Cognitive Capacity
How to be productive in an overloaded world
You’re not failing. You’re overloaded.
If your to-do list never ends, your mind won’t switch off, and you feel like you’re constantly behind—Cognitive Capacity is for you.
In an age of information overload, your real competitive edge isn’t speed—it’s clarity. This book shows you how to manage your focus, reduce mental clutter, and get more of the right things done. You’ll learn how to set clear criteria, group tasks in brain-friendly ways, and bring closure to open loops that drain your capacity.
You don’t need to do more. You need to reclaim your capacity.
What you can expect from Cognitive Capacity: How to Be Productive in an Overloaded World
The problem of overload
Modern work demands more from our minds than ever before. We’re constantly bombarded by emails, notifications, and expectations that stretch our attention beyond its limits. This book begins with the recognition that information overload is not a personal weakness—it’s a design flaw in how we work. When everything feels urgent and nothing feels finished, our mental bandwidth becomes fragmented and depleted.
The Cognitive Capacity Framework: a three-step process
At the heart of the book is the Filter Framework, a practical model built on three elements—Criteria, Chunking, and Closure—that together help you regain command of your mental bandwidth.
- Criteria is about choosing what deserves attention. It sets the filter that determines what enters your cognitive space so you can focus on what truly matters instead of reacting to everything that comes your way.
- Chunking is about working with your brain, not against it. By grouping and structuring your work into blocks, you reduce mental switching costs and make thinking easier and faster.
- Closure is about finishing and releasing. It helps your brain tie up loose ends so you can let go of unfinished tasks and stop carrying invisible weight.
Together, these three Cs form a cycle: Criteria filters what enters, Chunking structures what remains, and Closure finishes and releases. At their intersections sit deeper principles—Meaningful, Methodical, and Manageable—which help you live and work with more clarity, flow, and calm.
The science behind capacity
Throughout the book, Eve weaves neuroscience and psychology into everyday examples. You’ll learn how working memory has limits, why the Zeigarnik Effect keeps unfinished tasks looping in your mind, and how decision fatigue drains energy. Concepts from cognitive load theory, situational awareness, and affect labelling demonstrate how structure, language, and context all influence how much your brain can handle.
A practical, science-backed approach to modern work
Cognitive Capacity isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most with more mental clarity. It teaches you to design environments that support cognition, build systems that externalise memory, and set clear boundaries so your attention can thrive.
A sustainable path forward
Eve closes the book with a call to action: work with your brain, not against it. Productivity isn’t about perfection—it’s about preparedness, intention, and recovery. By managing your cognitive bandwidth, you not only become more effective—you reclaim energy for what gives your work and life meaning.
In essence:
Cognitive Capacity gives you the tools to protect your attention, process information with purpose, and close mental loops—so you can think clearly, decide confidently, and work sustainably in an overloaded world.
