Episode Number: 12
Host: Erin Merideth
Website: unlearningwork.com

In this episode of Unlearning Work, host Erin Merideth explores the neuroscience behind why we avoid certain tasks at work—and how to finally stop dreading them.

Through the lens of behavioral science and real-world leadership coaching, Erin unpacks the paradox of the Law of Least Effort: even though our brains are wired to conserve energy, we often make work harder than it needs to be through procrastination, perfectionism, overthinking, and identity-driven sabotage.

Whether you’ve got a lingering email you can’t bring yourself to send, or you’re burning hours on a project you’re afraid to finish, this episode offers five clear strategies to help you move through dread without relying on willpower alone.

✅ What Dread Really Is
The emotional and cognitive blocks behind task avoidance—and why it’s not laziness

✅ The Law of Least Effort
How the brain’s desire to minimize effort gets hijacked by fear, confusion, and shame

✅ The 4 Behavioral Patterns That Make Work Harder
Perfectionism, procrastination, decision fatigue, and self-sabotage—and how they show up in real work environments

✅ 5 Practical Strategies That Reduce Dread
Science-backed tools that help you:

Name the resistance

Shrink the task

Timebox your effort

Pair effort with a reward

Reframe your “why” for doing the work

✅ Real-World Workplace Examples
From over-polishing PowerPoints to avoiding leadership conversations—how these behaviors show up across roles, industries, and responsibilities

✅ How to Use Dread as Data
When recurring dread is a signal to reassign, delegate, or redesign your role or workflow

🔹 Dread is a sign your brain feels unsafe—not that you’re lazy
🔹 Avoidance costs more energy than action over time
🔹 Small, intentional shifts restore alignment with how your brain wants to work
🔹 You can work with your nervous system—not against it

Your brain isn’t broken—it’s just trying to protect you.
The goal isn’t to eliminate all effort. It’s to remove the unnecessary friction that makes work feel heavier than it has to be.

🎯 Ready to stop avoiding and start doing—with less pressure? Join the Unlearning Work Community for this month’s focus: From Dread to Done.

💬 Share your favorite strategy from the episode or post a photo of your dreaded task finally done. Tag @erinmeridethcoaching and use #UnlearningWork.

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