🧠 How to use the Cognitive Load Calculator
1 Rate four metrics honestly using the sliders. There are no wrong answers; accuracy matters more than optimism.
2 Tap Calculate to get your personalized recommendation: Deep Work, Admin, Short Reset, or Recovery.
3 Follow the action prompts in your result. The tool also tracks your last few check-ins so you can see patterns across your day.
4 Reassess every 60-90 min. Cognitive load is not fixed. A short break or a win can shift your state quickly.

Cognitive Load Calculator

Rate your current mental state in four dimensions. Get an honest, science-informed recommendation for what kind of work your brain can actually handle right now.

Your current state & task

🧠 Mental Fatigue 1 — Fresh
Fresh Tired Drained
Running on full tank. Sustained focus should feel natural.
📸 Distraction Level 1 — Locked In
Locked In Fragmented Scattered
Mind is quiet and directed. External noise isn't pulling your attention.
⏱ Task Urgency 1 — Leisurely
Leisurely Soon Now
No immediate deadline. You have the luxury of choosing your pace.
🧰 Task Complexity 1 — Routine
Routine Involved Demanding
Familiar, repeated actions. Minimal working memory load required.

🧠

Rate your four metrics on the left, then tap
Calculate My State to get your recommendation.

Today's Check-ins

No check-ins yet. Your session history will appear here.

🧠 What is Cognitive Load?

Cognitive load theory, developed by educational psychologist John Sweller in the 1980s, describes the total mental effort being used in working memory at any given moment. Your working memory is not unlimited: it holds roughly four chunks of information simultaneously. When you overload it, performance degrades sharply and mistakes multiply. Knowing your current load before choosing a task is not just useful... it is the difference between effective effort and exhausting theater.

🕑 Why Timing Matters

Research on ultradian rhythms suggests the brain cycles through approximately 90-minute peaks of alertness followed by 20-minute recovery troughs throughout the day. Forcing deep, cognitively demanding work during a trough does not just produce worse output; it extends the trough itself. The Cognitive Load Calculator is designed to help you identify which phase you are in so you can align your task type with your actual capacity, rather than against it.

⚡ The Four Outcomes

Deep Work demands low fatigue, low distraction, and a prepared environment. Admin Work suits moderate states well: process, respond, organize. Short Reset is for when urgency is high but capacity is not: five focused minutes of recovery before a timed sprint. Recovery is a genuine instruction, not a fallback: your brain is telling you that investing now means protecting tomorrow.