The Solo Founder Decision Tax: How to Eliminate 90% of Your Daily Choices
TL;DR: Solo founders don't burn out from work. They burn out from choosing. I tracked my decisions for a week and found 247 choices before noon on Monday. Here's the system that cut my decisions by 90%.
I tracked every decision I made for a week.
247 choices before noon on Monday.
Which feature to build. Which email to answer. Which fire to fight first. What to eat. When to sleep. Whether that tweet was worth posting.
By Thursday, I understood why solo founders burn out. It's not the work. It's the choosing.
Every decision costs something. Energy. Focus. Willpower. And most founders spend their entire budget on things that don't matter.
Here's the system that cut my decisions by 90%.
The Hidden Cost of Every Decision
Researchers estimate the average adult makes 35,000 decisions per day.
Most are unconscious. Automatic. You don't decide to breathe.
But conscious decisions—the ones you actually think about—cost something.
Psychologists call it decision fatigue. Your brain has a daily budget for choices. When the budget runs out, you get:
- Impulsive decisions
- Decision avoidance
- Poor judgment
- Irritability
- Burnout
For solo founders, this budget is already under attack. You're deciding everything:
- Product direction
- Marketing strategy
- Customer support
- Feature prioritization
- Pricing
- Hiring (eventually)
- When to eat, sleep, exercise
No cofounders to share the load. No managers to filter decisions. Everything reaches you.
By 2pm, your decision budget is gone. The rest of the day is spent running on empty.
The Decision Elimination System
Here's the framework I developed after tracking my own decisions:
Level 1: Automate
Decisions that can be made by a system, should be.
Examples:
- What time to wake up: Same time every day. No decision.
- What to work on first: Pre-decided the night before. No morning debate.
- Which emails to answer: Filters and labels. Low-priority emails never reach you.
- What to eat: Meal prep or meal plan. Same breakfast every day.
Rule: If you make the same decision more than 3 times, it should be automated.
Level 2: Default
For decisions that can't be automated, create defaults.
A default is a pre-made choice you follow unless there's a strong reason not to.
Examples:
- Default response to meeting requests: "No, unless it's with a customer."
- Default feature prioritization: "Bug fixes first, then user requests, then nice-to-haves."
- Default pricing: "Start at $29. Adjust only with data."
Rule: When in doubt, follow the default. You can always override, but the default prevents decision fatigue.
Level 3: Batch
Decisions that happen repeatedly should be batched.
Instead of deciding what to eat 21 times per week, decide once per week (meal planning).
Instead of deciding which emails to answer throughout the day, decide twice per day (batch processing).
Rule: Group similar decisions and make them all at once.
Level 4: Delegate
For solo founders, this one is tricky. You don't have a team.
But you can delegate to:
- Tools (use scheduling software so you don't decide when to post)
- Customers (let them vote on features so you don't guess)
- Principles (pre-decide values that guide choices)
Rule: If someone or something else can make this decision, let them.
Level 5: Eliminate
The highest level: don't make the decision at all.
Cancel the subscription you keep debating. Unfollow the account that makes you question your strategy. Delete the feature request you'll never build.
Rule: The best decision is no decision.
The Solo Founder Decision Protocol
Here's a practical protocol to implement immediately:
Morning Protocol
- Wake at the same time every day. No decision.
- Same breakfast. No decision.
- Check your plan from the night before. Decision already made.
- Start with your #1 priority. No debate about what to work on.
Work Protocol
- Email in batches. Twice per day. Never continuously.
- Pre-decide feature prioritization. Use a framework. Don't debate each one.
- Say no by default. Meeting requests, feature requests, partnership requests. Default is no unless there's a clear reason for yes.
- Work in focused blocks. Same time for deep work every day.
Evening Protocol
- Decide tomorrow's priorities tonight. Write them down.
- Same wind-down routine. No decision about when to stop working.
- Sleep at the same time. No negotiation with yourself.
The Counterintuitive Truth
Most productivity advice says: make better decisions.
Here's the truth: you already know how to make good decisions. The problem is you're making too many.
Every decision you don't make is energy saved for the one that matters.
Every default you set is a future version of you that doesn't have to think.
Every automation you build is a decision that disappears forever.
The goal isn't better choices. It's fewer choices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Won't this make my life rigid and boring?
Your life is already rigid. You're just deciding the same things over and over. This frees you from the repetition.
What if I need flexibility?
Defaults are not rules. They're starting points. You can always override. But you'll override less often than you think.
How do I know which decisions to eliminate?
Track them first. The patterns will be obvious. You'll see the same decisions appearing day after day. Those are candidates for elimination.
What about creative decisions? Can those be automated?
Creative decisions are the ones worth keeping. This system eliminates the administrative decisions so you have energy for creative ones.
How long does it take to see results?
Immediate. The day you implement automation and defaults, your decision load drops. The mental clarity is instant.
About the Author
