Editor’s Note: Decision Fatigue and Your Wardrobe in 2026
Last updated: February 2026
I’ve been simplifying my wardrobe for years now. Not to the extreme of wearing the exact same outfit every day like Steve Jobs did, but I’ve cut my clothing decisions down to almost nothing. I have about five identical black t-shirts, a few pairs of the same jeans, and a couple of button-downs for when I need to look presentable on a video call. That covers 90% of my week.
The idea is simple: every decision you make throughout the day costs you a tiny bit of mental energy. By the time you’ve decided what to wear, what to eat for breakfast, which route to take to the office, and which emails to answer first, you’ve already burned through some of your best decision-making fuel before your real work even starts. Barack Obama talked about this too — he only wore gray or blue suits so he had one less decision to make each morning.
This concept has gotten even more popular since this article was originally published. The “capsule wardrobe” movement has gone mainstream, with services like Cladwell and apps like Indyx helping people build a minimal wardrobe system. Mark Zuckerberg still wears the same thing. So does Tim Cook. The difference now is that regular people are catching on too, not just tech CEOs.
If you’re curious about reducing decision fatigue across your entire day (not just your closet), check out our articles on morning rituals and structural productivity. Those are where the real gains are.
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[Original article starts: “Steve Jobs is infamous for wearing the same black turtleneck…” and continues]
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Steve Jobs is infamous for wearing the same black turtleneck. In the same vain, Mark Zuckerburg always wears the same t-shirt and hoodie.
You might have heard that they do it because it limits decision fatigue. The fewer choices you have to make, the more energy you have left for more important decisions. There’s definitely a lot of truth to that, but there’s more to it. Check out this video below to see what the other reason is.
If you want to build new rituals in your life and make them sticky, check out our Rituals course before it closes in a couple days.
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Steve Jobs wore the same black turtleneck, jeans, and New Balance sneakers every day to reduce decision fatigue. By eliminating the daily choice of what to wear, he preserved mental energy for more important decisions at Apple. This practice is rooted in the psychological concept that humans have a limited capacity for making good decisions each day, and trivial choices like clothing drain that capacity.
Decision fatigue is the mental exhaustion that comes from making too many decisions throughout the day. As you make more choices, the quality of your decisions deteriorates. This affects productivity because by the time you reach important work decisions, you may already be mentally drained from trivial choices like what to wear or eat. Reducing low-stakes decisions through routines and systems preserves mental energy for high-impact work.
Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck and jeans. Mark Zuckerberg wears a gray t-shirt. Barack Obama limited himself to gray or blue suits. Tim Cook keeps a consistent wardrobe of simple outfits. Albert Einstein reportedly bought several versions of the same gray suit. These leaders all simplified their wardrobes to reduce decision fatigue and focus mental energy on their most important work.
A capsule wardrobe is a small collection of versatile clothing items that all work together, typically 25-40 pieces including shoes. To build one: start by removing clothes you have not worn in 6 months, keep neutral colors that mix and match easily, buy multiples of items you wear most often, and choose quality over quantity. Apps like Cladwell and Indyx can help you plan outfits from a minimal wardrobe.
Research suggests the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions per day, though many are unconscious or automatic. A significant portion of these are low-stakes choices like what to wear, what to eat, and which route to take. By automating or eliminating these routine decisions through habits and systems, you can preserve your mental energy for the decisions that actually matter in your work and life.
What do you mean?
Can anyone explain what Michael means by his statement?
I think what Michael means is that instead of putting more time into deciding which clothes to wear, one can rotate through their wardrobe into an order that you can save time on thinking which ones to choose. I’m not entirely sure if I understood it correctly but I think that’s how he put it.
Never consciously even thought of rituals in terms of clothing choices. Listening now made me flash back to when I was competing in sports competitions as a teenager at a relatively high level. Everything I did on a race morning, and the night before too, was a ritual. I ate the same dinner, ate the same breakfast, wore exactly the same “lucky” race outfit. Any deviations to this process always left me feeling unprepared and ultimately performing at a less than satisfactory level. Probably many people performing “rituals” each day without being aware they are doing so.
Thanh,
As a long time fan of these technology entrepreneurs and the superheros of Marvel and DC, your point about using rituals to transform one’s identity struck a chord.
Do you see a place for affirmations or a similar activity in your morning ritual? I’m looking into using that approach myself.
Yes absolutely but more in the forms of visualization exercises. I think they are more powerful than affirmations.
Rather than build “same clothes all the time” into their daily ritual, efficiency fans might want to adopt indifference as an attitude. If you don’t care, the decision is easier to make. You could, for instance, simply rotate through your wardrobe in the order items hang there.