The Dangers of Cognitive Fatigue

The condition is real, pervasive, and can ruin your career and your life. Here’s my story, and what I did to defeat it and get back on track…

#Winning

For nearly two decades I was on a roll. My career started accidentally, and success came easily. That’s not to say I wasn’t ready, or that I didn’t work hard— quite the contrary, I had prepped with the mandatory Malcolm Gladwell 10,000+ hours, and in my sweet spot was relentlessly focused and determined. By any standard I was talented, driven, and thriving.

Beginning at the very bottom in what coworkers and I cynically called an “html sweat shop,” I stubbornly stuck to it, zigged & zagged from better jobs to worse jobs to better jobs, riding the wave. A combination of flexibility, relentlessness, and smarts got me from squalid office onto planes and into multimilion dollar pitches. Along the way I increased my salary ten-fold.

Maneuvering between land mines and over speed bumps, I navigated a career path that matched my appetite, attitude, and aptitude. A quirky science geek and prolific writer, my talents energized gigs that demanded a combo of cognitive and creative savoir faire. I pounded on keyboards and mugged in front of cameras to rock it at the convergence of science, marketing, and tech.