Feeling drained? Here's how to lighten your mental load
4/21/202625 min
Did you remember to pick up milk? Or reschedule that dentist appointment? Oh, and pick up cupcakes for the meeting**?** The never-ending tending to the never-ending to-do list is known as the mental load. Sociologist Leah Ruppanner explains how to tame the mental load in her new book, Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More.
Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit
Sign up for our newsletter here.
Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at lifekit@npr.org
Support the show and listen to it sponsor-free by signing up for Life Kit+ at plus.npr.org/lifekit
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
This message comes from ID Tech. ID Tech is where kids seven to seventeen find their people, the Camp Crunch Labs IRL, BattleBots, and game design people. Visit idtech.com and use code ID Tech to save one hundred and fifty dollars.
Marielle Segarra· Host0:14
You're listening to Life Kit [upbeat music] from NPR. Hey, it's Marielle. [upbeat music] So the knob on one of my kitchen cabinets fell off the other day. I was putting away the dishes. And I did try to screw it back on, but it wasn't working. I was gonna need to take out the tools, and I did not have the energy for that. Also, I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even take the screw out, so here we are, days later, and every time I open the cabinet, I forget, and I get poked in the hand by the pointy end of a screw. Why does it feel like there's so much we have to do just to stay alive and be reasonably comfortable? Also, these tasks, they always make themselves known to me at the least convenient times. Like I go to wash my hands, and wouldn't you know it, the soap dispenser's empty. These tasks fall under the category of the mental load, which is basically the weight of all the things you need to do, or think you need to do, to stay alive, maintain a household, and take care of your loved ones. The load feels heavy, and it often feels emotional, like it's deeper than the soap or the screw or the carton of milk that you just noticed is almost empty.
Leah Ruppanner· Guest1:25
We start to go, "Oh, I need to remember the milk