Why Slacking Off Might Be the Ultimate Performance Hack

Dr. Todd Snyder
8 min readAug 2, 2021

When You Think for a Living, Less is More

Woman and man surfing in ocean with warm sunlight

Here’s the thing most entrepreneurs don’t realize. When you live life at the extreme edge of your capacity, you significantly damage your creativity, drive, and productivity.

Existing at the limit of your capacity creates stress. Stress causes you to think small and play small in an effort to conserve energy, protect against failure, and hunker down just to survive.

You can and should use controlled sprints to expand your capacity to get things done. Just don’t let it become a marathon. If you try to constantly operate at full capacity, your mind automatically and subconsciously puts on the brakes, holding you back from your true potential.

Fortunately, there’s an antidote, and I’m going to explain that in a moment. But first I want to ensure you understand the problem.

The Problem: When Energy Lulls from Lack of Motivation

Years ago, I rented a U-Haul to lug my stuff across the country. And this particular truck had a governor installed on the gas pedal. It’s a mechanism that limits the speed you can drive (presumably a safety feature).

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Dr. Todd Snyder
Dr. Todd Snyder

Written by Dr. Todd Snyder

Dr. Snyder is a Psychologist and Productivity Coach working with entrepreneurs to accelerate results that matter. Learn more at ToddSnyderCoaching.com

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