Let Me Remind You of One Thing: Everyday Forgetfulness

“Be transformed,” an old friend advises, “by the renewing of your mind.”

Yup, that’s our old friend St. Paul again, this time in Romans 12:2.

How are you doing with that particular aspect of discipleship?

Maybe it’d be a good idea to include this (COPIED*) in your answer —

You open Slack to respond to one message. And then…

Ten minutes later, you’ve clicked through five threads, checked your calendar, half-read an email, and forgotten why you opened Slack in the first place. 

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. 

You’re experiencing cognitive overload. 

What’s actually happening

Modern work requires us to remember a lot: tasks, names, conversations, project details, decisions, links, files, threads, approvals, tools, the list goes on. And we’re doing it in environments that constantly interrupt us. 

Working memory—the part of your brain that holds information temporarily while you use it—isn’t built for 10+ active inputs at once. It’s built for 2–4 at most. 

When you get pulled from one task to another before finishing the first, your brain drops pieces. This is why you forget what you were doing, re-read emails three times, or leave meetings unsure of what was decided.

The contributors stack up quickly.

• Constant notifications and pings 
• Context switching across tools and platforms 
• Long meetings with no clear outcomes 
• Lack of structure in remote/hybrid environments 
• Fatigue from decision-making and prioritizing all day 

It’s not that you’re “bad at focusing.” Your brain is dealing with too much at once—without enough time to recover. 

What helps and what doesn’t.

❌ Not helpful:

• Forcing focus when your brain is already fatigued 
• Keeping all your to-dos in your head 
• Relying on willpower to stay “on task” in a distracting environment 

✅ More helpful:

• Externalize everything: write it down, don’t rely on memory 
• Create one protected, notification-free block of time per day 
• Build in mental reset points (standing up, 2-minute break, a walk around the block) 
• Make your work visible so you don’t have to hold it all in your head (e.g., simple lists, shared notes, post-its) 

Why this matters

An overloaded mind can be a sign of poor workplace architecture. If your team is experiencing cognitive overload, it’s likely a systems issue, not a people problem. 

But change is possible (it’s why we’re here* isn’t it?!). Start small. One block of protected time. One tab closed. One list on paper. 

Try this one thing

Run a content intake check with your team.
In your next check-in, ask everyone to reflect on the digital noise in their week. 

What could we reduce, consolidate, or cut? What types of content or comms helped you focus? What felt distracting, repetitive, or unnecessary?

— *That’s from a couple of months ago at https://changeishere.beehiiv.com/p/you-re-not-forgetful-you-re-overloaded?_bhlid=a2df82a70639c43df04805295cb9176947dbd65a&utm_campaign=you-re-not-forgetful-you-re-overloaded&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=changeishere.beehiiv.com and I hope it’s helpful.

As has been said, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Still true.

And as someone told me long ago, “Use the good sense God gave you.”

I’d love to hear from you about this and hope to see you back here tomorrow.