In Conversation: A Behavioral Scientist on the Cost of Constant Availability

There’s a kind of exhaustion a lot of us are carrying that doesn’t look dramatic. You’re getting through your day. You’re answering the emails, returning the texts, keeping up. On the surface, you’re fine.

But underneath, something feels overloaded.

In her new book Finding Focus, behavioral scientist Dr. Zelana Montminy explores what constant distraction is doing to our minds and nervous systems. Her message isn’t about productivity. It’s about what happens when we’re always available and never fully at rest.

When we asked her what she’s most passionate about helping people with right now, she didn’t hesitate: “Right now, I’m most passionate about helping people reclaim their attention in a world that constantly fragments it. Not as a productivity hack, but as a deeply human necessity.”

In Conversation with Dr. Zelana Montminy

We’re Living in Continuous Input

“We are living in an era of continuous input with very little integration,” she explains. Historically, stress came in waves. Now it is ambient, chronic, and psychologically layered. News, notifications, social comparison, global uncertainty, and personal responsibilities all coexist in the same cognitive space.

“The nervous system was not designed for perpetual vigilance.”

It’s not just the volume of information that strains us. It’s what she calls the emotional ambiguity of it. We are constantly processing micro-threats, micro-decisions, and micro-interruptions. Over time, that creates “a baseline state of low-grade activation that people normalize as ‘just being busy,’ when in reality it is nervous system fatigue.”

Constant availability keeps that low-grade activation running in the background. We interpret it as productivity, when it’s often depletion.

Focus Is Not a Discipline Problem

One of the most important shifts in her work came from noticing a pattern. People would come in describing anxiety, overwhelm, burnout, and lack of motivation. Beneath those symptoms was fractured attention. “Not because they were weak,” she says, “but because they were emotionally and cognitively overloaded.”

That realization changed how she understands focus. Attention, she explains, is “a physiological and emotional state.” When your nervous system feels unsafe, attention splinters. When it feels regulated, attention naturally stabilizes.

Instead of asking why you can’t focus, the better question may be whether your system feels supported. Focus is not something you force. It is something you support.

The Illusion of Being Responsive

Culturally, we reward availability. One norm she believes should be retired is the expectation of constant availability. “It creates the illusion of responsiveness while quietly eroding depth, creativity, and psychological recovery.”

Human cognition thrives in cycles of engagement and disengagement. When availability becomes continuous, “the mind never fully resets. We end up responsive but not truly present.”

That distinction is subtle but significant. Responsiveness can look productive. Presence is what restores.

The Burnout We Miss

Burnout rarely announces itself dramatically at first. More often, it shows up quietly. She describes early signs as “subtle cognitive fog, increased irritability, loss of enthusiasm for things that once felt meaningful, and a sense of emotional numbness rather than dramatic breakdown.”

It appears as a disconnection long before collapse. Many people miss it because they are still functioning on the surface. But functioning and feeling well are not the same thing.

If You Can’t Step Away

For many people, stepping away from responsibilities isn’t realistic. Life remains full. She acknowledges that “exhaustion and responsibility often coexist, especially in seasons of full life.”

The goal is not to escape your responsibilities. It is to reduce unnecessary nervous system strain within them. That might mean fewer transitions, more realistic expectations, micro-recovery throughout the day, and protecting small pockets of cognitive space. “You don’t need a full life overhaul. You need moments of physiological exhale. Sustainable resilience is built in increments, not dramatic resets.”

It’s a steadier, more humane approach to resilience.

Constant availability asks us to be everywhere. Her work, and Finding Focus, invite a different question: what would it look like to protect your attention instead of constantly offering it away? 

To keep up with Dr. Zelana Montminy’s work, follow her on Instagram at @dr.zelana.

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