When people say, “I’m tired,” it doesn’t always mean they have been involved in heavy physical work. Yes, there is something called fatigue, but it isn’t always caused by physical labour alone. Many times, what people feel is actually mental or emotional exhaustion rather than tiredness from doing actual work. It’s possible to go through an entire day without lifting anything heavy or moving around much and still end up feeling completely drained.
I have noticed this in my own life. There are days when I sit for hours, scrolling through my phone or watching videos online, thinking I’m relaxing. By the end of the day, I still feel tired, sometimes even more tired than on days when I have been physically active. This shows that our minds can get exhausted just like our bodies. The brain processes a huge amount of information, and when we overload it with random content, especially the endless stream of short videos on the internet, it becomes overwhelmed. That mental clutter can leave us feeling tired, unmotivated, and unable to focus on important tasks.
Most of us don’t even realize how much energy we waste without doing anything meaningful. We say we are “busy,” but are we really busy? Sometimes, being busy just means running around or doing little things without a clear purpose. It’s like living on autopilot, going through the motions, but not achieving anything that really matters. At the end of the day, it feels like we’ve done a lot, but when we think about it, nothing significant has been accomplished. That false sense of productivity can be draining.
The truth is, we are in an era where distractions are everywhere. Social media, especially short-form content, grabs our attention and keeps us hooked. We spend hours scrolling, laughing, liking, and commenting, thinking it’s harmless. But what we don’t realize is that our brains are working hard to process all that information. Even though our bodies are still, our minds are running at full speed. This can cause mental fatigue, which is why we sometimes feel tired without understanding why.
This kind of exhaustion often leads to procrastination. When the brain is overloaded, it naturally wants to rest, so we avoid important tasks. We tell ourselves we don’t have the energy to do anything when, in reality, our energy has been wasted on unproductive activities. It’s like using up all the battery on a phone by running background apps. You’re not doing anything useful, but the power still drains.
If we had a “battery indicator” for our energy, many of us would be shocked at how quickly it depletes. That’s why it’s important to be intentional about how we spend our time. We need to cut down on meaningless scrolling and focus on activities that actually refresh us or move us forward. True rest doesn’t always mean doing nothing. It means doing things that recharge the mind and body. When we learn to manage our energy wisely, we stop feeling constantly tired and start living with purpose.