Your Brain Isn’t Built for the Way You Work
Readtime: 3 minutes
Last week, I asked a team from a major bank a simple question:
“What stops you from getting your actual work done?”
It opened a pressure valve.
People didn’t hesitate. And they didn’t sugarcoat.
They unloaded.
Planned work derailed before 10:00 AM
Meetings they “had” to attend but contributed nothing to.
Emails that ruined their evening plans at 5:59 PM
Endless ad-hoc requests labelled “urgent” by people who wouldn’t remember them tomorrow
And then someone said the line that nailed the whole problem to the wall:
“There’s too much to get done, and it’s hard to feel like you can make any dent.”
If you’ve ever worked in a modern corporate environment, you don’t just understand that line – you feel it.
But here’s the twist.
When I asked the same group when they felt most focused and energised, they didn’t need to think about it. They knew exactly what conditions brought out their best work:
A clear plan.
No last-minute, urgent requests
No Teams pings every 30 seconds.
Quiet.
Space.
A little breathing room.
In other words:
They knew how to do great work, they just rarely got the conditions to do it.
So we talked about why this gap exists – and why it’s getting wider.
Their challenges were symptoms of a workday that constantly asks people to do deep, thoughtful work in shallow, frantic conditions:
Open-plan offices full of distractions.
Unnecessary meetings.
Processes with too many layers and too few decisions.
And the tech tools that promise efficiency but mostly interrupt the productivity they’re meant to support.
And here’s the part no one likes:
The only time people feel they can do their real work is in the evenings or on weekends – exactly when they’re supposed to be resting, recovering, and having a life outside of their job.
This isn’t a “resilience” issue.
It’s not something you “power through”.
Because you can’t grind your way out of a system designed to scatter your attention.
You can’t focus deeply in an environment built for constant interruption.
You can’t do strategic work inside a culture addicted to urgency.
That’s why even small ideas land so powerfully:
Defining your Most Important Work
Working with your circadian and ultradian rhythms
Using countdown timers
Reducing ‘attention residue’
These aren’t brand-new concepts.
But they are truths we rarely get the space – or permission – to acknowledge.
If the above sounds like your workplace, remember this:
You are not the problem.
You’re working in a system that’s misaligned with how your brain actually works.
And that’s why even the smallest adjustments can make such a meaningful difference.
Start with one hour of protected time a day.
To do your Most Important Work.
At the right time of day for you.
No distractions.
Notifications off.
Countdown timer set.
You won’t create a perfect system.
But you can start with a single, winnable step.
Let me know how it goes.
See you next week,
Mostyn
P.S. If your team is stuck in reaction mode, there is a way out. The companies I’ve worked with see an average 41% improvement in their ability to get meaningful work done. Watch my showreel and schedule a call.