oh lord..what about trying to be human for atleast some moments of the day instead of behaving like a production robot ?

I bet we have to face hundreds if not thousands of those trivial decisions each day and most arent reoccurring all the time so you cant automate them...

We also choose to avoid making those sorts of decisions when we're focusing on more important things, preferably putting them off for other times. For example, it's common for coders to close their door, not check their e-mail, etc. when they want to be "in the zone".

When I'm getting ready in the morning, I tend to be focused on the important things. In my case, as a stay-at-home dad, the important things tend to be plans for teaching my son and helping him with his disability. I've arranged the rest of my morning to be as automatic as possible so I don't have to think about what clothes to wear or what to have for breakfast.

Incidentally, my son and I were just walking around with buckets on our heads pretending to be robots. Counting robots, not production robots :)

My definition of being rich is being able to spend an inordinate amount of time making these trivial decisions.

I watch my daughters when they go to a local candy store, and they savor making their choices. They literally have hundreds of different items to choose from.

I'll agree. Running on a tight schedule this morning, I wasted a few minutes staring foggy-brained into the closet wondering what would go with what and not unduly duplicate what I wore the day before (and trying to remember what that was). Had to dig thru the dryer to find something suitable. Not a big deal, sure, but it kinda soured the start of the day, derailed whatever I'd rather be thinking of at the moment (was having enough trouble thinking period), and ended up about 15 minutes behind when I wanted to be where.

I've got enough trivial decisions & distractions to deal with. Reducing them is becoming paramount as my schedule, and mind, and life, become ever more crammed with stretches.

I'm seriously thinking of emptying the entire closet and refilling it with matched outfits kept that way. Not going so far as the same thing every day, but there are nice sets which should be in an organized grab-and-go arrangement.

If you have to put important thought on the back burner while you zipper your pants, you have more issues that cognitive context switching.

>> It's not so much "saving 10 seconds" as it is "avoiding cognitive context switching".

Why don't we just say what it really is - "I can't be bothered to spend time picking out what to wear".

And there's really nothing wrong with that either. Fashion is a priority for some, and for others, not at all.

What I don't get is why this choice needs to be characterized as a life hack or optimization.

Only in a hacker forum can you read about people wanting to eliminate the need to dress themselves in order to eliminate inefficient use of time.

Let's be realistic: getting dressed is not cognitively draining. Most of us rarely have to dress out of our comfort zone. Get yourself some "go to" outfits that are business-casual and semi-formal, so when the rare time comes when you have to "dress up" (what is that, four times a year?) you know what you're wearing. Other than that, it's jeans and t-shirts. When they all fit, you don't have to worry about what you happen to pick that day. I've never spent 15 minutes choosing what to wear in my life, and yet I've never been compelled to wear the same outfit on consecutive days.

>It's not so much "saving 10 seconds" as it is "avoiding cognitive context switching".

Humanity FAIL. As if you have some very crucial things to decide on the 15 minutes you spend waking up, dressing, shaving and such...

What "context switch"? You are not an OS, and you are not even fully awake, heck you're not even awake before coffee, much less just after you woke up.

> "As if you have some very crucial things to decide on the 15 minutes you spend waking up, dressing, shaving and such..."

I'm a stay-at-home dad. I very often wake up thinking about how to approach my son's disability, and I'm glad that I don't have to deal with interruptions to my thought process for something as pointless as "which shirt should I wear today". I just pull the top shirt off the pile and keep thinking about my son.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some very important playing-with-blocks to do. Humanity WIN.

>I'm a stay-at-home dad. I very often wake up thinking about how to approach my son's disability, and I'm glad that I don't have to deal with interruptions to my thought process for something as pointless as "which shirt should I wear today".

Sorry, but "stay at home dads" don't get to be interrupted by clothing choices anyway. It's not like the public is gonna see what you are wearing. Why even wear a shirt? Pyjamas would be equally OK. So you're not the kind of person I wrote my comment for (the same way the advice of wearing the same shirt every day would be totally worthless for a fashion model).

That said, all health to you and your son, man.

"stay at home dad" doesn't mean I'm in a cave all day. I go to the grocery store, the park, my yard, the neighbor's house, my son's therapist, and so on. I can't just walk around in boxers and slippers. I do have to dress at least somewhat sanely.

But even if I wasn't a stay-at-home dad, the same argument holds: some people are thinking about important things in the morning. Maybe you're not; maybe you walk around like a zombie until your second cup of coffee. But some people focus in the morning, and for those people, "automate unimportant decisions" is one strategy to let them stay focused on whatever important thing it is they're thinking about.

(I wasn't always a stay-at-home dad.)

>"stay at home dad" doesn't mean I'm in a cave all day. I go to the grocery store, the park, my yard, the neighbor's house, my son's therapist, and so on.

Still, not the typical subject of the original post.

Outliers need not apply.