Day 71: the internet keeps our brains mentally “on” all the time
Hey everyone,
Lately I’ve been thinking about how rare true mental quiet has become.
Not because people are constantly doing difficult work —
but because attention never fully stops processing things.
Notifications.
Open loops.
Unfinished tasks.
Messages.
Future planning.
Things you forgot.
Things you still need to start.
The brain stays slightly “on” all day.
And I think that persistent low-level cognitive noise creates a form of exhaustion that most productivity tools don’t really address.
A lot of apps optimize for:
- more output
- more engagement
- more stimulation
- more activity
But I’m becoming increasingly interested in the opposite direction:
How do we reduce internal noise?
How do we help people feel mentally clearer instead of mentally fuller?
How do we create moments where attention feels settled instead of constantly fragmented?
That’s the direction I keep exploring with Unjam.
Not productivity as:
“maximize every second.”
But productivity as:
reducing enough mental friction and cognitive clutter
that life starts feeling lighter and calmer again.
Curious if anyone else building products has been thinking about attention, cognitive load, or mental quiet as part of the product experience lately.
