you're an addict
but you can use your addictions to your advantage
Welcome back to Good Work - your weeklyish work therapy appointment.
Each week you’ll get an idea to consider and an exercise to put it into practice, plus my POV on a reader question about work. The goal will always be to push you toward more good work, because I think you’re capable of it.
Today’s idea
I began writing this issue, appropriately, in a hotel room in Vegas during a conference. I’d just walked through the casino (not by choice) to get back to my room and even I (not a gambler) felt the urge to take a chance or two on a slot machine. There was something about the lights, the sounds, and the promise of never working again that nearly drew me in.
Alas, I resisted, and instead began to think more about our natural addictions - dopamine, endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin - and how they influence our decisions when it comes to work and beyond.
First, a quick and dirty biology/chemistry lesson (because who remembers anything from high school at this point):
Dopamine: the anticipation chemical. It spikes when we expect a reward.
Endorphins: the body’s natural painkillers. Released to help you push through stress, discomfort, or effort.
Serotonin: the comfort and stability chemical. It regulates mood, and gives you a sense of confidence, belonging, calm, and satiety.
Oxytocin: the connection chemical. It’s released when we feel safe, bonded, and emotionally close to others.
No matter who you are or what you do, your body and mind are constantly in search of these four chemicals. Unfortunately you’re an addict, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
BUT - how you stimulate these chemicals is completely within your control.
For example,
You could get your dopamine from endless scrolling or refreshing your email, or you could get it from checking small tasks off a checklist toward a larger goal.
You could get your endorphins from continuously entering last minute stress cycles or pushing yourself toward burnout, or you could get them from finishing something difficult that requires sustained mental effort or concentration.
You could get your serotonin from seeking validation or recognition from strangers on the internet, or you could get it from creating stable routines that make your life feel intentional and in order.
You could get your oxytocin from seeking constant reassurance from your peers and manager, or you could get it from creating spaces of honest, high-trust sharing and collaboration.
These addictions can be superpowers if you understand them. Learn to create reward systems that make you feel good. Revel in your rewards for productivity and progress.
Let your addictions drive you. Chase the feel-good chemical hits of taking action, building something new, or making decisions, and do your best not to succumb to the hits that hold you back from moving forward.
In practice
Let’s take stock of how you’re currently getting dopamine, endorphins, serotonin, and oxytocin, and identify a few small swaps that can compound more productively over time.
Step 1: Do a quick scan of the past 2 days
List out moments over the past 48ish hours where you felt:
a spike of excitement or anticipation
relief or release
confidence or validation
connection or closeness
Write down 8–12 moments total.
A few examples to jog your memory: checking your phone first thing in the morning, finishing a workout, getting a Slack message or email response, having a deep conversation with someone, posting something and watching engagement come in
Step 2: Map each moment to a chemical
Next to each moment, label what was likely driving it:
Dopamine (anticipation, novelty, reward-chasing)
Endorphins (relief, exertion, stress release)
Serotonin (status, confidence, stability)
Oxytocin (connection, trust, bonding)
Step 3: Classify the actions
For each one, quickly tag:
[+] Productive = effortful, meaningful, compounds over time
[-] Non-productive = easy, reactive, doesn’t lead anywhere
Step 4: Look for patterns
Now step back and scan:
Where am you over-indexing? (ex. lots of low-effort dopamine)
Which chemicals am I lacking? (often oxytocin or serotonin)
What’s my default “quick fix” loop when I’m stressed or bored?
Step 5: Plan two swaps
Don’t try to overhaul everything - just a couple of the non-productive ones. Use this framing:
Instead of [current behavior], I’ll try [alternative] to chase [chemical]
Office hours
Q: How do I get senior leaders to listen to me and my ideas?
A: There are two parts to this - you have to be good, and you have to be interesting.
First, you have to be good. Your ideas should be well thought out, clearly communicated, supported by evidence and/or data, and as complete as you can get them prior to sharing. You need to make it clear exactly what you need from the leader, and what they should expect to happen next.
Second, you have to be interesting. Leaders are often multi-tasking and are conditioned to do things as quickly as possible. This often results in a skim vs a read - how do you get them to lock in and really consider what you’re saying?
The key here is to get to know them - how do they like to receive information? How do they make decisions? Do they love a visual? Do they hate blocks of text? Do they prefer async or synchronous review? Don’t get cute with this - just ask them, they’ll tell you.
See you in the comments (or reply to this email to say hi!),
