My Journey to Peak Performance: Taming Cognitive Overload

Looking back at my years in the corporate world, I realize I’ve never experienced burnout myself.

It doesn’t mean I haven’t had my dose of stress-inducing crises, times of extreme pressure, or high-stakes situations at work or home. There were periods of overwork, lack of control or support, and discouragement.

Yet, eventually, I feel I’ve been able to break away from the accumulation of burnout factors and stop their compounded effect, landing back on my feet before it was too late.

I’m saying “I feel” because even the very definition of burnout is subject to much debate – read this solid 2023 article in Science News on the topic for more.

But let me stick to the “overworked” dimension of many burnouts. One key element has gone out of control over the past couple of decades: cognitive overload.

It’s not a new topic; much has been written since the 1980s on the cognitive overload theory.

But the bottom line is that no matter how exceptional a mind is, there’s a limit to how much new knowledge it can process in a given time. A significant cognitive load or a wave of complicated subjects will push the human cognitive architecture beyond its limits.

I started working in the pre-internet days. I’m fascinated by how much valuable insight we could generate with so little data on our markets, customers, or competition back then.

Fast forward to 2023, and the main complaint I hear from product and business teams is that there is too much at once. There’s now a massive production of information in most domains. 

We generate a bunch of indicators and create much noise. Add to this the many distractions getting in the way, and we’re left incapable of filtering things out.

We can’t manage, categorize, or evaluate information anymore, preventing us from generating impactful insights and performing at our best.

That growing cognitive overload impacts mental, emotional, and physical well-being. It leads to lower quality of work and less-than-ideal outcomes.

It’s worth trying to address the issue. But how?

Don’t think AI is going to solve all your problems here. More than ever, the world needs discerning minds.

Here are some strategies I’ve learned to master to manage and reduce the mental strain associated with processing information, making decisions, and multitasking.

1 – I minimize distractions

You’ll note I didn’t write “eliminate,” as it seems unrealistic nowadays. Yet, there’s nothing simpler than putting my iPhone in “airplane” mode to stay focused. I also regularly unsubscribe from unnecessary email lists, silence non-essential notifications, and filter information to reduce the data I need to process.

And while multitasking may seem efficient, it leads to cognitive overload. So, I focus on one task at a time to reduce mental strain. I set specific time aside. It makes me work quicker and better.

2 – I ask questions (the right ones)

Too often, I’ve seen senior executives coming to us with a problem to solve. They assumed we had as much insight as they did. But in most cases, we didn’t. Had we not asked for proper context and information, we’d be left hypothesizing and wandering when we should already be nailing our proposed plan.

It pays off to put an investigative hat on. There are no dumb questions, but the best ones always are open-ended. So, I focus on questions that start with what, how, or even why to read better what’s on people’s minds and gain superior insight. 

3 – I streamline my decision making

Processes and decision shortcuts are here to address routine or least critical choices. If a process doesn’t exist or is inadapted, I focus on creating or adjusting it. It puts many of the decisions on autopilot and reduces overthinking.

For more complex problems, it’s often more practical to break them down into smaller, more manageable components while keeping first principles in mind. This approach can make problem-solving less mentally taxing.