Covid and our fight for focus...

It seems ages since we started referring to life in these “uncertain times.” For months now, our routines have been disrupted and we’ve been forced to adapt. Anecdotally, one major consequence is a state of mental fatigue. If feels hard to concentrate for any length of time, as if we’re in a collective state of near-constant distraction... do a quick search and you’ll find an avalanche of articles on people who can’t concentrate ... There’s a psychological theory, originally applied in the context of learning, that might help explain why living in the age of Covid-19 may have turned or minds to soup. It’s called Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), which characterizes our minds as information systems. When we’re working on a problem, we depend on our “working memory”, which is very limited both in its capacity and length of time it holds information. The less familiar you are with a task, the more you depend on your working memory to help juggle the relevant information; in contrast, when you’re an expert, most of what you need to know is stored in long-term memory and you’re able to complete the task on auto-pilot... Ordinarily in a time of upheaval, we can adjust quickly and the cognitive load becomes more manageable again. What’s striking about life in the era of Covid-19 is that the situation keeps changing...

— Christian Jarrett (BBC.com, Cognitive Load Theory: Explaining our fight for focus) 

It’s nice to know that brain fog is a thing right now. So many of our experiences are universal, if you think about it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again... I think we should cut ourselves more slack. Life is constantly changing and it’s not like you get a heads up to prepare. For example, I bought a gorgeous new couch recently, because the leg broke on my old one and there was no way to fix it. Bummer too because I really loved that couch and didn’t feel like spending money on a new one. My boyfriend and I were super excited when the couch finally arrived after nine loooong weeks, until the movers couldn’t get the damned thing in the door. No way this was gonna happen. The next four days were a complete ordeal. The store that sold us the couch said the couch was a final sale and didn’t really want to help us out. We had to be our most brilliant, professional, convincing problem solvers ever and talk the General Manager into exchanging the couch for something that would fit into our place. We also had to eat a “re-stocking” fee and another set of delivery costs. So much stress and no couch for 4 days (and nights, which can be a big issue on nights that I’m struggling to sleep). In the end, we managed to manifest a brilliant solution and our living room is now more spacious and livable than before. Very cool... but not before enduring a shocking and stressful four days, on top of Covid and everything else that life foists upon us. So again, I think we should pat ourselves on the back for all that we manage and accomplish, especially now. Just sayin’ :) Hugs. XO

Blessings,

Chatgirl