Back from vacation and drowning in emails, Slack threads, and jet lag? You’re not alone—87% of people dread re-entry, even though only 12% dislike their jobs.

In this episode, Moah and Alex explain why post-vacation blues hit so hard, from dopamine drops and major context switches to real jet lag, and share their re-entry playbook: pre-trip handoff notes, a tidy desk, staggered Boomerang returns, and AI-powered catch-up. Vacations also reset more than your calendar. They reset your brain, creating temporal landmarks that make it easier to restart good routines, drop bad ones, or launch new habits that actually stick.

From employees refilling their energy to managers preventing burnout and founders shaping vacation policy, you’ll learn why taking time off is one of the most productive choices you can make.

You will be ready to return from your next vacations sharper, steadier, and more effective than before with the tips and tricks learned from this episode.

Links from the show!

Only 12% of people hate their jobs! https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/12/10/job-satisfaction/

Harris Poll for Zapier: https://zapier.com/blog/time-off-report-part-2/

The Fresh Start Effect: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-43171-006

Ernst & Young study: https://www.healthnet.com/portal/home/content/iwc/home/articles/health_benefits_of_vacations.action

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Does your inbox feel like a to-do list written by other people? You’re not alone. Even as communication has shifted to chat apps like Slack and Teams, the average knowledge worker receives 117 emails per day. It remains one of the biggest sources of workplace chaos.

In this episode, Alex and Moah take you on a tour of modern email management strategies, from David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” method and Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero to why the infamous 43-folder system never really worked. They reveal why 30% of your inbox is stuff you can’t act on right away, how Gmail’s 15GB of storage changed the “delete vs. archive” debate, and why research shows you’re actually slower if you prioritize organizing messages in folders. Along the way, you’ll hear Moah’s hilarious multi-select purge routine, Alex’s trick for writing “hateful" emails you’ll never regret sending, and career-changing stories of an astronaut and a Michelin-starred chef whose big breaks almost died in spam.

If you’ve ever stared at an inbox full of decisions and felt paralyzed or if you wonder why your inbox continues to feel overwhelming despite spending hours each day clearing it out, this episode is for you. Tune in for research-backed workflows, funny war stories, and practical hacks you can try today—including a printable flowchart to retrain your brain for faster, calmer email handling. Your inbox may never be empty, but after this episode, it won’t own you.

Links from the show!

Microsoft's research on emails received per day https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/breaking-down-infinite-workday

David Allen's Getting Things Done https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done

Merlin Mann's series on Inbox Zero https://www.43folders.com/43-folders-series-inbox-zero

Study: Am I wasting my time organizing email? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221518713_Am_I_wasting_my_time_organizing_email

Snooze messages to save them for later https://www.boomeranggmail.com/l/gmail-snooze.html

Do, Defer, Delete flowchart https://content.reviveyourinbox.com/img/UltimateEmailWorkflow.pdf

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We all know someone who rises with the sun every morning (or before it)… and we all know someone else who needs five alarms and a minor miracle to get out of bed on time for school or work. In this episode, Moah and Alex introduce chronotypes—your body’s natural rhythm for sleeping, waking, and working—and how they can make or break your productivity.

Why do some people get up and at 'em, hitting peak focus in the morning, while others don’t hit their stride until after dinner? How can you structure your work (and your team’s schedule) to match everyone’s natural energy levels? And what, if anything, can you do to change your daily productivity peaks? Listen to this episode to learn all that and more, like when different chronotypes perform best at tasks that require analysis vs. creativity.

Through scientific research, personal stories, and tips from their experience running a multimillion dollar company, Moah and Alex will help you rethink the way you manage your day so you can get more done without feeling exhausted.

Links from the show!

Study linking genes and chronotypes https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-08259-7

Munich ChronoType Questionaire https://www.thewep.org/documentations/mctq

Research paper: Time of day and chronotype in the assessment of cognitive functions https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10683050/

Research paper: The alignment between chronotype and time of day https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7688&context=lkcsb_research

Study on afternoon naps https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10091091/

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