Multitasking is one thing, but multi-functioning is another.
As human beings, we spend much of our lives stuck in human doing. Yet, our brains were only ever designed to handle a limited capacity for processing daily life.
This cognitive threshold becomes especially fragile when we navigate periods of transition, grief, or sudden change. During these times, our executive control center—the prefrontal cortex—gets seriously overloaded. When that happens, functioning even on a micro level feels like an uphill battle.
If you’ve ever felt like your mind is lagging under the weight of a endless to-do list, it’s usually because you have too many "metaphorical computer tabs" open at once. To recover our focus and emotional equilibrium, we have to find a strategy to close these Open Loops—giving our brains the rest, space, and recuperation they desperately need.
Running on "Always On" Mode
As modern humans, we are "On" from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep. Even during our supposed downtime, we rarely truly disconnect.
The idea for this article came after I stumbled across two separate reads: one on our deep-seated connection with our phones and our struggle to live in the moment, and another on the psychology of Open Loops. Knowing I didn't have the bandwidth to process them right then, I saved them for later. It’s fascinating how quickly computer terminology—bandwidth, processing speed, open tabs—has morphed into human vocabulary to describe our psychological limits.
So, what do living in the moment and closing Open Loops have to do with Solution Focused Hypnotherapy?
Between managing household demands, childcare, eldercare, administrative errands, and a full-time job, self-care rarely makes the top of the priority list. It’s often deferred until a crisis forces our hand—a job loss, the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a major life pivot.
When a life event brings you to a sudden halt, or when you’ve been running on empty for too long, your prefrontal cortex hits its ceiling.
When the prefrontal cortex drops offline, your mind naturally retreats into primitive brain functioning—the fight, flight, or freeze response. In Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, we describe this state as a Stress Bucket that has overflowed.
The Science of Clearing Cognitive Bandwidth
When your Stress Bucket is full, living in the present moment feels impossible because your brain is continuously tracking incomplete tasks in the background.
When I saved those two articles to read later, I was consciously choosing to protect my mental bandwidth. Sending links to myself or saving digital bookmarks helps up to a point—but digital files can easily become just another cluttered inbox of open tabs.
To truly close an open loop, I’ve returned to a simple, time-tested tool: physically writing things down with pen and paper.
While typing averages around 40+ words per minute compared to writing’s modest 13 words per minute, the cognitive payoff of handwriting is vastly superior:
- Neural Reconstruction: Unlike typing (which produces a simple digital snapshot), writing creates a physical reconstruction of a neural pathway during the encoding process.
- Hippocampal Binding: Handwriting triggers deeper neural binding across three key brain regions:
- Linguistic: Selecting words, structure, and meaning.
- Visual: Processing the physical shapes of letters formed on paper.
- Kinesthetic: Engaging fine motor muscles, physical resistance, and spatial awareness on the page.
By physically committing an open loop to paper, you aren't just making a list—you are signalling to your brain that the information is safely stored. This simple act offloads executive burden from the prefrontal cortex, empties a bit of the stress bucket, and allows your nervous system to drop out of high-alert survival mode and back into the present moment.
Emptying the Bucket
We cannot prevent life's transitions, nor can we avoid the unexpected storms that force us to slow down. But we can change how we manage our cognitive energy.
By identifying your open tabs, physically writing them down, and using therapies like Solution Focused Hypnotherapy to quiet the primitive brain, you give your mind permission to reset.
Give yourself permission to close a few tabs today. Your brain wasn't built to run every program at once—it was built to experience life, one moment at a time.