Cognitive overload: reduce overwhelm and work-stress for graphic designers and creatives.
Vol. 051
Cognitive overload: reduce overwhelm and work-stress for graphic designers and creatives.
How intentional choices with your time can reduce overwhelm and stress and can keep you moving forward.
A quick bite:
Freelance graphic designers and creative entrepreneurs have a lot to balance. If you’re not intentional about prioritization, distraction mitigation, and realistic expectations, you’ll burn yourself out. Learning how to avoid cognitive overload could save your sanity and your work!
Continue reading below…
Have you ever felt like you have so much going on that you literally don’t know what to do? You’re sometimes wearing 9 (or more!) hats.
When life + career are in full swing, I sometimes crumble underneath it all...3 new projects coming in the door, dealing with health insurance from my car accident, still need to buy a new car, I need to be a supportive boyfriend, I’m hiring an employee, shit — did I eat lunch today?, when am I getting that flight home, am I going to that friend's wedding, damn I have 24 unread texts…
Sound familiar? If you’re not careful, you’ll quickly find yourself overwhelmed due to cognitive overload: when you have so much information coming in that you’re unable to truly process and react to all of the stimulus. You essentially short circuit yourself.
Coincidentally, I sit here now, writing this article at 4:15am because I misread a text yesterday thinking I was getting picked up at 4:20am. I’m actually getting picked up in an hour. Truly, the cognitive overload of yesterday (wrapping up branding projects, finalizing a few murals, getting caught up after vacation and preparing to leave again today) caused me to fully misread a simple text. Cognitive overload.
Working as a freelance graphic designer and now branding studio owner (pretty buzz-wordy, eh?) is quite demanding of both attention and time. Because of that, I’ve been focusing on finding ways to mitigate cognitive overload and give myself more mental peace and clarity.
Prioritize your creative tasks (and life tasks!):
On any given day, your task list might feel more like an encyclopedia than a list. When this is the case, I focus on prioritizing the most important tasks first. Not the easiest tasks, but the most important tasks.
This seems obvious, but SO often in the past I would find myself actually prioritizing what was easiest to complete first. I felt like crossing “lots of things” off the list was more satisfying, even if it wasn’t due for a few days (or even weeks) as opposed to what was completing the tasks that were due first.
The term “Eat the frog first” is often used in the business world. The idea of doing your hardest/most important task first. If you have two frogs, eat the bigger one first.
I want you to re-read the above line… This is SUCH a simple shift of priority to make this happen, and it makes such a profound difference in regards to how accomplished you feel daily. Through eating the frog first you’ll find that you are able to really move the business needle forward.
Eliminate distractions
This too is easy in theory, but sometimes tough to execute.
I have essentially stopped responding to texts as they come in. I literally take 3-10 days to respond to texts unless they’re both immediately important and relevant to my day.
To be frank, texts drive me crazy — the idea that someone pops out of thin air and immediately demands your attention and energy. Some days I receive so many messages (distractions) that I’m truly overwhelmed by even looking at my phone. Yes, it’s just a text. But, responding to a text oftentimes perpetuates a conversation. A conversation that I didn’t necessarily want to be a part of. If that conversation happens amidst a task or creative project you’re working on, all of the sudden your energy and creativity is diverted, and you won’t be as productive or creative.
Text messages are just one of many distractions in our lives, and through eliminating those I have that my cognitive overload is reduced. Apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc — all of these can be turned off for the day or have time limits set to eliminate this distraction.
Single Focus
Stop trying to multitask! Psychological studies have shown that multitasking is indeed not productive. In reality, what’s productive is to set realistic timelines for individual tasks, and focus on one thing at a time.
Yall know I’m a huge proponent for the pomodoro technique which enables you to deep dive into individual tasks.
Additionally, I focus on trying to batch my tasks: the process of doing similar tasks together as to reduce the cognitive overload from task switching. For example, I answer all of my emails at once. I knock out my article writing in groups. I will draft multiple instagram posts in one setting.
Through focusing on one thing at a time you’re able to get in, get out, and move on.
Everything comes in seasons
Don’t feel like just because you started doing something that you need to continue to do so! I currently write this article every week. Will that always be the case? Probably not.
By allowing yourself and your business to evolve and change means that you’ll have to allow your day-to-day tasks to evolve as well.
Among other things, I used to do stop motion video and be an influencer for multiple brands — I currently don’t do either of these things.
If you hit a season of busyness and you need to let something fall to the wayside — that is totally fine! I’ve hardly posted on Instagram recently, and that’s because I’ve been focused on a lot of big projects, growing my business, hiring a full time employee, and getting the hell away from a screen! I’ve spent a lot of time outside, running, and enjoying life outside of design. This choice was intentional as to reduce cognitive overload. I’ll get back into posting regularly at some point, but until then, I’m happy to let my Instagram posting fall to the wayside.
Everything comes in seasons, and we should allow ourselves to embrace that you don’t need to do everything all the time.
Through focusing on the most important tasks first — the tasks that drive the needle forward — and eliminating your distractions, through being all in one individual tasks and through not trying to always do everything, I have found that my overwhelm is far reduced.
Being more intentional with your time will help reduce your overwhelm, and that will enable you to be more present, productive, and generally a happier individual.
