Cognitive Overload
Everyone thinks differently
In our day to day, we are asked to do dozens of different tasks, some squarely in our zone, and some way out of it. Not only are we meant to do these tasks sequentially, but at times simultaneously. Some people excel at this, but most do not. A common example of this is having a virtual meeting. We are expected to listen, converse, take notes, and if needed – respond to that “important” Slack message. I don’t know about you, but you lost me at listen and converse. Not that I cannot do it, but I usually cannot do it well.
Alternatively, someone can have the same feeling when trying to do a task, while they are getting pulled into other things such as side messages or calls. Context switching is a problem that knowledge workers deal with dozens of times an hour. They can even feel this way when learning something new. Like when they are learning in a way that is not designed for their learning style – i.e. an audio learner being forced to read a long lesson.
With our world moving at the pace it is, should we expect everyone to work and think the same way? The answer is no, but how do we foster an environment that cultivates us as people, while accounting for our different capabilities and limitations?
These situations are examples of cognitive overload. This can happen due to a person being maxed out from stimuli, too much multitasking, or simply not being able to learn the topic with the limitations at hand. With our world moving at the pace it is, should we expect everyone to work and think the same way? The answer is no, but how do we foster an environment that cultivates us as people, while accounting for our different capabilities and limitations?
As I have mentioned in a previous letter, I have dyslexia. This is one of my limitations. It forces me to have to read new things over and over again. Sometimes I have to step away from something for a bit to wrap my head around it. I am not saying that you or someone you know is similar, but we all have limitations such as – how much we can do at once, what stimuli affect us, and what is our best form of learning/ doing. What works best for me is learning and doing things asynchronously and on my time.
What works for you? Let’s talk about some other examples.
Recently, I have been consulting with a team of digital workspace builders at Optemization. We are 13 people, located all around the world, from diverse backgrounds, and varied age levels. This means we all have different capabilities and limitations. These can be language, cultural differences, and even professional experience. When taking a call or doing a workshop, some of us excel, while others need more time to think or ask questions. That is 100% expected! What we have done to counter this issue is provide dedicated working spaces in Miro boards used during workshops. This allows the people that need their own space without distraction to work effectively. We even provide documentation and Loom videos explaining the upcoming call. This allows for people who need more time to absorb an idea the time they need.
Additionally, most people work in a text format, but not all of us are text learners. Some of us need video or audio to absorb something. Converting text to audio is somewhat simple, your computer can do this natively if you turn on the setting in accessibility. See my Wiki for a how-to on macOS. If you need video, I recommend simply asking someone for a video that they made or point to a source from the web.
Alternatively, if you get a Loom video but you’d rather read it, just use the transcript on the right of the video. The same can be done for those frustrating Slack voice notes. Just select the transcript and read it. This will allow you to even copy bits of that information for easier reference later.
Lastly, everyone works at different paces. This is not only applicable to meetings or workshops. We all need more or less time to wrap our heads around a problem or solution. You should never feel bad or make others feel bad about this. If your pace is slowing a project or task, just let your team know. This can be done during a project or retrospectively. Let them know that you had to work more than you were scheduled to, so they know to account for this the next time around. Never feel the need to make up for your abilities. I know this may seem like you are less of a worker to some or an overachiever to others, but this is not true. If they cannot handle this, you might want to find a new team that understands you better.
Cognitive overload is a thing, something that we, as a people, need to acknowledge. We all think differently, and that is a good thing! We need to celebrate this by helping each other be the best versions of ourselves for the given task.
If you can relate to this, positively or negatively, I would love to know in the comments or by responding to this email. I would like to know your solution or even help you come up with one.
P.S.
I have created a new newsletter, called Async Chats! I plan on having candid conversations with people like yourself. Topics will be focused around remote work, minimalism, freelancing, and work-life harmony. I also plan to pull topics of conversation from here – The Gray Area.
If you are interested in being featured see this form.
I plan on the first edition launching in the coming weeks. I would appreciate it if you subscribed, share it with others, and/ or provide interest in being featured.