Before you even open your laptop, your brain has already made dozens of decisions. Which message to answer first? Whether to call back or text. What to wear. What to eat.

By the time you actually sit down to do the real work — the stuff that moves your business — your brain is already half-empty.

And then the important things don't get done. Again.

This isn't a discipline problem. It's a thinking skill problem. And it doesn't have to stay this way.

Case Study
Carlos owns a successful insurance agency, but every morning, his brain was already exhausted before he even got out of bed, and no, coffee didn’t help either; that was just more decisions.

From the moment he woke up, decisions began.
Which client message should he respond to first?
Should he call the employee who texted him last night or deal with the policy issue his partner flagged?
Should he start with sales or hiring?

Even getting dressed felt like another decision.
By the time he finally sat down at his desk, his brain had already made dozens of small decisions.

And the important ones, like reaching out to new leads or building his team, felt impossible.
So instead, he’d scroll through Instagram or WhatsApp until the next emergency popped up.

His business partner finally said something that hit hard, "You're busy all day… but what are you actually accomplishing?" Carlos didn’t have an answer.

28 Thinking Skills
You’re probably hearing the experts say, “He needs to improve his discipline.”
Maybe, but that’s not the real issue here.
The real issue here is that Carlos had 2 weak of thinking skills.

1) Planning
2) Comparing

Planning so he’s in charge of his day, not others, and comparing to make decisions.
When those 2 thinking skills got stronger, there was no “fight” for Carlos. He didn’t have to work hard to be disciplined.

The reason your mornings are chaotic might be because of a completely different reason. You see, there are 28 thinking skills, and naturally, we all have some that are stronger and some that are weaker. The thinking skills that are weak are what’s creating the chaos in your life.


For Carlos, it was planning and comparing. For you, it may be something else. Take the assessment at lifepixuniversity.com/cf to see which thinking skills are getting in your way.


Planning + Comparing

We’ve already spoken about planning in episodes 525 and 537 and comparing for decision making in episode 559.

In today’s episode, I want to talk about how these 2 thinking skills work together.
However, if you’re struggling with one of them, you’ll want to start improving that thinking skill by itself first.
If that’s you, pause this episode, improve planning and/or comparing first, then come back here.

Let’s do a bit of neuroscience:
Every time you start a task, you use the most amount of energy, just like when you start a car that uses the most amount of energy.
To help our brain maximize energy, we want to do as much of a task at one time. So if you're responding to emails, respond to as many emails at one time. Or if you're creating content, don’t just create one post, create for the week, or even the month.

Comparing to Plan
Now back to our 2 thinking skills of planning and comparing.
Comparing is what is needed to plan.
Wh you’re planning your day, you’re comparing, should I do Task A first or Task B?
You’re comparing your options, understanding the effects of each, and then planning it into your day accordingly.
In other words, planning your day is a lot of little decisions.


Now, if we’re ALREADY planning, then we might as well plan EVEN more to make it easier for ourselves the next day.

Instead of just planning what tasks to do when, plan (aka decide) as much as possible.
Decide what outfit you’re gonna wear.
Decide which client you’re gonna begin working on first.
Decide what topics you’re gonna write about in your content etc.

You’re making MORE decisions upfront to make it easier for tomorrow.

Why This Works
The reason why this works so well is because:

1) Your brain is already in the zone of making decisions. It doesn’t need to “restart” to make a decision for each task that you’re doing tomorrow.

2) You’re not wasting precious brain power in the morning when your brain is the most fresh. Tomorrow, when you sit down to the work, you can get right into it.

It’s important to note: You WILL struggle with making decisions for the next day if you struggle with the thinking skill of planning or of comparing, so improve those thinking skills first (Epispdes 525, 537, 559)



Pro tip:
Take this to an even higher level by batching big decisions.

For example, every quarter, as you set your goals, decide what you’re gonna work on each week.

Or if you’re trying to get your culture in place, set a time to make all decisions related to culture. What do we stand for? How do we know it’s being done? What are the rewards for someone who is living up to our culture? What happens when someone is not? Etc


After Improving Planning And Comparing

In the beginning, it took work for Carlos to really take the time to decide and plan the night before. But after two weeks, Carlos came to the session and shared how he’s getting more done by 11 am every day then has in years. “All of a sudden I feel like I have extra time to work on the projects that are reserved for 'one day” he told me.



Cheers to Peak Brain Performance!
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