Do Less: Part 1 Web version
The Invisible Cost of Complexity: How Cognitive Load Theory Changed the Way I Build Healing Systems
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“Simplicity isn’t laziness. It’s strategy.”
That’s what I say to people who glance at Velvet Skin’s product range and expect a hard sales pitch or a rapid transformation.
The truth is, I don’t build for people in full health.
I build for the overloaded, the burnt-out, the dissociated, the neuro-fatigued.
I build for those who don’t have the mental bandwidth to decode an 11-step ritual.
And one of the biggest frameworks behind this approach is something I first encountered in adult learning theory:
Cognitive Load Theory.
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🧠 What is Cognitive Load Theory — and Why Should You Care?
CLT, developed by educational psychologist John Sweller, suggests that our working memory has a hard limit. It can only hold and process a certain amount of new information at a time.
When too much information, complexity, or sensory input hits all at once, the system breaks down.
That’s called extraneous cognitive load — the mental noise that isn’t essential to the task, but still drains your energy.
It happens when:
• Your skincare instructions require too many steps to remember
• The packaging is hard to open or hard to interpret
• You have to “think” or “decide” too much before you even begin
• The smell, feel, or language jars the nervous system instead of calming it
For someone whose nervous system is in recovery — from trauma, illness, grief, or burnout — this extra load can be the thing that tips the scales from “maybe I can do this” to “I can’t even try.”
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📦 How I Apply CLT to Velvet Skin
At Velvet Skin, I’ve re-engineered skincare routines to reduce extraneous cognitive load at every touchpoint. This isn’t accidental — it’s a trauma-aware systems design choice.
Here’s what it looks like in action:
• Limited range: Customers don’t have to compare 20 options. Less mental friction.
• Sensory grounding: Scent profiles are designed to down-regulate, not stimulate.
• Clear rituals: Products are part of simple, low-effort routines that build somatic safety.
• Consistent packaging: Familiar cues train the body to associate use with rest.
• Opt-in pace: You’re not told to “transform.” You’re invited to return. Gently.
This lets the body lead. Not marketing. Not perfectionism. Just a quiet rhythm that feels doable.
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🪞 Why This Matters
When you’re overwhelmed, every decision is heavier.
When you’re recovering, even wellness can feel like pressure.
This is why so many self-care programs fail — not because people don’t want healing, but because the systems we offer are too cognitively expensive to sustain.
If we want recovery to be real — not performative — we have to design for capacity.
That means asking not: “What would help in a perfect world?”
But: “What can someone actually do when they’re tired, overloaded, and barely coping?”
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🧶 What’s Next
In Part 2 of this series, I’ll walk through how I use the Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule) to prioritize healing inputs — and why not all effort is created equal.
Part 3 will dive into somatic anchoring and how repetition-based rituals help the nervous system re-learn safety through the skin.
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✳️ Let’s Build Better Systems
If you’re working in the spaces of:
• UX
• Wellness design
• Somatic therapy
• Recovery support
• Neurodivergent strategy
• Community care
…you’re already a systems builder. I’d love to connect and swap notes.
Warmly,
Riyana
Founder — Velvet Skin NZ
#CognitiveLoadTheory #SomaticRecovery #RecoveryBadics #NeurodivergentWellness #VelvetSkinNZ #HealingSystems
References:
* Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2018). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75-87.
* Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
* Renkl, A. (2014). Toward an instructionally oriented theory of example-based learning. Cognitive Science, 38(1), 1-37.
* Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load theory. Australian Education Review, 32(2), 257-285.
* Sweller, J., Van Merrienboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. G. W. C. (1998). Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design. Educational Psychology Review, 10(3), 251-296.
