After a long day of writing or editing, we’re all familiar with that mental fatigue that makes it hard to concentrate or make quick decisions. The fatigue you feel after prolonged focus or effort is known as ego depletion. Sigmund Freud used the term ego to describe the part of ourselves that makes decisions between what we want to do, and what we know we should do.

In more recent years It’s been theorized that ego depletion happens because we all have a limited amount of willpower that can get used up by exerting self-control, working on something that is stressful, or making too many decisions. as a result, you lose motivation and experience burnout.  As a writer, you already know that your best work is done when your mind is fresh before you’ve exhausted yourself hitting your word goals and making a thousand decisions on the perfect word choice. Though running into ego depletion at one point or another is unavoidable, you can still find ways to strategically use your willpower to ensure you can dedicate your mental power to the most important parts of writing. For tips on how to overcome ego depletion, check out this helpful visual by Turbo:

 

 

 

 

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