Managing our cognitive load

Walking person with past-information strewn behind, and information-to-be-made scattered ahead; a teal line links various nodes both behind and in front.
Traced path of leveraging cognitive load management patterns. Image by the author, 2025.

Keep on keeping on

When we figure out something that works, we keep it and play it over and over again – process, behavior, reaction, a good tool, anything that seems to get the results we want. We don’t even reconsider the results.

We keep on keeping on. Do it often enough, and it becomes habit. Do it long enough, and it can become a stability point – something that, if touched and attempted (or actually!) moved by another, can cause an unexpectedly strong reaction. Depending on the person, they can erupt in anger.

It’s a way to manage cognitive load. The process around the doing might be convoluted, prone to error if anyone else tries to replicate it, or even unsupported by logic (think along the lines of wearing certain socks while a favorite team is playing). But by leaning into it, by being certain of it and knowing exactly what to do to contribute to the preferred outcome, a person is fulfilled. They’ve done their part, and it’s off to do the thousand and one other things they need to do.

Walking person with past-information strewn behind, and information-to-be-made scattered ahead; a teal line links various nodes both behind and in front. Black-filled nodes have been added behind the figure, representing completed future-sensed tasks. One of those have been linked with a blue line to a series of black-outlined 'keep on keeping on' nodes that reaches into the future.
Traced path of leveraging cognitive load management patterns, with more context. Image by the author, 2025.
Springboards

Clear, J. (2019). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin.

Delgado, J. (2020, June 4). 8 types of resistance to change you should know. Jennifer Delgado Suárez.

Forsell, L. M., & Åström, J. A. (2012). An analysis of resistance to change exposed in individuals’ thoughts and behaviors. Comprehensive Psychology, 1, 09.02.10.CP.1.17.

Groshell, Z. (2021, December 1). How cognitive load theory changed my teaching. Education Rickshaw.

Hawthorne, B. S., Vella-Brodrick, D. A., & Hattie, J. (2019). Well-being as a cognitive load reducing agent: A review of the literature. Fontiers in Education, 4.

Jarrett, C. (2020, November 13). Cognitive Load Theory: Explaining our fight for focus. BBC.

Wikipedia contributors. Cognitive load. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Wisdom for Life. Who Moved my Cheese? Animated Summary. Youtube.

Zou, L., Zhang, Z., Mavilidi, M., Chen, Y., Herold, F., Ouwehand, K., & Paas, F. (2025). The synergy of embodied cognition and cognitive load theory for optimized learning. Nature Human Behaviour, 1–9.