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Ask Flex / Morning dread

Ask Flex

Is it normal to dread going to work?

Yes. Give it a name.

What you tell yourself

"I dread all of it. The whole job."

"It's the 9:00 meeting and the 40 emails I haven't opened."

What you can do about it

"Nothing. It's just how work is."

"Three notes for the meeting tonight. Sort the emails first thing."

An example. Your job, your call.

Flex's short answer

Yes, plenty of people feel it, and it doesn't mean something is wrong with you. Try to figure out exactly what you're dreading, because once you know what it is, you can do something about it.

✱ Flex's tips

Figure out what you're dreading.

1

Keep a dread list for a week

One line each morning: what am I dreading?

2

Look for the repeat

The same thing three days running is your answer.

3

Fix the small one first

A meeting, a pile, one email. Start there.

4

Tell someone if it stays

If it follows you everywhere, a doctor is a good person to tell.

Try this in your own Claude or ChatGPT

Every morning this week I wrote down what I was dreading about work. Here's the list, with names and private details left out: [paste your lines]. Tell me what shows up more than once, in plain words. Then give me one small thing I could try this week for the one that shows up most. Don't tell me how I feel or what's wrong with me. Just work with the list.

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
Inside the Lab

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A free group where you learn to use Claude for the repeat parts of your job: email, reports, forms. Start with a 15-minute chat that maps what Claude can do in your job.

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✱ What people ask
What do I do when I dread going to work?

Find the one thing the dread is about, and decide your first move on it. Flex has a page on it.

Why do I wake up with a feeling of dread?

Flex can't answer the why. If work is what's on your mind, writing down what's waiting helps you see it.

What about dreading Monday morning?

Leave yourself a Friday note, so Monday already has a first move. 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?How do you deal with morning anxiety before work?Anxiety before work, but not during 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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