Eating is great. Cooking is pretty rad, too, if you enjoy that sort of thing. But when it comes to choosing exactly what to put on our plates and in our pans, it seems we humans are a decidedly indecisive lot.

A new UK study has found that people are wasting about 43 minutes a day, or 37 hours a year – that’s almost a full working week – on mulling over what to eat. The evening meal is the toughest call, with 57 percent of study respondents saying they find dinner to be the most challenging decision of the day. One in 10 admit to having regular arguments with their significant other about what to eat.

More than one-fifth of respondents cite a lack of time as the main reason for their lack of inspiration, while 11 percent claim they struggle to find decent recipes. (Clearly they haven’t heard of this thing called the internet). Others say they’re simply overwhelmed by the amount of choice on offer, which anyone who has spent any time in the chip aisle at the supermarket can no doubt relate to.

For many hungry folk seeking enlightenment, it seems they turn to inanimate household objects for the solution to their dinner dilemmas. Forty-two percent of respondents say they stare into the fridge as they wait for inspiration to strike, while 48 percent prefer gazing into their cupboards. However, 30 percent clearly haven’t done either, as they admit to deciding on a meal before realising they don’t have the ingredients on hand to make it.

As for when that daily quandary of what to have for dinner is most likely to rear its ugly head, the study found that ‘dinnertime doom’ kicks in at around 3:10pm for the average adult. Which happens to be the same time the mid-afternoon slump hits, so then you also have to decide what to snack on. I mean, come on. This eating malarkey – when will it end?

So fed up are we with the whole dinner business, 47 percent of study respondents admit to choking down a meal they didn’t really want, just to avoid having to make a decision. Which shows that they can at least commit to something.

So, what’s for dinner at yours tonight?

Related story: 30 healthy dinners you can cook in 30 minutes or less