Run a team meeting. Grab a special occasion gift. Organize your family’s summer vacation plans. Pay vendors and bills. Complete a never-ending list of work and home-related errands. Oh, wait! Did you get around to planning the graduation party, too?
Everything you must think of on the daily contributes to your mental load. It’s all of the random tasks, job duties, and home responsibilities that sit in your mind and task your brain to do its best to categorize and prioritize all the hats you’re wearing. If you’ve ever had a week where Tuesday felt like it should be Friday, you were likely carrying a heavy mental load.
What Affects our Mental Load?
Researchers interested in human behavior and neuroscience have long known that our brains have limited capacities for divided attention. Has this ever happened to you?
You’re working on writing an email while simultaneously thinking about dinner or listening to a favorite tune and then accidentally type something unrelated to the email topic but related to what you’re hearing or thinking. On a more impactful level, you may be trying to strategize your company’s goals as you climb out of the impacts of COVID-19 and supply chain issues while also considering selling your home and figuring out where a graduating high schooler will be attending college in the fall. While you try to keep so many plates spinning, chances are you find yourself unfocused, drained, and feeling like something is going to drop. And eventually, without some support, something will.
The Effects of a Heavy Mental Load
With the ever-increasing productivity demands busy people face while living and working in a world that has seen rapid shifts in the past two years, businesses are taking a deeper look into the effects of mental load.
It’s time we mind our minds and not just our businesses.
The effects of high mental load may be everything from staying up at night unable to shut off the ticker-tape of tomorrow’s to-dos to decreased motivation to feeling there are everyday fires that need extinguishing. You may be making more mistakes in your work or forgetting commitments. Your brain is doing its best to be present for all your duties, but when it’s reaching full capacity, it starts shorting and dumping.
If you feel you relate, you’re not alone. The National Federation of Independent Business reports 72% of business owners feel overwhelmed. The irony is that while we are on a constant quest for increased productivity, we’re placing ourselves in overtaxed mental states and ending up with the opposite- decreased productivity and a higher risk of burnout. We must ask ourselves how to do more with less, optimize our tools and time, and do the exact opposite of our business instinct- deciding what not to do instead of expanding the to-do?
How You Can Lighten the Load
At Carver Concierge (www.carverconcierge.com), we serve busy professionals who want to be present for both their work and their families. A few ways you can get your mind in greater harmony and lighten your mental load are:
- Plan your next vacation sooner rather than later. Don’t wait for the right time, because that time is ever evading; but rather nail the dates you want to escape the daily grind and hand the rest over to us. We’ll handle all the details. Planning a vacation gives you a guaranteed mind renewal that is sure to alleviate the load you’re carrying and perhaps provide clarity on ways to keep work and life in better balance upon your return.
- Delegate. Delegate. Delegate. At Carver, we have access to resources to accomplish just about anything. Need a last-minute special gift? Want to pull together a memorable graduation dinner party? Are there more administrative assistant tasks than you currently have person power? Is your home office in need of organization? With a vetted and highly skilled concierge team, we’ll alleviate the loads off your shoulders and your mind.
- Give yourself permission to stop for a day. Although everything feels urgent in our busy and fast-paced world, the truth is that most people, processes, and tasks can hold for one more day. So, find a day this month to clear your schedule, even for a half day, and engage in a self-care task like lunch with a friend, a run on the beach, or a day date with your partner. If you want to have us take on the day’s errands for you so you can fully relax, we’re only a call away.
Carver Concierge is a boutique concierge service offering only the best in lifestyle management and personal assistance to corporate and private clients in Tampa, FL, Sarasota, FL, and Nashville, TN. Give us your “to do” list, and we’ll gladly take care of it all, so you can focus on what is really important- family, friends and taking care of yourself. Call us today at (813)543-4060 or visit our website to learn more.
