Cognitive Overload: Why You Don’t Know Where to Start

Have you ever opened your laptop, ready to get something done...and then just sat there?

You have emails waiting for you. There are 17 tabs still open from yesterday. You remember something you need to send someone, notice a notification in the corner, and suddenly remember the other three things you meant to do.

You haven't even started working yet, and somehow you already feel behind.

I know this feeling.

Sometimes the hardest part of getting something done isn't actually doing the work but figuring out where the heck to start.

And when there are too many things competing for your attention at once, your brain can have a hard time answering that question.

Your Brain: What Is Cognitive Overload?

Your brain can only process so much information at one time.

When you're trying to hold too many things in your head at once...tasks, emails, ideas, deadlines, notifications, decisions, unfinished projects...you can experience cognitive overload.

Basically, your brain has more coming at it than it can comfortably process.

Think about what happens when you open your laptop in the morning.

You might have several tabs open, your inbox is staring at you, Slack or messages are coming in, your to-do list is somewhere nearby, and you're also mentally trying to remember the things you haven't written down yet.

Every one of those things is asking for a little piece of your attention.

And instead of helping you decide what to do, all that information can make it harder to focus on anything.

This is where overwhelm can start to look like procrastination.

You jump between tabs, you answer an email because it's easier than starting the bigger project, you check something quickly and somehow end up doing something completely different, or you stare at your screen thinking, Where do I even start?

It doesn't necessarily mean you aren't motivated.

Your brain may simply need fewer things competing for its attention.

You don't need to figure out how to do everything.

You need to get clear on what matters right now.

Your O.F.T.™: What Is Actually Most Important Today?

This week's prompt is:

“What is actually most important today?”

Notice I said today.

When everything feels important, it's easy to treat everything like it deserves your attention right now.

It doesn't.

Take a look at everything you're carrying and ask yourself which thing would make the biggest difference if you moved it forward today.

Then choose it.

Your other tasks aren't going anywhere.

You're simply giving your brain one clear place to begin.

Your Next Step Forward

Before you start working today, try a quick reset.

Close the unnecessary tabs.

If you don't need it for what you're working on right now, close it. You can always open it again later.

Write down your top three tasks.

Get them out of your head and somewhere you can see them. Don't make this another giant to-do list. Just choose three things that actually matter today.

Then...

Start with ONE.

Not all three at once.

Choose the most important one and give it your attention.

When that one is finished, or you've taken it as far as you can, then decide what comes next.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is remove the noise, choose what matters, and start there.

One F*cking Thing at a time.