There’s an article that’s been going around about Surge Capacity. It’s worth reading, but it also brought up another term for me: cognitive load.
Cognitive load is the thing where it gets really hard to make decisions when you have too many options, like trying to pick from the menu at The Cheesecake Factory. You might make a decision only to lose it while looking at the menu, or you might just struggle to pick the decision that brings the most joy. If you’re like me, you’ll make a panicked decision and get something you likely didn’t want.
Cognitive load is usually used to talk about information absorption. In one common example, our memory is like an iceberg. The top part, visible to all, is our short-term memory. It can take in a fair amount, but can’t really absorb everything we expect it to throughout the day. The bottom part of the berg is our long term memory. For the most part, things that make it there are easy to remember.
When there isn’t enough room in our short-term memory, not only are we overwhelmed but we lose ideas and information. They slide off that tiny tip of the iceberg, freezing in the sea like Jack when Rose wouldn’t share her damn door.
We can prevent this, though, through receiving information in manageable chunks.
Apply that to our world right now… We have SO MUCH information coming our way, from pop culture to politics to social injustice to the absurdity of navigating video meetings that should’ve been emails…
It’s especially easy to get overwhelmed.
Thankfully, there are ways to address cognitive load. We can make life easier for ourselves that also don’t require opting out of important things like staying abreast of current events or being involved in activism.
1) Recognize and acknowledge that we’re not just working or learning or doing other things from home, but doing so during a time of great unrest. Not only does that mean extra stress from the world’s ick, but that we’re also bringing work or school into our comfy spaces. That’s a lot less space for us to be at rest, from a cognitive standpoint.
2) Try to create a space that’s only (as much as possible) for joy. Maybe only watch entertaining things like Great British Bake-Off on the TV in your bedroom versus watching the news, for example. Even if it’s a corner full of fun spooky season decor, find a way to cultivate joy specifically in your living space.
3) Listen to your brain and your body. If you’re doing school or work from home, you have deadlines and I get it. As much as you can, though, try to listen to what your body and mind are telling you. For example, I take breaks to look at social media or move around every 20-60 minutes. Sometimes I need more breaks, sometimes I need fewer.
4) For the people you live with, provide options when asking questions like “What do you want to do/eat/drink?” It’s a lot easier to pick between two concrete options when you’re frozen from cognitive load than to try to pick one thing out of several possibilities. Ask for the same when you need it.
5) If you’re in a position to give them, provide clear instructions to the people around you whether they’re kids or coworkers or partners. If you get instructions, ask for as much clarity as possible.
6) Break up bigger tasks into smaller ones. Have you ever used an organization tool like Asana? You can add a ton of smaller tasks onto a bigger one. Think like that about all the tasks in your day, from showering to cooking to work. If you haven’t used Asana or something similar, let’s talk showering. It’s not just getting into the shower, right? It’s grabbing a towel, going into the bathroom, starting the shower (and fan), taking your clothes off, maybe picking music to listen to – and that’s just before!
7) Think about the best ways you consume or take in information. Is it via audio, visual, text, or by doing? Or another way? Make sure the people around you know your learning style and try to set up the things you take in to match. If visual is best for you, maybe IG or TikTok would be fun break time things. If audio is more your thing, perhaps listening to a podcast or music would be helpful.
8) Be patient! This is a wild time in the world, and it’s not something that’s easy. Give yourself space and grace – space to grow and feel and be human, and grace when you have a rough day or make a mistake.
We’re human and it happens, especially with so much on our plates.
We are dealing with profound grief & loss, on a level that is unquestionably upsetting. What we’ve all lost during the pandemic alone is hard, but throw in it being an election year, all of Cheeto Voldemort’s BS, and bigots galore… It’s understandable to feel some type of way.
We often feel at odds, too, when we find joy during a tumultuous time. One thing a lot of us struggle with is the plurality of our existence, that we can be both excited for the next episode of the show we love and angry at politicians for not addressing racism. Look, it’s okay for that to be difficult to rationalize! Our brains like black & white, not the rainbow of colors and the nuances that happen in life.
We have to remember humans are complicated and our brains are, too
I know that, sometimes, we need to hear these things from someone other than ourselves, so buckle up…
You have permission to exist as a human right now, to feel all of the complicated and possibly upsetting things this time in history is bringing up.
As a feelings nerd, I encourage you to lean into the feelings. Investigate them down to their roots. Is it ‘just’ stuff right now giving you existential dread, or is this bringing up something from your past, too?
We have to fight the effects of chronic stress in our lives because it can literally be deadly. Chronic stress can add to our risk factors for emergency situations, including heart attacks and strokes – and it can bring on chronic pain.
Find your joy!
Eat all the pumpkin spice things and flip off anyone who gives you grief about it. Learn the WAP dance (but watch yourself on that split because I DID NOT). Take time to create videos on Tiktok (or just watch my guinea pig ones). Binge a show you’ve wanted to watch.
I really enjoy my job! There are definitely issues with public health, but my coworkers are really great
And I’m moving! Ian & I move to a 2br this weekend meaning we have a legit office room