Free mental load quiz
Mental load quiz: how much are you carrying?
The mental load is the remembering: the bills, the forms, the appointments, the renewals, what's running low, who needs what. It doesn't show up on anyone's to-do list, so nobody sees how much of it you carry. These questions take about a minute and show you what yours looks like, what's behind it and how to lighten it.
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What the mental load is
The mental load is the work of keeping track: noticing what needs doing, planning it, remembering it and checking it got done. The doing is often shared. The tracking usually isn't.
In a 2024 survey of about 3,000 US parents, mothers handled 71% of mental-load household tasks and fathers 45%. For daily tasks the gap was 79% vs 37%. In a separate Harris Poll for Skylight, 78% of mothers called themselves the default parent.
How this quiz works
Each answer scores from 0 to 3. Your total puts you in one of three results. Then you'll see what's behind it, with a fix for each of your strongest answers, and a three-step plan for this week. Nothing is saved to an account, and you don't need an email to see your result.
Why it's so tiring when you're not doing that much
Holding an open task costs something even when you're not working on it. Twenty open loops means twenty things your mind keeps checking. That's why the weekend doesn't fix it, and why a to-do app you have to keep up doesn't either: it's one more thing to track.
Questions people ask
What is the mental load?
It's the invisible work of keeping track of a household: noticing, planning, remembering and following up, on top of doing the tasks. It's why someone can feel exhausted without having done much physical work.
Is this a psychological test?
No. It's a short set of questions about your week, not a test, and it can't diagnose anything. If you're worried about your health, talk to your doctor.
How do I lighten my mental load?
Get everything out of your head into one place, attach dates as you go, and stop keeping lists in five places. Ripple does this by voice: you say what's on your mind and it becomes a dated to-do list.
Do I need to sign up to see my result?
No. Your result shows as soon as you answer the last question.