions that we most likely would not even notice otherwise.

This effect can be enhanced by deliberately taking breaks from your daily routine. This will help not only consciously think about any decisions, but also act in accordance with them.