For many of us, deciding to undertake a renovation project can understandably be a very exciting undertaking. Not only do you have likely visions of how the finished product will look dancing inside your head, but it also gives you an opportunity to channel your creativity and engage in one of your favorite hobbies.
However, planning a renovation isn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbows. Between running out of paint halfway through a wall (and not being sure if you’ll be able to find an exact color match again!) and those last-minute jaunts back to the hardware store (for the umpteenth time!), it can start to take its toll on your psyche.
Then you’ve got another issue altogether that you might not have even considered: decision fatigue. While this can seem like a made-up term to describe how you feel when you get overwhelmed, it’s very real – and it can completely put a stop to your creativity before you even begin.
Fortunately, decision fatigue doesn’t have to interrupt your flow and prevent you from completing your renovation project. If you’ve been struck by crushing indecision and you’re looking for ways to break it, then here are five tips you can try today to help you overcome it and get back to the renovation task at hand.
Ignore Social Media
In today’s socially connected world, it’s far too easy to get caught up in the comparison trap. For instance, your neighbors down the block are documenting their entire renovation project on the ‘gram and it looks amazing (almost too amazing, even). Or maybe you’ve been following your favorite design store online and all the fun stuff they keep pumping out has you pumped.
Nope. Nuh-uh. Now is the time to put down your phone, step away from your computer, and shut all of that noise out. Remember, this is your renovation project and not anybody else’s. While it’s totally reasonable to look for design inspiration from sources like social media, you’re doing this project for yourself (and maybe even your family, of course) and nobody else.
Jot It All Down
One thing that can make it harder to stay on task when renovating or redesigning your home is chaos and disorder. Does that sound like you? Perhaps you have a thousand different ideas and they all sound super cool, so you want to try them all out. However, there are far too many things to keep up with, which means you haven’t even gotten started.
If so, then now’s the time to grab a good old-fashioned pad of paper and an ink pen and sidle up to your dining room table. Now: start writing. Just pour those thoughts out onto the paper and don’t stop until you feel satisfied with everything you’ve written down. Once it’s no longer floating aimlessly around inside your head, and you can actually quantify it, you can narrow down those choices.
Triage the Tasks
Since you already have all of your ideas and notes written down on paper, why not go ahead and take things one step further? Grab your handy highlighter markers and start ranking your projects by order of importance. What items on your list are more pressing and urgent, and what can be set aside for another day?
Yes, adding floating shelves to your bathroom sounds like an amazingly fun task. Sure, adding wallpaper to your bedroom would really liven it up. But since you’re already changing out your carpet for hardwood floors and replacing all the appliances in your kitchen, do you think those other things can possibly wait? You might be surprised to learn that they, in fact, can.
Ask for Help
If you’ve done literally everything you possibly could to break the decision fatigue but it refuses to budge, now might be the time to enlist the help of others. If your significant other is involved in the project with you, why not turn to them for advice? Or maybe call up a friend and see what they have to say about your possible choices?
You might also need professional intervention, too – and no, we don’t mean Nate Berkus. If you tend to get decision fatigue frequently, it may hint at an underlying issue at play. For instance, it can be a fairly common symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but a combination of therapy and OCD medications may help get you back on track in all avenues of your life.
Trust the Process
Finally, you’ve just got to trust the entire process, from the beginning to the very end. It’s normal to get overwhelmed when working on a project of this scope, and if you’re determined to make the finished result look perfect, who can blame you? That said, there’s nothing wrong with embracing the random imperfections that can (and will) pop up.
For starters, they’ll only add to the charm of your home. And secondly, other than you, who honestly cares if you went with periwinkle blue instead of cornflower? At the end of the day, this is your design project, and it’s going to have your personal touches all over it. As long as you love the home you live in, then it’s going to be a resounding success no matter what!
