Switching it up and dropping in your inbox this week on a Tuesday. Hope you didn’t miss me too much! Let’s get into it.

here* is what we’ve got this week:

• News: The world on fire, gen alpha may be the new gen anxious, and ChatGPT may be rotting our brains.

• Wellness: Quick hits of happiness habits, social connection, and healing plants.

• here* approved: A movie rec and hydration hack

• Main bit: Microsoft has confirmed what many of us are feeling, the infinite workday is here.

Mental health and work are ever-evolving (it’s exhausting). here* is the latest.

• 🥵 There is a heat wave among us and according to experts, the world isn’t ready for the toll it may have on mental health.  

• 😵 Move over Gen Z, there is a new anxious generation in town. See what’s driving high levels of anxiety in Gen Alpha.  

• 🖥️ Researchers at MIT are looking at our brains on ChatGPT. Here’s what they’ve found so far.

There are only 24 hours in the day. here* are your weekly wellness shortcuts.

• 😄 Here are 7 expert-approved habits that will have a big impact on your happiness.

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 If you’re dealing with cortisol imbalance, try more social connection.

• 🪴 Garden szn is here. Check out these 5 plants proven boost health.

Things I’m loving atm.

• 📽️ Run don’t walk to see The Life of Chuck, the latest collab between Mike Flanagan and Stephen King. Described as a “feel good fantasy about the end of times”, the less you know about it, the better. If you can’t get to the movies, the audiobook is only 2 hours and well worth the listen.

• 🚰 ELECTROLYTES! If you’re in the midst of this heatwave, you know it’s hot af. Stay hydrated. I’m loving the LMNT hydration packs atm.

• 📚️ The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad. Ok, I’ve not technically read the book yet but I WILL starting next week as part of an incredible summer cohort. If you’re in Indianapolis and interested in joining, there are two spots available!

Meetings, messages, interruptions, oh my.

Microsoft has recently analyzed trillions of data points across its workplace tools (aptly known collectively as 365 products) and the not-so-surprising findings show that we work around the clock.

The research unveils that for many “infinite workers”, a day in the life looks like this:

• 6:02 a.m. Check email from bed. Three messages marked urgent. One calendar invite sent overnight. Open Teams like a fool.

• 8:00 a.m. Reply to two threads before logging on. Join back-to-back calls with overlapping agendas. Teams is already active. Status: “Available.”

• 9:47 a.m. Answer DMs during a meeting. Take notes in a shared doc while toggling between tabs. One colleague asks for edits. Another drops in a “quick call” link.

• 11:35 a.m. Try to return to the project you started yesterday. Pause to reschedule an afternoon meeting. Calendar holds no open time blocks.

• 12:15 p.m. Eat lunch while updating a slide deck. Receive five pings marked as urgent. Respond to three. Save the others for later.

• 2:05 p.m. Attend a sync that wasn’t confirmed but still happened. One follow-up task is assigned mid-call. Another message arrives while capturing action items.

• 4:22 p.m. Open a new tab to focus. Return to email after a notification appears. Try again. Phone buzzes. Another task gets added.

• 6:30 p.m. Join a meeting with a colleague in another time zone. It ends late. A deliverable is due tomorrow. Begin outlining it after dinner.

• 9:18 p.m.Check messages marked unread. Decide what can wait. Decide what cannot. Open your laptop again. 

• 10:41 p.m. Close tabs. Clear notifications. Leave messages unanswered. Dread waking up tomorrow.

According to the data, activity begins as early as 6 a.m, messages peaks by mid-morning, and meetings are scheduled after hours. Weekend communication is the norm. The workday is no longer bound by hours. It now moves through early mornings, late nights, and unprotected weekends.

And during these hours, there is no shortage of stimulation. The average worker receives over 150 messages per day. Half of all meetings take place between 9 and 11 a.m. or 1 and 3 p.m., hours ideal for deep focus work. Many meetings are not formally scheduled and are booked with no lead time (my literal worst nightmare).

Work is now defined by constant availability

The research also shows that employees are interrupted every two minutes during core working hours. Messages, meetings, shared documents, alerts, and app notifications compete for attention. Scheduled focus time is frequently overridden by real-time coordination. Uninterrupted work is rare.

If you’re online, you’re expected to respond, and not just in email but direct messages and productivity tools, too. These tools remain open across devices, locations, and time zones.

AI is increasing expectations without defining limits

I’ve been saying for a while now that while AI may create many efficiencies in our work, it will also undoubtedly impact our expected output and performance. AI tools are now integrated into nearly every tool we use, which means the work continues at the same pace, with fewer pauses between requests. Expectations remain high while response windows continue to shrink.

While AI can assist with administrative or mundane tasks, it cannot define limits. That will be up to the humans at work to set intentional norms and hold each other to account.

Structure is necessary for attention to stabilize

The unfortunate truth is that many workplaces prioritize responsiveness over reflection. We see this in the meetings that are scheduled without context, the deadlines that shift without planning, and the interruptions that occur without acknowledgment. We move through many of our days without ever regaining control of our time.

Attention requires structure. Clarity about priorities, communication boundaries, and cognitive load allows people to work with more precision and less reactivity. This begins with basic shifts: protecting uninterrupted time, reducing notifications and alerts, and constructing norms around boundaries and limits.

What business leaders can do

Focus on outcomes, not activity.
Prioritize the 20% of work that drives impact. Use AI to streamline low-value tasks like admin, reporting, and status updates. Protect time for deep thinking and fast execution.

Shift from org charts to work charts.
Move away from rigid department structures. Build lean, goal-based teams that flex as needed. Let AI fill capability gaps so teams can move with speed.

Pair people with agents.
Support staff with AI that handles manual work. Free up attention for analysis, strategy, and decisions. Human-agent teams are the new baseline.

What you can do

If you’re feeling as alarmed as I am about the invasive and seemingly inevitable infinity workday, I’ve got you. This 14-day calendar offers one small action per day (similar to the bare minimum challenge last month!) to help reduce inputs and reclaim time. Each action addresses a specific friction point in your workday, like silencing nonessential threads, blocking one uninterrupted hour on your calendar, pausing late-night activity, canceling unstructured meetings, and tracking interruptions.

Download the calendar → here

That’s all for this week.

We’ll be back in your inbox next week. Until then, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what content you liked or what you’d like to see more of in the next issue. You can always reply to this email for a response from me!

<3

Meg

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