9-5 Energy Hack Series: The Post-Meeting Recovery Protocol

⭐ Key Points

• Meeting "hangovers" are real - your nervous system doesn't instantly switch from group focus to individual work

• "Attention residue" keeps part of your brain stuck on meeting topics, reducing performance on your next task

• A simple protocol addresses both physical tension and mental transition, not just one or the other

📊 Research

Key finding: Research shows that "attention residue" occurs when part of your cognitive capacity remains stuck on a previous task instead of fully transitioning to the next one. Dr. Sophie Leroy from the University of Washington found that "as we switch between tasks (for example from Task A to Task B), part of our attention often stays with the prior task (Task A) instead of fully transferring to the next one (Task B). This is what I call Attention Residue" (Leroy, 2009). Her original study in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes demonstrated that people experienced reduced performance on subsequent tasks when they didn't have adequate transition time between activities.

Additionally, research on "meeting recovery syndrome" shows that the physical symptoms aren't just discomfort - they're energy drains. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that "people need recovery after both good and bad meetings" and that the recovery time needed varies significantly based on meeting effectiveness and personal relevance. Research by Dr. Joseph A. Allen from the University of Nebraska Omaha found that while normal task switching takes 10-15 minutes to recover from, "with MRS, it may take as long as 45 minutes" to fully refocus after an ineffective meeting.

How this translates: When you jump straight from a meeting into your next task, you're literally working with partial brain power. The remaining cognitive capacity is still processing meeting information, managing social dynamics, or stuck in "presentation mode." The physical tension from formal postures and screen focus creates additional energy drain that compounds throughout the day. This explains why back-to-back meeting days leave you exhausted even when you've done minimal "actual work."

☕️ Storytime

Imagine just another Tuesday, you’re in a large team meeting or All-Hands call that goes 15 minutes over the scheduled hour and now you’re 75 minutes into a meeting that has you mentally waiting for that one person to go, “looks like we’re already 15 minutes over we appreciate you all staying on, have a great rest of your day!” And suddenly you find yourself doomscrolling or even worse, beelining it to grab yet another cup of coffee.

Well maybe it’s just me but I used to prefer doing my mental resets by being horizontal on the couch facedown with no thoughts as to what I was working on right before that meeting. For me it’s not just a mental reset but also very much so a physical reset. Sitting through meetings, even virtual, are surprisingly more physically taxing on the body paired with the mental drain than you might think.

Whether we realize it or not, we form so many subconscious habits that become second nature to our day-to-day. If only we had a simple structured habit following meetings to help reset our mental and physical state to get locked in again. What I found to be an easy approach that works for me is:

1. Immediately note any important/urgent action items and major insights

2. Stimulate blood flow via simple stretching, focusing on the neck/shoulders/back to relieve any tension

3. Taking a few controlled slow & steady breaths to bring it back to baseline (as part of a mental signal of getting ready to kickstart the engine again)

This research explains exactly why that 'meeting hangover' feeling is so real - and why most default habits fail to put you back into Drive but rather Neutral. Simply taking a break isn't enough because it doesn't address both the cognitive residue AND the physical tension buildup. That's why a simple protocol that targets both issues based on the research can help you put back on track and maintain that peak performance throughout the day.

References

Leroy, S. (2009). Why is it so hard to do my work? The challenge of attention residue when switching between work tasks. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2), 168-181.

Yoerger, M., Allen, J. A., Crowe, J., Kello, J., Severs, M., McCreary, B., & Jones, J. (2022). Why am I so exhausted?: Exploring meeting-to-work transition time and recovery from virtual meeting fatigue. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-13.

Allen, J. A. (2019, December 30). Do you suffer from 'Meeting Recovery Syndrome'? Convene Magazine.

🙂 Know someone who's always complaining about back-to-back meetings? Share this with them! They'll thank you at 3 PM.