The need for a smoke after an intense meeting. The extra coffee run. The urge to scroll and multitask when you are not on video. The emotional eating late at night. The unnecessary restroom break just to be in silence. Walking around aimlessly between calls. Constantly checking notifications even when there is nothing important. Do you relate to any of these?

Behavioural studies indicate that, when someone functions under continuous information flow, their nervous system starts searching for small moments of relief. This gets complicated under stressful conditions. Such a state of mental exhaustion is called Cognitive Overload.

Psychologically, the nervous system forces us to step away from the exhaustion of continuous functioning. Hence, those micro escape behaviours begin showing up. Over a period of time, these behaviours become habits.

Being aware of when cognitive overload occurs and the microhabits practised so far, helps in responding to such conditions. The threshold of cognitive overload varies with individuals.

Effective senior leaders manage intense work weeks at ease. Observe several leaders in your organisation.

• How do they manage context switches from one meeting to another?
• How do they manage the pressure of constantly being the decision maker and stay emotionally composed?
• Who are those looking energetic and approachable even at the end of the day?
• What do they do during breaks?

Reflect on how they find time for their hobbies, reading, and networking with colleagues and clients.

As psychotherapists and executive coaches, we observe that not every leader handles cognitive overload with awareness. Those operating without awareness continue to work under stress and develop harsher habits as coping patterns.

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor E Frankl

What are the subtle ways your mind asks for relief to respond to stressful stimulus?

Reach out to coach@shreehi.com to discuss your threshold and response to cognitive overload.

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