The Motivation Triad: How It Shows Up in Your Stressful Life
Jun 02, 2024
Riessa Monique
As a woman in tech, what if you could manage stress, enhance work-life balance, and accelerate your career growth just by understanding your brain's intrinsic motivators? This episode of Inside and Outside the Code offers a deep dive into the motivational triad—seeking pleasure, avoiding pain, and conserving energy—and explains how these drivers shape our behaviors. We'll uncover how these natural tendencies can sometimes lead to workplace challenges like imposter syndrome and bias, particularly for women in tech, and how brain plasticity can help us form healthier habits to overcome these obstacles.
Imagine transforming your job performance and mental well-being by simply setting boundaries and incorporating small pleasures into your daily routine. We discuss the often-ignored impact of negative feedback in corporate environments, which can lead to unnecessary stress and self-doubt if not properly managed. Learn actionable tips for preventing burnout and making time for enjoyable activities, even amidst a hectic schedule. By intentionally adding these small joys to your day, you'll not only boost your overall well-being but also create a more balanced, satisfying life both at work and at home.
Discover the secrets to finding joy in your work by celebrating small wins and acknowledging even the tiniest progress. This episode explores how simple acts, like writing a line of code or ticking off a task, can trigger dopamine release and create a sense of accomplishment. Reflect on the aspects of your job that you appreciate and prioritize self-care activities to enhance your work experience. We’ll also provide practical strategies for conserving energy and avoiding burnout, from breaking down tasks into manageable steps to making time for sleep, exercise, and hobbies. Tune in for brain hacks that support your overall well-being and help you create more enjoyable and fulfilling workdays.
As a woman in tech, what if you could manage stress, enhance work-life balance, and accelerate your career growth just by understanding your brain's intrinsic motivators? This episode of Inside and Outside the Code offers a deep dive into the motivational triad—seeking pleasure, avoiding pain, and conserving energy—and explains how these drivers shape our behaviors. We'll uncover how these natural tendencies can sometimes lead to workplace challenges like imposter syndrome and bias, particularly for women in tech, and how brain plasticity can help us form healthier habits to overcome these obstacles.
Imagine transforming your job performance and mental well-being by simply setting boundaries and incorporating small pleasures into your daily routine. We discuss the often-ignored impact of negative feedback in corporate environments, which can lead to unnecessary stress and self-doubt if not properly managed. Learn actionable tips for preventing burnout and making time for enjoyable activities, even amidst a hectic schedule. By intentionally adding these small joys to your day, you'll not only boost your overall well-being but also create a more balanced, satisfying life both at work and at home.
Discover the secrets to finding joy in your work by celebrating small wins and acknowledging even the tiniest progress. This episode explores how simple acts, like writing a line of code or ticking off a task, can trigger dopamine release and create a sense of accomplishment. Reflect on the aspects of your job that you appreciate and prioritize self-care activities to enhance your work experience. We’ll also provide practical strategies for conserving energy and avoiding burnout, from breaking down tasks into manageable steps to making time for sleep, exercise, and hobbies. Tune in for brain hacks that support your overall well-being and help you create more enjoyable and fulfilling workdays.
Welcome to Inside and Outside the Code, the podcast for women in tech. I am your life coach and host, Riessa Monique, and I'm here to remind you you are not alone in this crazy, beautiful and sometimes overwhelming journey of being a woman in tech. So today I want to introduce you to this concept called the motivational triad, and this suggests humans are driven by three primary motivators seeking pleasure, avoiding pain and conserving energy and by the end of this episode, you'll learn how it shows up in your stressful life and three ways to train your brain for success. Also, in today's episode, I'm going to talk about incorporating the principles of the motivational triad into your daily life in order to prioritize your overall well-being, and so, by focusing on activities that bring you joy, minimizing pain points and optimizing energy levels, you can create a more balanced and joy, not only in your work, but also outside of work. The more you know, the more you understand. The more you understand, the more you can work with your brain. So I found this so fascinating. I'm like why don't we kind of like learn this stuff in school? So your brain's main goal is to survive, and the way it does that is that it does these three things avoid pain, seek pleasure, conserve energy. And so by understanding that your brain's natural way to seek pleasure and conserve energy, you can proactively find ways to make your work more enjoyable and efficient and this can lead to you know, enjoying your job a little bit more, having more motivation, having career growth, if that's something you're interested in, but ultimately reducing your stress level. The brain is always making decisions to help you stay happy and safe and, again, the way it does that seek pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy. So let's get into it. Avoiding pain we are biologically programmed to avoid situations that could be harmful or painful, so we no longer have like lions and tigers and bears, like our prehistoric ancestors, so it's like, literally, they had to avoid those kind of things to survive.
Riessa Monique:
Our brain can interpret avoiding pain. It could show up either on our job or in our personal life, like avoiding challenging tasks or difficult conversations, or not making a decision, not going for the promotion, not asking for help, not making time for yourself, not attending a meeting about that project's progress to avoid potential criticism or negative feedback. The brain is wired like the best security system, always on the lookout, but it's actually on the lookout of avoiding pain and discomfort. So pain and discomfort can look like doing something new or unfamiliar or anything your brain literally doesn't think is safe and when I mentioned safe, I'm not talking in regards to physical safety as much as I'm talking about just feeling safe and that can look like not speaking up in a strategy meeting or not volunteering to lead that project or to work on a new technology. So when it comes to avoiding pain, sometimes our brain can be just a little overprotective, but it's totally normal and that's one thing that I loved about finding this, about this, I'm like I have a brain, other people have a brain, so that must mean other, like women, must be experiencing this Also. I am not alone, so some ways this can show up. Specifically for women in tech is experiencing what some may call imposter syndrome, and what that is is just having a feeling like you don't belong or you're not qualified for your position, despite your skills and your accomplishments, and I'm gonna have a whole separate podcast about this. So but understand how the brain seeks to avoid the pain. Understand how the brain seeks to avoid pain or, in this case, the fear of being found out in quotes can help you recognize and combat these feelings. Unfortunately, women technically face discrimination, biases and harassment in the workplace, and these experiences can be emotionally painful and stressful. And understanding how the brain is wired to avoid pain can help you develop coping strategies and build resilience. And when I say our brains are wired, I'm like literally talking about I'm gonna go like neuroscience geek a little bit about it, and I love hearing this stuff, so I hope you do too.
Riessa Monique:
Neuropathways are routes that send electrical signals that travel in the brain and in our nervous system. They're literally like the foundation of how our brain process and response to information, influencing everything from reflexes to decision-making and emotional regulation. These neuropathways form the basis of our habits, automatic behaviors and our thought patterns. So when we experience pain or discomfort, our brain creates a neural pathway to help us avoid similar situations in the future. And the analogy I love when talking about neural pathways it's like having an open grass field and then you ride like a bike in that grass field. If you take that same path over and over and over, that path will become worn and therefore easier to ride. And that is what neural pathways are like. Once they're formed, it's easier. It's easier to do the same task over and over again, even if that means avoiding something that you may want to do, just because your brain is actually used to avoiding that very thing. So the more we engage in behaviors that help us avoid pain, the stronger those neural pathways become, making it easier for us to repeat those in the future. And so this is similar to avoiding any obstacles on the rough patch of a grassy field, like when riding a bike. So the more we avoid a particular area, the more defined that smooth path becomes. But this can be changed, just like a grassy field, and you can create new paths. It's actually called brain plasticity. It's really fascinating.
Riessa Monique:
So discomfort is like a bitter medicine it stings but it heals. And like starting small, as far as challenge yourself to do a little bit each day, like no step forward is too small, and watch yourself grow. Like life's a gym for your character and every rep counts. And when I say start small, I mean start small. Begin with a manageable challenge that stretches your boundaries without overwhelming you. For example, if you want to be able to give a talk or a presentation at, say, a town hall, for example, maybe start speaking up in stand-ups or team meetings or meetings with a smaller audience, and even if that's too overwhelming for you. Literally, if you're in a meeting, you have an idea or something to say, if you have your computer, just write it down. You don't have to share it with anyone but or write it on a piece of paper. And the only reason why I say even something that small because you're acknowledging that thought for yourself. And again, no step is too small. So if that's where you want to start, that's where you start Some strategies for reframing the pain points is recognizing and acknowledging the pain point by identifying the specific situation, thought or experience that causes you stress or discomfort.
Riessa Monique:
So the first step in is honestly having awareness about. Maybe there's something that, oh, wow, am I doing this because I'm trying to avoid pain? Very interesting, and again, this is not from a place of judgment, but simply just recognizing it. Oh, I didn't raise up my hand in the meeting again, oh, I didn't have that conversation with this person. Just pay attention to see what some of the things that you observe in yourself You're like, oh, I'm doing that because I'm avoiding pain. Or again, it could look like discomfort, right, like wait, why don't I want to do that? And sometimes you're like, oh, I just don't want to. No, sometimes that could be true. You literally don't have the desire, or is it really because you don't feel comfortable doing it?
Riessa Monique:
So once you recognize this and you acknowledge this, also try to reframe the negative thought. Listen to the negative self-talk. Sometimes you can recognize that if you listen to the self-talk and if your brain was anything like mine, my negative self-talk wasn't always about myself, like, oh, I'm too stupid to do this. The way it would come across is I'd be talking trash about everybody else. But it was really because I was scared or I just literally didn't feel comfortable. Like, oh, that's dumb anyway. Right, and it was really because I didn't feel comfortable doing it.
Riessa Monique:
And so reframe it to something a little more positive and constructive. Like, for example, instead of thinking I'm not good enough for this job or this job is dumb, recognize your brain is simply just trying to keep you safe and every thought you think isn't necessarily true. Right? How many like we used to believe that for some of us, that Santa was real and you know, just because we were thinking it didn't make it true. So try to reframe that to the truth. Not the Santa thing, but thinking I'm not good enough or this job is stupid. Reframe it to the truth is that I have the skills and experience to handle this challenge and grow in my role. If you are a woman in tech and you're working in that position and for some of you, I know you are probably overqualified working in that position and for some of you, I know you are probably overqualified working in that position but I want you to know you have the skills and experience to handle whatever challenge and grow in your role, and that is always true. And if you're in a position where you are overqualified, look for other opportunities. What other roles can you be applying for? And not waiting for someone to give them to you, but that you actually go for yourself.
Riessa Monique:
So, also, as far as just like with strategies, as far as reframing some pain points and developing resilience, is practicing self-compassion, like treat yourself with kindness and understanding, especially when facing difficulties. Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, especially when facing difficulties, the same way you would in talking to a friend or your five-year-old daughter or niece. Recognize that everyone makes mistakes and experiencing setbacks. It's part of the human experience. And I'll give an example. Like, even honestly, doing this podcast I am now re-recording it because I ended up recording it into two different halves, but when I did it, I recorded them over each other and I deleted it and I had to do it all over again and so, with my self-talk, I didn't make it mean anything about myself. I just decided to press record and just press it like start over and be like well, to press record and just press it like start over and can like well, there was no real consequence. There was no me, there was. There was no real consequence.
Riessa Monique:
A lot of times, if you're being honest, a lot of the consequences that we think are actually made up in our minds. Like I used to think that I was going to get fired all the time at my jobs, it was never because I was getting feedback that I was a poor performer. I was measuring myself against perfection because I was getting feedback that I was a poor performer. I was measuring myself against perfection. I was never that. What was so interesting for me is, anytime I left the job, I always got all this great feedback about how great it was to work with me, and the only reason why I share this is not to say that I'm so awesome even though I am, but so are you.
Riessa Monique:
Sometimes we don't get feedback and we think that it's because we're performing badly, and all we can hear is the inner voice in our head. But that's not necessarily true. Most likely, you're doing a great job. It's just that, unfortunately, a lot of times in corporate America, the only time we do hear something is because it's negative. If you're still employed and you're not getting negative feedback, you're probably doing better than you give yourself credit for.
Riessa Monique:
So avoiding pain can also look like not wanting to disappoint someone else, or it can also avoiding pain can also look like well, I don't want to make it look like I can't do the thing, in addition to all the other things I have going on, when the reality is as far as, what would serve you in the moment is setting boundaries by telling people no or not right now. So, for example, if your manager asks for more tasks to be added to your plate, maybe simply ask for a priority, because with additional tasks, all of this won't be done by Friday or whatever timeframe, and I specifically share that. I will never forget this conversation I had with a manager and he told me a lot of high-performing employees underestimate how much they can do. So I will continue to add things to my high performers until they tell me they can't do it. What he didn't know is that because don't get me wrong sometimes that could be true. But what he didn't know was how many hours people were actually putting in, because people weren't marking how many hours they were really putting into things based on their time card, because they thought they were just because they're a salary employee, there's no point in putting more because you won't get paid more. But companies I have worked at, they look at the timesheets Even though your pay won't get paid anymore. But if you're logging 70 hours, then you probably need additional resources. So, and again going back to sending boundaries, if you're being asked by a family member, maybe on a Friday, to bring you know that real good dish you always make, but it's Saturday and you don't have all the ingredients, and then by the time you go to the store, by the time you make it, and then you're going to have to rearrange your schedule because you knew you were going to go to the Saturday event, just tell them no, they will be okay and so will you. So how can setting boundaries help you minimize your stress and avoid burnout?
Riessa Monique:
The second one is seeking pleasure. So the brain is naturally drawn to pleasurable experiences. Your brain releases happy chemicals called dopamine when you do something enjoyable like eating sweets or watching Netflix for hours. When you do something enjoyable like eating sweets or watching Netflix for hours, this chemical release makes you feel good and reinforces behaviors by creating a sense of pleasure and satisfaction. So when an action has a pleasurable outcome, you're psychologically conditioned to repeat it, and if you do this continually, you build a habit. And when your brain doesn't know is the difference between a good or bad habit? I'm going to repeat that again. So your brain doesn't know the difference between a good or bad habit. But, however, if you do something continually and this action is considered pleasurable, it will make it a habit.
Riessa Monique:
So, with neural pathways and seeking pleasure, when you engage in activities that bring you pleasure or reward, your brain enforces the neural pathways associated with those experience. The more you repeat that pleasurable activity, the stronger and more easily accessible those neural pathways become, making you more likely to seek out those experiences in the future. So that can play into your favor or play into your detriment, right, depending on what that habit is. Because then that means like your brain is on autopilot, because this is great and we need to keep doing it. So this is like the bike path becoming more defined and easier to follow each time you ride on it, as the grass is worn down and the path becomes clearer, which means it becomes easier, right?
Riessa Monique:
So intentionally incorporating pleasure into your daily life so you can harness benefits to reduce stress, build resilience and promote overall wellbeing, but it's finding those and to incorporate pleasure into your daily life, it's finding those things that you actually enjoy. It doesn't have to take a long time. It could be a dance break, it could be a coloring book, it can be a journal, it could be taking a walk I don't know what it is for you, but having those making a list of some of those things so they're accessible to you. So, depending on what's going on, depending what the weather is or how much time you have, you can make that time for you, right, and you might think, right, you say you don't understand my life. I am so busy with the kids at work. I hear you what is one thing, maybe, or what are some things that you can actually do while in the bathroom? Right, for five minutes, even if it's that, is it a dance break? Just whatever it is so you can have some pleasure in your life every day, because you deserve it.
Riessa Monique:
So what are activities that bring you joy and help you unwind after a stressful day and it's not even just after a stressful day, it can just be any day and some ways to find pleasure in your work are celebrating small wins and accomplishments. Take time to acknowledge and celebrate your progress and accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem, and I mean that Sometimes it's like, well, it's not a big milestone, no, I don't care how small it is. If you have I don't know if you're developing something or you worked on part of the design. Yay, celebrate that. Right, you wrote your first line of code. Celebrate that you formatted the presentation. Celebrate that you scheduled the meeting. Celebrate that. Yes, yes, yes, I know it sounds stupid, I get it. I want you to understand this impact. It's the dopamine chemical that is released by having a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Riessa Monique:
And stop measuring your stuff for all these big things, because what we end up telling ourselves indirectly is it doesn't matter unless it's something big. But again, would you tell your friend that? Or your five-year-old daughter or niece the same thing? Humor me. Celebrate your progress and your accomplishments. We've been taught by society no, it has to only the big things. But, honestly, okay, if we want to intellectualize this, without making the small steps of progress, the big things aren't possible, right? So every little step actually matters, okay.
Riessa Monique:
So another way to find pleasure in your work is just regularly reflecting on aspects of your job that you appreciate and you're grateful for. For some people this may be hard, and I get it, but there's stuff there, even if it means it helps you pay the bills that if you're working a job that was better than your last, and some of you may be in a job that you love. So this would be a really simple exercise for you to do. But just keep on reminding yourself.
Riessa Monique:
Another way to find pleasure in your work is prior to rising self-care activities that help you recharge. Work is prior to rising self-care activities that help you recharge, manage your stress, such as exercise, meditation or hobbies. I'm like wait, how do I find pleasure in work? By prioritizing my self-care, because the version of you that's recharged, that manages your stress, actually has more fun at work. You have you more than have that capacity, and it may not be fun for some of you that might be a stretch, but you're able to enjoy yourself a little bit more at your job if you're recharged and have less stress. So I just wanted to encourage you to prioritize your self-care and engage in activities that bring you joy outside of work.
Riessa Monique:
I don't know what that is for you, and for everyone it's different. It could be crossword puzzles, it could be dancing, it could be coloring books, it can be doing a somersault. I tried to do a somersault. It was really scary. I did it at my five-year-old niece's gymnastic class. I did it with the teachers helped me. It was really exciting, anyways. So my question to you is how can you incorporate more pleasure in your workday to make it more enjoyable? Like life isn't supposed to be just enjoyable when we're children. Again, it doesn't have to be that much time. I understand you're busy. I understand you have a lot going on.
Riessa Monique:
So the third part of the motivational triad is conserving energy. The brain is designed to conserve energy. Our brains love being efficient. It loves turning activities into autopilot, because sometimes it gets a little too comfy in the energy safe mode and you start putting off the new, the bold and the beneficial things that you want to do. It also conserves energy by forming patterns. Patterns become habits when done over and over again, so that they can be done on autopilot and the brain does not distinguish what a bad habit is or a good habit is.
Riessa Monique:
I know that I'm repeating myself, if you're actually paying attention. Didn't she say that? Yes, I did, but again, it's all about repetition. The brain will resist forming a new habit, literally because it's unfamiliar and it doesn't seem safe. Anything that's new or unfamiliar doesn't seem safe. So that's again going back to like it sounds. Like the same thing as far as avoiding pain, because one thing you'll find is, although there are three in the motivational triad, sometimes it'll be one of them, sometimes it will two, sometimes it can apply to all three.
Riessa Monique:
So neural pathways my favorite and conserving energy Our brain is wired to conserve energy by defaulting to a well-established neural pathway that requires less effort and less resources. Right, and the more we rely on habitual habits and thought patterns, the more ingrained these neural pathways become, making it easier to follow them right, and some of these can actually serve us, depending on if the habit is serving us or not. So this is similar to like, again, the well-worn bike path on the grassy field, as it just requires less effort and energy compared to forging a new path through untouched grass. So conserving energy can lead to procrastination, and that's kind of easy to understand, right? Because if you're conserving energy and you're like I don't want to do that new task, I don't want to do that challenging or unpleasant task, I'm avoiding it. So it's kind of clear that it can lead to procrastination. But that procrastination can also cause stress to build up over time as the pending task looms larger and the deadline approaches.
Riessa Monique:
And when I was preparing for this podcast, I thought it was interesting to find out that conserving energy can also lead to burnout. That didn't make sense. I was like, if I'm conserving energy but I'm not doing the thing, how am I being burned out? So this is what I found, and let me know your thoughts on this so consistently conserving energy by taking shortcuts, avoiding challenges or not investing in personal and professional growth can lead to stagnation and boredom. Why you don't engage in activities that stimulate and challenge you. You may lose motivation and feel unfulfilled in your work. I was like, yeah, that's so true, and so over time, this lack of motivation and fulfillment can contribute to burnout. I was like, huh, so basically being burnt out because there is a lack of motivation and fulfillment. Wow, because burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. Oh yeah, I can totally see that. Right, it's the lack of motivation fulfillment that contributes to burnout, which is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. I was like, wow yeah, I just thought that was interesting.
Riessa Monique:
So conserving energy can also lead to imbalance. Just having by neglecting important tasks or relationships or self-care activities can cause stress to accumulate as you struggle to keep up with the demands of work and personal life. And neglecting self-care and personal growth can just make you less resilient to stress and more prone to burnout, and conserving energy can lead to inefficiency. So, while conserving energy is important, always choosing a path of resistance can lead to inefficiency in the long run sometimes. But because it's simply avoiding challenges or not investing in learning or development can limit your skills and hinder your ability to work effectively, and the insufficiency can lead to increased stress and burnout as the struggle to keep up with the demands of your work. So it's about finding a balance between conserving energy and engaging in activities that challenge and stimulate you, right? So sometimes, if you ever find yourself avoiding something and it could be in the name of conserving energy.
Riessa Monique:
Break the large task in something smaller, manageable steps, because sometimes it's like I have to work on this huge presentation, maybe just work on the introduction. If you have to work on some code, maybe work on the first part of the design or the first part of the code. Some other tips are to prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. Everything is not important and everything's not urgent, right, because if everything was important and urgent, that means nothing is important and urgent. So prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency and set realistic goals and deadlines and also communicate those goals and deadlines. I've worked with people who will literally just throw out some rent and it's not needed then. So people are working overtime, missing family functions, doing a lot of stuff to make this unrealistic deadline, simply because that was what they were presented with and they didn't push back.
Riessa Monique:
Sally, I need this done by Tuesday, like it might be Monday. If it can't be done by Tuesday, just tell them Like, unfortunately, I won't be able to get done by this Tuesday, based on whether it's not, whether it could be based on the amount of time the task will take. It could be other priorities, but whatever it is, based on my existing priorities, based on how long this will take me, I will have it done in two weeks, one week, five days, whatever it is just set those expectations, because sometimes, literally, people will throw something out there Like, hey, I need it by tomorrow. Okay, unfortunately I won't be able to get it done and you said it's gonna take a week. Sometimes I'm like, okay, what I was gonna miss an important event to get this done for something it wasn't really needed.
Riessa Monique:
Also, another tip as far as investing in your own personal and professional growth so that you can also be more efficient, you can find more balance in what you actually enjoy and engaging in self-care activities that recharge and rejuvenate you, and to me, that is what self-care activities are. They're different for everybody, but what is it that recharges you, what is it that rejuvenates you? And so another way to conserve energy is also to delegate when possible. Are you the only one that can do that task? I know, I know no one can do it as good as you, but who can do it at an 80% level? 80% as good as you? Yeah, can they do it? Ask them, delegate and, depending on the task. Is there an opportunity to automate, especially, especially something that is extremely repetitive at work? These are different ways also to conserve your energy, and rest and recovery are very important for long-term stress reduction.
Riessa Monique:
So disconnecting from working technology during non-work hours to allow for your mental rest and recovery, prioritizing and protecting your sleep when possible, and establishing a consistent sleep schedule and creating a restful sleep environment. I do know different people have different family environments. They also have maybe different hormones or other different circumstances. So protecting your sleep and establishing consistent sleep schedule that's based on what's available to you and do the best that you can, and even the best that you can can look different from day to day and take regular breaks throughout the workday to stretch, move, engage in brief relaxation exercises like search, brief relaxation exercises to do at your desk or in your living room or wherever you may do them, and set aside dedicated time for your hobbies, leisure activities or social connections that bring you joy and relaxation. I know some of you are like what hobbies? I don't have time for that. I'm going to have a podcast for that too.
Riessa Monique:
So continue to create sustainable habits and routines that support your well-being, because when you are supported in your well-being, then you show up for work and for all the other people in your life. So what daily habits or routines can you implement to support your well-being and reduce stress? So, as a recap, the brain's main goal is survival. In order to survive, it does three things Avoid pain, seek pleasure, conserve energy and see if you notice yourself doing something or not doing this because you're seeking pleasure. Are you doing this because you're conserving energy? And it may fit in more than one.
Riessa Monique:
And so, as promised, the three brain hacks that you need for stress reduction One embrace discomfort for growth. Reframe the negative thoughts in the self-talk and recognize that your brain is wired to avoid pain and discomfort, which can hold you back from taking on new challenges and opportunities. Practice self compassion, embrace discomfort as a sign of growth and progress, and challenge yourself to step out your comfort zone regularly, even if it's a little, and I mean a little, and there's no judgment here. The second brain hack is to prioritize pleasure and celebrate small wins to boost motivation. So understand that your brain seeks pleasure and reward, and use this to your advantage by incorporating enjoyable activities into your daily routine. Celebrate your progress and your accomplishments, no matter how small, to release the dopamine and reinforce positive habits. Find ways to make your work more engaging and meaningful, such as working on a project that maybe you thought would be fun or interesting or aligns with your values and your strengths.
Riessa Monique:
And the third brain hack is conserving mental energy by setting boundaries and delegating and automating tasks. So recognizing your brain is designed to conserve energy, which can lead to procrastination and burnout if left unchecked. And set clear boundaries around your time and energy. And learn to say no to unnecessary demands or distractions and not right now, to things that are less urgent. And streamline your workflow when possible, automating repetitive tasks, delegating when appropriate and breaking large projects into mandible steps. And have compassion for yourself throughout the whole time. And what I mean like this by that is like how you talk to yourself in your head, because a lot of times, if we talk to, if anyone else talked to us the way we speak to us in our head, we would slap them in the face. So just have a little compassion for yourself, even inside your head, when you're talking to yourself.
Riessa Monique:
It's important to remember that this process takes time and consistent effort, as the neural pathways are formed and strengthened through repetition and practice. Again, it's repetition and practice it's never perfection. And experiment with the strategies discussed and find out what works best for you. And again, experimenting, have fun. Form a hypothesis, collect some data, try it out, see what happens. The result is just feedback. It doesn't mean it doesn't work. It just may not be right for you, right? So you just try something else to see which one of the strategies do work for you.
Riessa Monique:
And what is one insight from this podcast that you plan to implement in your life? Oh, by the way, all the questions I ask. Feel free to DM me or send me messages on LinkedIn. I would love to see them. And before you go, make sure you hit the subscribe button. I'm pointing to it like you can see it, so you never miss an episode of this podcast. And if you know a fellow woman in tech who could benefit from these brain hacks, take a minute to share this episode with her. Your support means the world to me and helps me continuing to create value content for this community. And thank you so much for tuning in. Follow me on LinkedIn at Raisa Monique or Instagram at Raisa Monique R-I-E-S-S-A. Monique, m-o-n-i-q-u-e. Talk to you next time. Bye.