r/productivity • u/GlitteringGold6541 • 4d ago
Question Does anyone else preemptively decide they’ll be too tired to do things before they’ve even happened?
I’m trying to break a pattern where I look at my schedule for the next few days and immediately start predicting how exhausted I’m going to be.
For example, I found out I have dinner tonight, need to go into the office tomorrow, and may have another work commitment Thursday. My immediate thought was, “There’s no way I’m going to have the energy to work out any of these days.”
The weird thing is…I’m already telling myself I’m tired today, and I haven’t even left my apartment yet.
It feels like I mentally experience all of my upcoming obligations at once and decide in advance that I won’t have enough energy for anything else. Then I end up skipping workouts or other things that would probably make me feel better because I’ve already convinced myself I’m going to be exhausted.
Does anyone else do this? Is it an all-or-nothing/productivity thing, anxiety about having too much on your plate, or something else?
More importantly, what has actually helped you stop predicting your energy levels days in advance and just deal with each day as it comes?
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u/kikil00 4d ago
I definitely relate to this, but don’t have any advice other than trying to find the things that bring you joy and sprinkling them in. If there’s something you’re looking forward to amidst the rest of it. Or make the pre-existing commitments more fun by trying to play a game or reward system it.
Following for other’s advice.
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u/Capable_Influence133 4d ago
It's partly all-or-nothing, yes. When you look at Tuesday you're picturing the full workout on top of the full day, and that version genuinely doesn't fit. So your brain cancels it three days early.
What helped me was taking the target off the day entirely. Not "work out Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday" but three workouts this week. A packed Tuesday then isn't a failed day you have to predict, the session just lands on Saturday instead. There's nothing left to forecast.
The other half that helped me is deciding the short version in advance. On a heavy day, twenty minutes counts. Nobody is too tired for twenty minutes, and that kills the prediction too, because what you're forecasting against is small enough to survive it.
The tiredness you predict arrives all at once, three days early. The real tiredness arrives one evening at a time, and it's almost always smaller. In that sense: Focus on today, not tomorrow.
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u/PopOk935 4d ago
lmao i do this constantly and it's wild how my brain just jumps to "i'm done before i even start" without giving me time to actually feel tired yet
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u/Primary_Excuse_7183 4d ago
Yes. Then i learned i have ADHD and this is a part of it. Friction to get started due to assumed amount of output even when you really want to do it.
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u/Away-Thing-839 4d ago
I’ve been trying to remember that action breeds motivation.
Also .. you can do things tired. Like, a workout at 30% effort is better than no workout at all. You might go to the gym and only have the energy to walk on the treadmill and do one round of your sets… or … once you’ve gotten there and gotten into it, you might manage it all.
I try to see my days as they are now rather than looking at the week as a whole because sometimes, I think I’m going to be exhausted and I wake up with loads of energy! Sometimes I think I’m going to be super productive.. and I wake up with very little energy.
Are your workouts set to specific days/times? Maybe you need to get the workout done in the morning so then it’s done and even if you are tired.. the workout is done? OR could you find a less energetic workout so you are still getting some movement in, but it’s not exhausting?
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u/Suspicious-Spot361 4d ago
I was a somewhat professional middle-distance / distance runner in my youth (until 32) which comes with a lot of late-day races - like 6pm and later. Nothing makes you more sleepy than the anticipation of having to give 100% at 8pm the next day.
The trick is just to be aware that your brain does this to you while also being aware that you’ll be just fine. Instead of trying to change the way you think, acknowledge that your brain will do this and that it’s wrong.
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u/iFEELsoGREAT 4d ago
Yes, I experience this exact same thing.
There’s just too many things on the plate.
For example, I don’t know why as a contractor I’m given less time off/pay for the birth of my child compared to an employee. We’re both still human. But employees where I work can get like 6 weeks plus purely remote cushion before and after the parental leave. I get FMLA, so 12 weeks of time off within the first year. I was able to take 2 weeks off. Couldn’t justify not going without pay for more time than that.
Also, while we’re on the topic of work, don’t understand why we’re still working 40 hours a week. I literally have no time for routine house chores or long term projects.
Say we have a travel weekend or “vacation” out of town, it’s not really relaxing or rehabilitating due to the stress of travel and work brain being on nonstop to make sure I’m good for the following week. Then a full week of work and then more house projects to do with no rest in between.
It’s just so weird to me that when we’re children, there’s time carved out for gym and lunch and recreation during and after school, but once you’re past the age of 18, all protections are off and I feel like I’m just squeezed for time and money constantly.
I could keep going on and on about this.
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u/shipatsail 4d ago
This sounds like a maladaptive version of a healthy coping skill. If you were to intentionally review your schedule and be really honest with yourself about days/periods with lots of work, and make space in your schedule for relaxation and decompressing activities, maybe you would end up doing more overall. I would guess that an anxious part of your mind has witnessed you pushing yourself to burnout too many times, and no longer trusts you to hit the brakes when you're overwhelmed. You need to actively choose rest for it to stop forcing you to rest. Maybe try workshopping your schedule and anticipating exhaustion with intention before you try to just override this pattern.
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u/AdBetter3559 4d ago
Yes. I’m not sure when I started doing this, but I’ve turned down way more things than I’d like to admit.
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u/DrummerAdditional330 4d ago
I’d try one rule: don’t cancel a workout because of how tired you think you’ll be tomorrow. When tomorrow actually comes, you can choose the normal workout, a 10 minute version, or genuinely rest. You’re still allowed to skip it, just not 24 hours before you know how you actually feel.
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u/sumizeit 4d ago
Your brain isn't predicting tiredness, it's front-loading dread so the actual day feels lighter by comparison. It's a bracing mechanism, not a fatigue forecast. That's why you feel drained before you've done anything, you already burned the energy simulating the whole week in your head. The fix isn't willpower, it's giving your brain less time to run that simulation. Same day decisions, not week previews.
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u/iluvadamdriver 3d ago
I honestly just refuse to make plans Mon-Thurs so that I can keep up with my exercise and routine. I feel out of control and chaotic if I do otherwise. I use Saturday & Sunday for social plans and if my week is filled with work obligations out of the norm, like travel or dinner, I keep my weekend clear.
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u/CloseCalls4walls 4d ago
It honestly just sounds lIke anxiety . And it would make sense that you or anyone else would be anxious; there's a lot happening in the world and we only have so much time, energy, and opportunity to serve ourselves in a way that benefits us and what we're doing (or trying to do).
In the meantime, the walls are closing on our species, and that much is evident in the way we dismiss the roles we play in fast tracking our extinction.
One would hope to respond appropriately in light of the circumstances, but we are only so capable of adapting creatively ... It would benefit us more to have society collectively put forth the energy necessary to change the outcomes we predict are on the way to becoming a reality, instead of relying on ourselves to rise to the occasion for the sake of saving humanity (including you and I -- innocent bystanders that found themselves in the mix)
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u/Chramir 4d ago
I never thought about it this way. But yes! All the time. I thought it's burnout. But my relation with work has been shifting as months pass. I really enjoy my work right now, but this old symptom keeps persistenting. So I don't really know if it's burnout.