The Lie of Productive Exhaustion

Read time: 6 minutes

Hey welcome back,

Last week, we explored why you're good at doing things you hate.

​You can read that (and all past issues, here).

By the way, if you're finding these insights helpful, I've started collecting all these tools, resources, and one-sheets in the ever-growing 'Science of Success' vault. Check it out here for additional materials on today's topic and more.

Today, I want to talk about a different trap.

One that lives in your cortisol levels, your sleep cycles, your strained relationships, and your quiet resentment toward the job you once loved.

The trap?

Believing that exhaustion equals value.

Where We Got It Wrong

I recently shared this post on LinkedIn, which generated loads of engagement:

It seemed to have resonated with loads of people, so I wanted to dive deeper.

What Burnout Really Costs

Burnout doesn’t just cost you sleep or mood.

It costs:

• Clarity.
• Creativity.
• Compassion.
• Decision-making.
• Immunity.
• Libido.
• Longevity.

In business, it costs you retention. Performance. Leadership capacity. Culture.

It makes smart people dumb. Kind people irritable. Brave people avoidant.

And the worst part? You get worse at noticing it the longer you’re in it.

That’s why people hit the wall not with a crash, but a shrug.
They just quietly stop caring. And that apathy is far more dangerous than any blow-up.

The Science Says This Loudly

Studies from the World Health Organisation now define burnout as a legitimate occupational syndrome. It’s not just “tired.” It’s chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed.

• Emotional exhaustion
• Depersonalisation (feeling numb or cynical)
• Reduced sense of accomplishment

And the recovery isn’t as simple as “take a weekend off.”

It often requires deep nervous system recalibration. Sleep. Nature. Boundaries. Support.

The Value ≠ Exhaustion Reframe

Here’s the truth:

• Your value doesn’t increase the less you sleep.
• Your contribution isn’t measured in unread Slack messages.
• You’re not “more committed” because you skipped your kid’s recital.

You’re just bleeding energy in a system that rewards burnout and calls it ambition.

But there’s another way.

What I Had to Learn the Hard Way

A few years ago, I reached a point where I felt like I was running on empty all the time. Sleep was fragmented. My patience was short. I was still “showing up” — but not really present.

So I started to take rest seriously, but not performatively — actually seriously.

Here’s what changed for me:

• I stopped wearing exhaustion like a medal. If I slept 9 hours, I said so — out loud.
• I began protecting my mornings like they were sacred. No email, no Slack, no stimulation before my brain was ready.
• I removed my phone from the bedroom entirely. (Game-changer.)
• I started measuring my day not by how much I did, but by how I felt at the end of it.

What surprised me most?
I didn’t become less productive.
I became sharper. More creative. More emotionally present. Less reactive.

Rest wasn’t the reward.
It was the foundation.

A Personal Check-In

Here’s the part that stings:
If you don’t rest, your body will force you to.

It’ll start quietly (trouble sleeping, brain fog, irritability).

Then louder (immune crashes, anxiety, dissociation). Then one day — it breaks.

I’ve been there.

Years ago, I hit that wall. I couldn’t sleep for 6 months. Couldn’t focus. Couldn’t feel joy. I thought I needed to push harder. What I actually needed was to stop.

That journey became the foundation for Heights — and why we’re so obsessed with braincare.

A Question to Carry Forward

This week, ask yourself honestly:

What am I trying to prove by staying tired?

And more importantly:

What would I need to believe about myself to feel worthy… rested?

To a more rested, more resilient you,

—Dan

P.S. If you're feeling the early signs of burnout, don’t ignore them. Small shifts now prevent big breakdowns later. You don’t need to earn your rest — you need to respect it.

SOS (Science of Success) Curated:

LinkedIn of the week: Success isn’t linear.​

Podcast of the week: being productive is easy, actually​

My Tweet of the week: Your body whispers before it screams.​

Rested Minds Make Better Decisions

What happens in your brain when you’re tired? Spoiler: it’s not just that you're cranky — you're cognitively compromised.

This study used fMRI to observe how fatigue alters activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) — the brain’s control centre for rational thinking, planning, and emotional regulation. Think of it as the CEO of your brain.

When participants were well-rested, this region lit up like Times Square during decision-making tasks. But under mental fatigue — caused by poor sleep, stress, or prolonged cognitive effort — activity in this region plummeted.

The result?

• Participants were 47% more likely to make impulsive decisions, even when doing so was clearly irrational.
• They were 29% more likely to interpret neutral statements as negative — a huge finding, especially in workplace or relationship dynamics.
• Their emotional reactivity spiked, while their strategic thinking flat lined.

But here’s the kicker: they didn’t know it was happening.​
They felt like they were thinking clearly. They felt justified in their reactions.
Their perception of their own judgment was intact — even though their brain was functioning like it was drunk on cortisol.

This means when you’re exhausted, you don’t just make worse decisions — you’re less capable of realising that they’re bad decisions in the first place.

Why It Matters

We tend to delay rest until after the “important stuff” is done.
But this research flips that logic on its head: rest is the precondition for good judgment. Not the reward for it.

So if you’ve got a difficult conversation, a strategic call, or a major life decision on the table — your brain needs fuel, not just focus.

As the researchers concluded:

Think of rest not as time off, but as time to recalibrate your compass.​
Because navigating life with a misaligned brain is like steering with a broken GPS — you might be moving fast, but you’re probably headed in the wrong direction.

​→ Link to study​

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1-1 Coaching with Dan

In my goal to help more entrepreneurs/people who are looking to level up their careers, I've just started taking 1-1 consulting calls (only 1 a week)

Why book a call? Some of my expertise/success:

I've built 5 startups. 1 win, 1 fail, and 3 still going.

E-Commerce: Heights — with revenue over $15M a year.

Community: Foundrs, one of the UK's top founder communities

Podcasting: Leaders Media - bootstrapped media company that makes the UK's top business podcasts, Secret Leaders, with over 50M downloads.

Health/Mental Health: Managed to overcome burnout, insomnia, depression & anxiety in pursuit of success as I talk about in my interview with Steven Bartlett on Diary of a CEO​

Angel Investing: I've invested in over 90 startups

Coached & Mentored: Certified coach & done lots of mentoring

Personal Brand: Have grown to 178k on LinkedIn and X (Twitter) in the past 12 months

So if you're interested in booking a session with me to talk all things business or building a personal brand, book for 30-minutes or 45-minutes. (limited spots).

Science of Success Vault

I'm building a vault of valuable tools, resources, and one sheets that I hope help you succeed.

These will be stored in the ever-growing 'Science of Success' vault — you can always access that here

Want to take your success (even more) seriously? 👇​
🧠 Fuel your brain and feed your gut, try Heights here (use code 'SOSDMS' for 15% off your first month of any subscription

🎧 Check out my podcast Secret Leaders here​

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