Too Many Tabs Open

Why Small Goals Might Be Sapping Your Focus

Ever tried juggling a bunch of little goals at once, thinking they’re “just small things,” easy to squeeze in? Yeah, me too. Recently, I hit a wall that made me rethink how I manage my mental energy.

Here’s what happened: I was excited to stack a few new habits — starting a step-counting routine, picking up some regular music practice, and reinforcing my existing exercise and Evening Ritual habits. All good stuff. None of it huge. But together? They turned into mental clutter.

Think of your brain like a computer. You’ve only got so much storage and cache. Sure, those small goals seem light, like background apps. But the truth is, even the lightest apps eat up mental RAM. Before you know it, you’re lagging—mentally spinning beach balls—and wondering why your big priorities feel just out of reach.

The mistake wasn’t the goals themselves. It was underestimating how much space they were taking up. Each new habit was a tab open in my mental browser. Tracking steps, remembering scales, squeezing in workouts, sticking to a nighttime wind-down routine — it added up. And I hadn’t left myself enough bandwidth for the heavy-duty thinking the rest of my day demanded.

So now I ask myself: What’s the mental load of this goal? Not just how long it takes, but how much focus it quietly consumes. Am I crowding out the space I need for deeper work, creative thinking, or even just showing up fully for the people I care about?

If you’re feeling scattered, it might not be a motivation problem. It might just be that your brain’s RAM is maxed out on too many “light” processes.

Give yourself permission to close a few tabs.