by Amy Thornton (Author)
Mental labor, or the mental load, involves the many -- and extremely varied -- tasks that are involved in managing a household and/or workplace. This topic has exploded over the past couple of years, especially for women. As stated in an October 2017 Washington Post article 1], "The constant stress of trying to stay organized -- and to remember to execute so many tasks every single day -- is affecting women's relationships with their spouses, children, friends, and colleagues. They are experiencing mental, emotional, and physical fatigue trying to stay on top of it all."
Lighten Your Mental Load shares real stories of what this load is like for both men and women across the globe and how it originated. It offers practical advice on how to lighten this burden through technology and other methods in the following areas:
- Home
- Shopping and Meals
- Marriage/Partners
- Children
- Pets
- Transportation
- Career
- Birthdays, Celebrations, Holidays, and Vacations
- Volunteering, Church Activities, and Hobbies
- Caregiving
- Retirement
Finally, the book discusses ways to not add to the mental load of others and how we can more evenly distribute the mental labor between both sexes for future generations.