Want proof that decision fatigue is real? Try learning a new UI after a 12-hour day.

Last night I sat down at 11pm, ready to relax with some TV. Instead, Plex on my Roku surprised me with a brand-new UI.

I was disoriented by the new layout and spent over a minute trying to find the content I wanted to watch.

Then after I began streaming I realized that the Roku remote didn’t work. Play, pause, nada. Every tap the UI taunted me with a beep deepening my frustration.

The only functional button? “Back.”

Here’s the thing: I’m a product person. I love change. I geek out on redesigns and new features. But this one hit at the exact wrong time. At the end of my day when my cognitive “fuel tank” was empty.

Cognitive load is real. Decision fatigue is real. Drop a confusing, broken interface on a user at night, and you’re basically guaranteeing frustration.

What Plex should have done:

  • Offer me a choice. “We’ve got a new UI. Want to try it now?” → If no, let me keep the old one.
  • Give me a tour of where my content lives and let me explore the rest later.

The lesson for product teams: rollout matters as much as the redesign itself. Respect your users' mental state.

Familiarity, consistency, and empathy go a long way.