Hi, it’s Áine.

Here's what's in this week's newsletter:

• Articles live on Substack
• New public workshop scheduled
• Why decisions can feel sticky
• Use this when you're struggling with a decision

New articles

This week I posted an article on the brain science behind why writing helps - it's a deeper look at what’s actually happening when writing shifts us out of our heads and back into action. You can read it here.

I also added a new piece on task avoidance with a step-by-step protocol for getting things done. Access that one here.

In-person San Diego workshop scheduled

If you're local to San Diego, join me for Fix Your Day: Brain Science x Writing to Get Unstuck and Move Forward, Wednesday, June 17 from 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM, at Ansir Innovation Center.

We’ll look at the most common friction points inside high-output days - task avoidance, rapid context-switching, reactive loops, scattered attention - and what your brain is doing in each of those states. Then we’ll run 3–6 minute protocols that quickly move you out of each pattern. Registration link is here.

If you're not able to make it to the workshop, I also collaborate to bring JournalingFix to companies and communities, virtually and in-person. Reach out if you'd like to learn more.

Science Snapshot: Why decisions can feel sticky

I've been hearing a lot on podcasts and interviews about the power of quickly making decisions and moving on them. So I thought it might be useful to take a look at some of the science behind decision-making:

• Open decisions drain working memory and attention. Your brain has to reload the context - options, trade‑offs, possible outcomes - every time you think about an undecided thing, which burns prefrontal resources that could go to actual work. The more open items, the more scattered and fatigued you feel, even if nothing is being decided.

• Handling lots of decisions can change HOW you decide. Some studies and clinical reports link long runs of decisions to more avoidance, impulsivity, or “defaulting” later in the day, while newer large‑scale work finds more mixed evidence, especially in high‑stakes settings. Either way, a day full of choices tends to make careful thinking harder, not easier.

• Speed plus structure often beats endless circling. Research finds that companies that decide and execute faster are about twice as likely to report high‑quality decisions and stronger performance. The pattern isn’t “slow = careful, fast = sloppy”; it’s often “fast, clear process = better, more consistent decisions.”

• Mental models beat rehashing. Simple decision frameworks - define the real problem, limit the options, decide, then stop reopening it - help bypass overthinking and reduce bias. In practice, people who run a structured, time‑bounded process tend to get to “good enough and shipped” faster than people who keep re‑running the same internal debate.

Use this to work through decision friction

Use this when you’ve got a decision that keeps taking up space, whether it's a reply, a next step, a purchase, a plan, a boundary, or a direction.

Write: describe the decision you're stuck on or circling.

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​Write: 2 to 3 real options, the ones you could actually choose, that could make the right impact, that move you toward an outcome you want.

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​Write: the one smallest decision you can make now so this stops taking up mental space.

Why this works

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You’re giving your brain a clear container for something that was previously spilling into everything else. Instead of reloading the whole decision every time it pops up, you name it, limit the options, and make a small, concrete call.

That shift from vague mental circling to a bounded, written choice is often enough to release the background tension and free up attention for real work.

Hope this gives you one small thing to experiment with this week,

— Áine

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