I’ve found when I’m hung over or exhausted (e.g. kids were up all night), are the times when I can really plow through all the mundane todos that have been sitting around forever. It’s almost like my mind is happy to have a bunch of stuff lined up that takes minimal effort. When I’m “fresh” and energized, in the absence of another forcing function (e.g. deadline), the easy stuff is too boring, and the hard stuff results in analysis paralysis.
I totally understand how this feels. I've always been a night owl, staying up in my teenage years until 3 or 4 in the morning working on a project. I can just think more linearly when my brain is tired.
Pre-covid I was regularly doing an intense morning spin class before going to the office, so I was "tired" when I started my day, and my productivity was great. Not perfect, but much better. Since WFH/SIP I don't have the opportunity to do the same kind of intense cardio, so I've relegated myself to blocking my afternoons so all my meetings get scheduled in the morning. Even then, I still am not that productive in the afternoon, and sometimes resort to getting work done in the evenings when I feel I can take on a larger task.
