"But here's what nobody talks about: Some of these supposedly productive habits are stealing the very hours when your brain is sharpest. After years of trying every productivity hack out there (and yes, treating them as self-care before realizing I was optimizing myself into exhaustion), I've discovered that many popular morning routines are mental energy vampires in disguise. They feel productive because we're doing something, but they're actually depleting our cognitive resources when we need them most."
"email "just to clear the deck" This one hurts because I used to be guilty of it every single morning. The logic seems sound: Clear out your inbox first thing so you can focus on deep work without distractions. But research shows that email processing triggers decision fatigue faster than almost any other activity. Every email requires a micro-decision. Delete? Respond? Flag for later? File? These tiny choices add up, and before you know it, you've spent your freshest mental energy on other people's"
Many common morning routines consume peak cognitive energy and hinder deep work. Practices that feel productive can deplete freshest mental resources when cognitive performance is highest. Checking email first triggers decision fatigue because each message demands micro-decisions, shifting focus to others' priorities. Excessive, detailed morning planning wastes time and fresh attention when a simple plan would suffice. Treating rituals as self-care while optimizing every minute can lead to exhaustion rather than increased productivity. Preserving initial hours for highest-value, undistracted tasks and postponing inbox and exhaustive scheduling improves creative and deep-work output.
Read at Silicon Canals
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