#8: A freed-up Working Memory

A freed-up working memory lets us handle uncertainty better and quicker.

Both trivial and consequential things can fill our minds, each like a passenger occupying a seat on the small plane of our working memory.

We want to get good at selecting our passengers. A clear working memory helps us make better decisions.

Shane Parrish, an expert in decision-making, stresses the importance of avoiding decisions in a “suboptimal state”. He advises: don't decide when you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired—summed up by the acronym "H.A.L.T." (This concept is borrowed from Alcoholics Anonymous.)

A taxed working memory deserves a spot on the list alongside hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.¹

Ranking tasks, like with the Eisenhower Matrix, can be tricky because stuff that stays in our mind may not always seem significant to us, while what we consider trivial can linger, taking up space. Often, it's uncertainty—whether emotional or about how to tackle something—that keeps these tasks stuck in our minds.

Becoming skilled at handling uncertainty is the skill we need, as our brains tend to hold onto uncertain work. So, keeping our working memory free serves as a proxy for our ability to handle uncertainty quickly.

Two principles:

1. Uncertain things like to hang out in working memory. (Emotional and vague things do too.)

2. Things without a plan like to hang out in working memory.

The goal is to quickly determine what to do with something within a few minutes.

We need to place these items into an external system, such as a calendar, notes/tasks app, or a kanban board. David Allen, the author of "Getting Things Done," says it this way: "The brain is for having ideas, not for holding them."

Strategies like using pre-decisions². flipping a coin, delegating, or heuristics like the "2-minute rule" (doing something immediately if it’s quick to do) can help.

Here are three simple but effective ways to quickly move things from your mind to your calendar.

1. Schedule a half-hour this week to think it over.

2. Work on it (even if naively) instead of overthinking. Set a fixed time to work, as this can help clear things up. Stop when the time is up.

3. Schedule time to discuss it with another person.

These strategies may seem basic, but they are often a solid first step for many problems. You are taking time to understand and define the problem.

1. Perhaps “I HALT" to include "inundated working memory," or "HALTS" to include "stressed working memory."

2. Ready-Made Decisions ↩