Laura Thomson-StaveleyWhat do you think is the hidden cost of being ‘always-on’? The numbers don’t lie. In just one year, we witnessed a staggering 148% increase in weekly meeting time, while email volume surged by 40.6 billion messages and team chats jumped 45% per person. This isn’t just digital transformation, it’s digital overwhelm. The data reveals a troubling truth about our collective relationship with technology.
What we’re experiencing isn’t sustainable. The brain scans are particularly telling: when we jump from meeting to meeting without breaks, our neural activity shows increasingly chaotic patterns, with stress levels climbing meeting after meeting. However, when we introduce even brief pauses between calls, our brains maintain remarkably stable, calm patterns throughout the day. This isn’t just about feeling better, it’s about cognitive performance and long-term mental health.
Your brain on back-to-back meetings
EEG data reveals something profound about how our minds process continuous digital interaction. Without breaks, we see escalating beta wave activity. The brain’s stress signature builds like pressure in a kettle. But introduce strategic pauses, and suddenly we see sustained blue and green patterns indicating optimal cognitive function. This is your brain’s way of telling you it needs to reset between tasks.
This is why I advocate for becoming your own chief energy officer. Just as we wouldn’t drive a car without checking the petrol or use a mobile phone with 0% battery, so we can’t expect
peak performance without monitoring our mental resources. The research supports what many of us intuitively know: powering through isn’t productive. In fact, it’s enormously counterproductive.
Modern work demands
A recent Wellbeing at Work Survey reinforces these challenges from both personal and managerial perspectives. When asked about self-care priorities, nearly three-quarters of respondents identified getting outside daily as their primary wellness strategy, followed closely by regular eating patterns, exercise and connecting with others.
Yet when the same professionals were asked about barriers to supporting their teams through difficulties, the picture becomes clearer: 58% cited overwhelming workload, while 53% pointed to relentless time pressures. This creates a troubling paradox. Leaders know that stepping outside, maintaining routines and fostering connections are essential for wellbeing, yet they’re trapped in work environments that make these very practices nearly impossible.
It’s not a lack of awareness holding us back from better boundaries; it’s the reality of modern work demands. They prevent even well-intentioned leaders from modelling or enabling the balance their teams desperately need.
The art of intelligent time management
One of the most powerful concepts I share with clients is the ‘21 packets of time’ framework. Rather than viewing your week as five gruelling eight-hour blocks, imagine 21 distinct segments. Split your day into morning, afternoon and evening across seven days. This ancient wisdom recognises that our energy naturally ebbs and flows, and that rigid scheduling often works against our biology rather than with it.
Break your time into smaller, focused segments. This flexibility allows you to adapt to unexpected situations while maintaining productivity. By consciously allocating these ‘packets’ of time, we can ensure a balance between work, rest and personal activities.
What I find remarkable about this approach is its inherent flexibility. If one time packet doesn’t go as planned, it doesn’t spoil the rest of your day. Each segment becomes an opportunity for renewal, not just continuation. When we create natural stopping points, we prevent stress accumulation.
Consider implementing the Zulu Time Zone for your personal rhythms. Just as aviators use Universal Coordinated Time or Zulu Time for safe global operations, you can establish consistent personal operating hours that transcend the chaos of modern scheduling. This is especially useful if you work internationally across a variety of different countries and time zones. It might also mean designating 25 and 55-minute meetings as your new default, automatically building in transition and break times.
Mastering the boundary conversation
The data shows us why boundaries matter, but they can often be difficult to implement. I teach clients to think in terms of Gold, Silver, and Bronze standards. Your Gold boundary might be ‘no calls after 6pm, 100% of the time.’ Silver could be ‘80% of the time,’ and Bronze might be ‘50% of the time.’ This tiered approach acknowledges that perfection isn’t the goal, sustainable progress is.
Language matters enormously here. Instead of making rigid commitments that set you up for failure, embrace ‘Flexible Framing.’ Replace ‘it will definitely be ready by Friday’ with ‘I plan to have this completed by Friday’ or ‘our intention is to deliver by end of week.’ This isn’t about lowering standards; it’s about honest communication that prevents over-promising.
The ‘no to task, yes to person’ framework
Perhaps the most transformative boundary skill is learning to decline requests while maintaining relationships. I teach a simple three-step formula which includes:
1. Frame your response (‘In order for me to maintain my energy…’).
2. Explain the benefit (‘…so I can meet our end deadline’).
3. Make a counter-request (‘Could we schedule this for tomorrow morning instead?’).
This approach acknowledges the person’s needs while protecting your capacity. The data clearly shows that when we constantly say yes, we end up in that red-zone brain state where quality inevitably suffers.
Designing your sustainable future
Your work only works if you are okay. The research validates what many of us have forgotten: there’s an optimal order for sustainable performance. We need a balance of healthy sleep, nutrition, relaxation, relationships, friends, exercise and finally work. Notice that work comes last, not first.
Digital demands on our time and brains just keep climbing. But now we have choices. We can continue on this unsustainable path, or we can use the insights from both neuroscience and practical experience to design something better.
Proactive questions to ask yourself include:
1. What does a balanced life look like for you over next three months? Visualise and communicate it.
2. What would planning in breaks mean for your energy levels? Diarise it and commit.
3. What professional benefit will keeping clearer boundaries bring? Practice it and share it with your team / manager.
Breaks aren’t luxuries, they’re necessities. Your brain literally functions differently when you honour its need for renewal. The question isn’t whether you can afford to set boundaries; it’s whether you can afford not to.
Life is short. Your brain, and your performance, will thank you.
Laura Thomson-Staveley is founder and leadership coach at Phenomenal Training and co-host of Secrets from A Coach podcast.
