Why Deep Work Feels Hard—And How to Support Your Team

You know that completely open day you’ve been looking forward to? The one where you are going to get so much done... I’m actually having one today. Meeting in the morning and then nothing scheduled until my daughter gets home from school. No appointments. Just me and my to-do list. And somehow, without the structure, sometimes you accomplish less than on a busy day. Sound familiar? Here's what I've learned about why unstructured time sabotages us I had a client recently - a grad student with wide open days at home. She was really struggling to get started, stay on track, and maintain momentum with her schoolwork. She told me she was thinking about skipping her mid-day workout class to have even more time to focus. I told her the opposite: Keep the class. Actually, it might be the most important part of your day. Here's why... Our brains don't like that much unstructured time When you have a completely open day, there's no natural rhythm. No built-in break points. No structure to create momentum. You tell yourself you'll get started "in a minute" and suddenly...time has passed and you’ve lost motivation or don’t know where to start. Or...you’ve scheduled way too many things and it feels overwhelming. It's not a discipline problem. It's a structure problem. Try this… Add structure to your open days. Not rigid scheduling that stresses you out, but intentional break points that create natural time blocks. For my grad student client, keeping her workout class meant she had a structured block of work time before the class and another block after. The day felt broken up. Manageable. Less overwhelming. Here are some ways to add structure: If you work from home: Schedule mini breaks throughout the day. I do this with dog walks - my dog needs to go out anyway, so I schedule short walks that break up my work blocks. You could also use household tasks as natural break points - at this time I'll put in laundry, or this is when I'll start dinner in the crockpot. These aren't distractions from work. They're structure that helps your brain maintain momentum. If you're at a workplace: Build in very specific breaks throughout the day. I worked with someone whose job includes checking in with team members. We built those check-ins into scheduled break times - she gets up from her desk, moves around, connects with people, then comes back for another focused work block. The pattern: Work block → Movement break → Work block The key is creating breaks that get you up and moving away from your desk and away from thinking. Because wide open days sound amazing in theory. Finally, enough time to get everything done! But in reality, our brains need structure to function well. Too much unstructured time and we lose steam, fall off track, and have trouble getting back on. The irony? You might actually accomplish more on busier days than on your most open ones. So if you have a flexible schedule, work from home, or just have occasional open days... build in structure. Find ways to break up your day into blocks with buffer time in between. Let me know what happens. I'd love to hear what you discover about your own patterns. Want to learn more about my work? Website: https://neuroautonomy.com/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt_ciMlkbqElTXqRZLLWWGg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genielove_coaching/