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Ask Flex / Morning dread

Ask Flex

Anxiety before work, but not during work?

Pick a first move. The night before.

7:10 AM, at home

"What's waiting for me? What did I forget?"

"First thing: answer the two emails. It's on the sticky note."

9:15 AM, at your desk

"Oh. It's fine. Same as yesterday."

"Two emails answered. On to the next thing."

An example. Your morning, your call.

Flex's short answer

Flex can't tell you why it happens, so here's the work part, which is to note when it shows up and plan one small first task. Pick that task the night before, so you walk in knowing where you'll start.

✱ Flex's tips

Give the morning a first move.

1

Note when it shows up

The time and the place. One line a day.

2

Write the first move tonight

One line on a sticky note at your desk.

3

Leave work email for the desk

You can't fix it from bed.

4

Start before you think

Sit down, do the sticky note, then look at the rest.

Try this in your own Claude or ChatGPT

I feel wound up before work, but I'm fine once I get going. Here's what a normal first hour at my job looks like, with names and private details left out: [describe it]. Suggest three small first moves I could pick from the night before, each one under ten minutes. Then write a one-line note to myself for each one that I can leave on my desk.

Before you paste work stuff into any AI, check what your company allows.
Free tool

The First Ten Minutes

Tap what's waiting for you at work. Flex hands you three small steps for your first ten minutes.

Pick my first move
Flex the robot peeking around the office door in the morning light, his shadow on the wall shaped like a huge scary pile, while the only thing on his desk is one small sticky note under a lamp, with little Clawd holding the door open
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✱ What people ask
How do I deal with morning anxiety before work?

Get what's waiting onto a list the night before, and pick one first move. Flex has a page on it.

What about dread and anxiety before work?

Same move. Name what's waiting, then pick where you'll start.

How do I stop dreading work?

Decide tomorrow's first move before you leave today. Flex has a page on it.

✱ More from this pile: Morning dread
Why do you dread going to work in the morning?How do you stop dreading going to work?Is it normal to dread going to work?How do you deal with morning anxiety before work?Can't get out of bed for work?How do you get up for work on time?Dreading Monday morning?How do you get through the day when you don't want to work? The First Ten Minutes
From Nikki's blogFlex tells you how. Nikki tells you what it felt like. Read it on Clawd and Me. Read it →

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