This study explored how researchers at a Swedish university experienced information overload while working in a complex digital work environment. The study further investigates how the experience of information overload interacts with cognitive load theory and administrative burden. Five semi structured interviews were conducted along with document studies of the systems in the digital work environment. Results suggest that researchers are infrequent users of most of the administrative systems and experience a high amount of cognitive load, both intrinsic and extraneous, and found avoidance, delegating and workarounds as a way of avoiding information overload.