A communications system is provided that includes a communications scheduler adapted to receive messages from a plurality of message sources and sensors. The messages comprise human and generated messages. The sensors comprise situational, neurophysiological and physiological sensors. The cognitive state profile processing unit receives sensor data and produces a current cognitive state profile for the user. The communications scheduler includes a context manager that receives outputs from the plurality of sensors, monitors a current user's tasks, and retains information about the user's environment, a message characterization unit that characterizes the messages using the attributes of the message, outputs from the sensors, and the user's specific baseline profile data and a presentation unit that receives the characterized messages, the cognitive state profile, and context information and queues the characterized messages into a prioritized message list and presents the message list to the user via the display unit.