Mental exhaustion is wildly potent on the body.

I’ve talked about the satisfaction that comes from the exhaustion of a physically demanding weekend. For me, it’s often the result of a bike trip in the mountains.

But today I’m feeling another kind of tired, one that isn’t nearly as satisfying but feels equally exhausting.

The exhaustion I’m feeling isn’t from physical effort, but mental. My day involved little physical effort. However, I spent a few hours this morning under heavy mental strain. There was little negativity, just a lot of serious decision making to be done in a short window of time.

Now at home, while I would typically have a second wind of energy to tackle a few side projects, I have nothing left in the tank.

Our brains require an astounding level of energy to function. And it’s easy to underestimate how a mentally straining day can leave us physically drained.