🔼: ##### Cognitive Load When we feel like we have "too much on our plate," the stuff on our plate is our Cognitive Load. [[🔑 The mind can only hold so much]]. The more stuff we pile onto our plate, and the longer we take to clear it, the heavier our Cognitive Load becomes and the more inner-resources are needed to manage it. The more inner-resources we use to keep track of these things, the less we have to actually do anything about them. We may not even know how to get started. Then we might have projects becoming more and more urgent, and last minute panic doesn’t [[💡 Motivation|motivate]] us — we shut down and our [[💡 Window of Tolerance|Window of Tolerance]] shrinks as our [[💡 Reactive Protectors|Reactive Protectors]] become more active. This can lead to... - [[💡 Fatigue|Fatigue]] - [[💡 Decision Fatigue|Decision Fatigue]] - [[Burnout]] - [[🛡️ Avoiding]] - [[💡 Racing Thoughts|Racing Thoughts]] - [[💡 Emotional Dysregulation|Emotional Dysregulation]] - [[💡 Overwhelm|Overwhelm]] ###### Anatomy of the Cognitive Load Anything that requires [[💡 Willpower|willpower]] or [[💡 Focus & Concentration|Focus]] contributes to our Cognitive Load. When we're met with a choice, a problem, a question, a thing to figure out, some [[💡 Parts|Part]] of us keeps track of it and takes responsibility for it. This can look like a conscious thought (“Get this thing done.”) or even happen subconsciously, like an "Ah-ha! Moment," when we suddenly remember the answer to a question days later, after we’ve already stopped consciously thinking about it. [[💡 Burdens 🪨|Burdens]] and [[💡 Polarization|polarizations]] (both inner and outer) massively contribute to our Cognitive Load. [[🔑 Protectors are dedicated to maintaining their idea of safety, balance and homeostasis|🔑 Our protectors work to keep us safe and stable]], and they do that by taking up certain responsibilities which [[🔑 Protectors do not like their jobs, but are afraid to stop|🔑 they readily admit are exhausting and stressful]]. Likewise our [[💡 Exiles|Exiles]] are holding [[💡 Burdens 🪨|Burdens]] rather than playing the role they’re really meant to. When we [[🔑 Liberate Parts from the roles they’ve been forced into, so they can be who they’re meant to be|🔑 Liberate Parts from their roles]] and [[🔑 Decrease the reactivity of and re-harmonize the inner system, so that we can respond rather than react|🔑 re-harmonize our inner-ecosystem]], we substantially reduce our Cognitive Load and our need to use [[💡 Willpower|willpower]] to get things done. ###### 🦮 How to Lighten Your Cognitive Load Our Cognitive Load is, in a sense, a list of items to be cleared. Broadly speaking we can clear it in a couple of ways. 1. Progress toward satisfying it. 2. Free up inner-resources. Let go, detach, [[💡 Unburdening|unburden]], [[💡 Grief|grieve]] it if you can't satisfy it. It frees up inner-resources so we can do other things that require those resources. It could be as small and simple as turning the car stereo’s volume down in order to see better, or like making amends with people we’ve wronged. > [!warning] > Some of these strategies can become [[💡 Efficiency Traps|Efficiency Traps]], where instead of using them to give ourselves enough space to address what’s on our plate, we just pile more onto it and get [[💡 Overwhelm|overwhelmed]] anyway. [[🕯️ Mindfulness]] is key. > > These strategies can also be used by [[💡 Protector Parts|Protector Parts]]. This isn’t a bad thing, though it can turn into a strategy to thicken the walls of our [[💡 Comfort Zone|Comfort Zone]], so that our [[💡 Protector Parts|Protector Parts]] become increasingly hesitant to enter our [[💡 Growth Zone|Growth Zone]] because we’re feeling better. - [[🕯️ Journaling]] - [[🛠️ Goals and Intentions]] - Unsubscribing from marketing emails - [[💡 Habits & Routines|Habits & Routines]] - Tools that save time and energy - [[⭐️ Life Curation]] - Stimulation Fasting - [[🧘 Pratyahara]] - As we remove stimulation of one sense, the others become exponentially sensitive and active. If we’re becoming overwhelmed or [[💡 Overstimulation|overstimulated]] by some senses, we can reduce our cognitive load by [[🕯️ Pendulation]] to others or [[⭐️ Life Curation]]. - [[🕯️ Doing Nothing]] - [[🔑 Principles, rules, labels, and judgments are mental shortcuts borne of experience]] - Give [[💡 Protector Parts|Protector Parts]] some [[🛠 Protector Toolkit|🛠 new tools]] to help them be more effective at their jobs - [[⭐️ Parts Practice]] - [[🕯️ Unblending]] - [[🛠 Parts Map]] - [[🦮 How Polarizations soften and resolve]] - [[💡 Unburdening|Unburdening]] through [[💡 The IFS Process|the IFS Process]] - [[🤝 Become a Client]] - [[☀️ Connection]] through [[⭐️ Community]] - [[🕯️ Boundaries]] - [[☀️ Equanimity|Radical Acceptance]], letting go of control. - [[🕯️ Movement and Exercise 👟]] - [[🦮 How to make decisions]] - [[💡 Grief|Grief]] and [[🦮 How to feel your feelings]]. - Simplify [[⭐️ Household Maintenance]] and chores - cleaning your space can clear your mind. [^1]: