Something hit me while I was listening to an episode of The Cry Lounge podcast, the creative act of writing a novel. The host, Bonnie, talks about how many decisions go into writing a book, especially fiction. There are so many decisions that you as the writer are responsible for! Everything from the color of a character’s eyes to the way their apartment is decorated to the bigger decisions like the entire plot and every plot point that goes into it and world building and creating rules for magic systems…
It got me thinking about decision fatigue. We as humans get overwhelmed with the amount of decisions we make in day-to-day life. And it’s said we also make worse and worse decisions over time due to cognitive overload.
“What do you want to have for dinner?”
“I don’t know, what do you want?”
There’s a reason this is maybe one of the most common discussions between partners, roommates, and families in the evening. By the time we’re winding down and having dinner, we’ve already made 30 thousand decisions during the day. Mostly small ones like what shirt to wear, which way to drive, what to eat, or what to say to a coworker. But sometimes they’re huge ones like should I leave my job, sell my house, or put my elderly parent into a care facility. And if you think 30 thousand sounds like an exaggeration, I agree. But the Harvard Business Review posits that the average adult makes roughly 33 to 35 thousand decisions each day.
If we get drained after a day of making tiny decisions, so drained that we no longer care what we eat for dinner, so long as we eat something, imagine how many decisions a long writing session could add. Even a short writing session would add quite a few more to the tally.
So the next time someone tells you it’s “just writing” or “just sitting at your desk all day” and it can’t be that exhausting, just know that you are not simply making 30 thousand daily decisions for yourself, but you are making them for multiple characters too. Maybe stay away from that person, you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Or you can tell them you’re creating an entire world and all the people in it with just your mind (insanely cool). Kinda like a god lol. And what are they doing with their lives that’s that awesome?
In all seriousness, take care of yourself a little extra after a long writing session or during the weeks where you’re getting a ton of writing done. You may be way more fatigued than other people realize.
Also, if you tend to get annoyed with yourself for not writing consistently enough (me) or getting tired after only writing 300 words in a day when you’d hoped you’d surpass 500, remember to give your brain a break. You’re already making more decisions than the average adult is making (>35,000!!), so quit beating yourself up!
My brain can’t even fathom how many decisions that might add up to. How many do you think it could be?
And check out The Cry Lounge for podcast episodes like the one I mentioned and a whole lit mag worth of poetry and story posts.
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I’m tired of this grandpaw,
Natalie