5 under-the-radar habits that might be draining 90% of your daily energy

Ever feel like you’re running on fumes—practically flatlining by mid-afternoon—even when nothing obvious seems wrong?

I’ve been there.

Sometimes it’s not those glaring energy-suckers—like coffee-fueled all-nighters or toxic people—it’s the small, overlooked habits that stealthily leave us wrecked.

Let’s talk through five of these sneaky drains. 

1. Allowing visual chaos to hijack your attention 

Ever sit at a workstation buried in paper, random mugs, old mail?

I used to think “creative mess” was just quirky. But when my desk looked like a paper tornado hit it, I was foggy and unfocused—a struggle even to string together a sentence.

Turns out this is real. Clutter constantly taxes our brain’s processing. Researchers say visual chaos overloads cognitive resources, making focus a fight and burning mental stamina like a slow leak.

So what’s the fix?

Give your eyes—and brain—a break. I clear my nightstand now, and morning clarity comes easier. It’s low effort, surprisingly high return.

2. Multitasking

Do you switch between texts, emails, podcasts, scrolling, while standing in line, cooking, walking?

I’ve used to constantly catch myself doing that—feeling more productive…while getting almost nothing done.

That’s because multitasking doesn’t help. In fact, media multitasking rewires our capacity to concentrate. I’ve mentioned this before but experts say it can reduce productivity by a whopping 40%!

3. Making too many trivial choices

How many tiny decisions do we make daily—what to wear, which song, what coffee, what channel?

I once quipped that choosing a breakfast cereal felt like launching a startup.

Turns out this stress isn’t imaginary. Decision fatigue is real: even small choices chip away at our pool of mental energy, impairing self-control as the day drags on. As Mark Travers Ph.D. puts it in a Psychology Today post: 

“These seemingly small choices can collectively require a lot of mental energy that could have been reserved for more personally meaningful tasks.”

This is why, some people—celebrities or CEOs—wear the same outfit daily. It’s not vanity; it’s conserving cognitive energy for what truly matters (and yes, this echoes stoic monastic simplicity and Zen minimalism).

Try this: Pick your work outfit the night before. Set a default breakfast. Play a curated playlist. Offload decisions when your brain is fresh.

4. Endless notifications 

Let’s talk pings. I’m guilty—news alerts, work DMs, social notifications… until I noticed this constant buzzing left my attention frayed.

My brain was a ping-pointer, splintered with each buzz, never fully grounded in the task at hand.

Every notification demands a tiny decision: respond, ignore, or “just check quickly.” On their own, these choices seem harmless. But add them up, and you’re left mentally drained by the sheer volume of micro-interruptions. It’s like death by a thousand cuts—each ping slicing away a sliver of focus.

And here’s the kicker: the impact doesn’t end when you put your phone down. According to a University of California Irvine study, after a distraction it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task. That means a single buzz isn’t just a two-second glance—it can cost nearly half an hour of momentum.

I decided to fight back by setting boundaries. I silenced everything except essential messages. No more discount alerts, breaking news updates, or algorithmic nudges designed to hijack my attention. I also started creating “notification windows,” checking my messages at set times instead of letting them dictate my day.

The difference has been huge. The quiet feels almost sacred, my work sessions flow longer, and my energy doesn’t fizzle out by mid-afternoon.

Protecting your attention isn’t just about productivity—it’s about safeguarding the mental stamina you need to show up fully in life.

5. Making poor nutrition choices 

We often think of energy in terms of sleep and exercise, but what you put on your plate might be the most overlooked factor of all.

I learned this the hard way in my twenties. I’d power through mornings with nothing but coffee and maybe a pastry, then wonder why I was sluggish, irritable, and craving another caffeine hit by mid-afternoon.

Turns out, food isn’t just fuel—it’s instruction for your body and brain. A Brigham Young University study found that employees with unhealthy diets were 66% more likely to report productivity loss at work. In other words, what you eat doesn’t just shape your waistline—it directly affects your ability to think clearly and stay energized throughout the day.

It’s not about perfection or chasing the latest diet trend. For me, the game-changer was simply swapping some of my quick-fix snacks for real meals with protein, good fats, and slow-burning carbs. Instead of a sugar spike and crash, I noticed my focus lasting longer, and those mid-afternoon slumps became less brutal.

The lesson? Every time you choose food, you’re also choosing the kind of energy you’ll have for the next few hours. Choose wisely, and your mind will thank you.

Final words

These five under-the-radar habits may look innocent, even reasonable. Yet they drain us more than any obvious stressor.

The good news? These are small, actionable—easy to tweak, easy to measure, easy to test. Clear your space. Single-task. Plan decisions. Mute the pings. Rethink the snacks.

Try one this week. Even that shift can feel like a subtle reset.