You can’t quite see the mental load the way you can see a pile of laundry or an armful of groceries, but that’s part of the problem. Underpinning every household is a wealth of activity and thought that runs just beneath the surface, keeping everything from breaking down into chaos. What’s in the fridge? Whose birthday is coming up next? How long have those dishes been there? The mental load is the endless to-do list of tasks and data that This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-six Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 45 Lisa Taddeo On writing the secret lives of women. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Signal Boost How status anxiety drives culture. Arts & Culture Issue 38 Memes of Communication A conversation about digital folklore. Arts & Culture Issue 30 Knowing Me, Knowing You Think twice before seeking out your doppelgänger. Arts & Culture Issue 29 Mime Culture On lip-syncing and the allure of mouthing along. Arts & Culture Issue 26 Everything and Nothing It was Isaac Newton who suggested that black was not a color. History suggests otherwise.
Arts & Culture Issue 26 Everything and Nothing It was Isaac Newton who suggested that black was not a color. History suggests otherwise.