Sent
Optimization Theater
If you're currently negotiating with your brain to send just one more email before 5:00 PM, welcome to the summit.
Sent as Human AF Weekly, the Chaos Dispatch's earlier name, under the subject "Your First Human AF Newsletter!", before the book was called Built For Chaos. Project updates that no longer apply are left out.
If you're currently negotiating with your brain to send just one more email before 5:00 PM, welcome to the summit. You're likely in the "afternoon crash" - that magical window where your dopamine levels have checked out for the day, and simple tasks feel like trying to climb Everest in flip-flops.
The Confession: This morning, I spent 45 minutes researching the absolute "best" project management software to manage a task that will literally take me 10 minutes to finish. I now have 14 new browser tabs open, a slight headache, and the original task remains untouched.
I used to call this "being thorough." Now, I just call it Optimization Theater. My brain was essentially cosplaying as a productive person to avoid the discomfort of starting. If you're currently hiding behind 14 tabs, consider this your non-judgmental call-out.
The Nudge: Your Brain is a Moving Ceiling Fan
Instead of trying to "focus harder" (the most useless advice in history), let's Normalize the biology.
- The Problem: Your working memory is less like a filing cabinet and more like trying to stick Post-It notes to a moving ceiling fan. Things fly off. Frequently.
- The Reframe: You aren't broken; you just have a specialized CEO who only shows up for high-stakes passion, not low-stakes logistics.
- The Action: Externalize ONE thing. Stop trying to "remember" it. Pick the one task you're dreading and don't "do" it. Just write the very first micro-step on a physical piece of paper and put it directly on your keyboard. (Example: Don't "do taxes." Just "find the login password.")
The TL;DR
- Nudge: Your working memory is a goldfish on a bender; use physical notes.
Stay Authentically Focused,
Matt