I’ve made some of my worst business decisions at 9 PM on a Thursday after a day packed with meetings, fires to put out, and noise from my personal life. I think we’ve all been there, regardless of our position.
The problem isn’t necessarily that we’re making decisions when we’re tired. That’s unavoidable when you’re in a leadership role in a business. The problem is that we don’t adjust our decision-making framework to account for our depleted state.
If we attack a complex problem at 4:49 PM on a Friday with the same approach we’d use at 8 AM on a Monday, we’re in for inconsistent results at best.
We can’t possibly expect quality decision-making when we’re running on fumes. In the interest of saving you a few of the same headaches I’ve experienced in my career, here are a few strategies I’ve picked up:
5 Strategies for Optimal Decision-Making When You’re Exhausted
Strategy #1 – Recognize Your Red Zone
Your first line of defense is admitting when you're in no shape to make important calls. I use a simple check: if I find myself getting irritated by minor inconveniences, rereading the same paragraph three times, or reaching for another coffee when I've already had four, I'm past my threshold.
Your signals might be different, but the key is developing self-awareness about your personal warning signs before you commit to something you'll regret.
When I catch myself in this state, I have a rule: no decisions that can't be reversed in 24 hours. There’s almost nothing that can’t wait until you regain clarity.
Strategy #2 – Build Decision Triage into Your Day
These days, I front-load my critical thinking work. Between 6 and 10 AM, I handle tasks that require genuine strategic thought, including hiring decisions, major financial commitments, partnership agreements, and problems without clear precedent.
After lunch and especially after 4 PM, I shift to execution mode: clearing my inbox, handling routine approvals, and managing familiar operational issues. It’s still hard work, but I’m not asking my brain to break new ground.
This isn’t working less, but smarter by matching task difficulty to cognitive capacity.
Strategy #3 – Use Fatigue-Proof Frameworks
When you're exhausted, your brain wants to take shortcuts. It craves the path of least resistance, which usually means either sticking with the status quo or making the decision that feels emotionally satisfying in the moment.
I counter this by having frameworks I can lean on when I'm too tired to think clearly. For financial decisions, I have clear thresholds that require a fresh morning review. For personnel issues, I have a 48-hour cooling-off period before any termination or serious disciplinary action. For new opportunities, I have a standard set of questions I ask before committing.
These frameworks don't think for me, but they create guardrails that prevent fatigue-induced mistakes.
Strategy #4 – Learn When to Sleep on It
There's real wisdom in the old advice to “sleep on it”. Your brain does significant processing work while you sleep, and you're giving yourself the chance to approach the problem with restored resources.
But this only works if you're actually going to sleep properly. If you're going to lie awake running through scenarios at 2 AM, you're probably better off addressing it now and getting it off your mind.
I've found that physical exhaustion actually helps in this case. A hard training session in the evening clears my head and helps me sleep soundly rather than lying awake agonizing over business problems.
Strategy #5 – Protect Your Recovery Time
The real solution to decision-making while exhausted isn't better techniques—it's being less exhausted in the first place. That means protecting your recovery time with the same intensity you protect your meeting schedule.
The same goes for sleep. I know plenty of CEOs who brag about functioning on five hours of sleep. I'm not impressed. I've seen the decisions that come out of chronic sleep deprivation, and they're expensive.
Making Peace with Imperfect Timing
You can't eliminate decision-making when you're tired—that's part of leadership. But you can be honest about your state, adjust your approach accordingly, and set up systems that protect you from your depleted self.
Your business deserves your best thinking. Sometimes that means having the discipline to wait until you can actually provide it.
What time of day do you reserve for your most important decisions? Let me know in the comments.