TOPLEY'S TOP 10

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1. Defensive Sector XLP Consumer Staples… Breaks to New 2026 Highs

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2. Semiconductor ETF SMH Right on 200-Day

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3. 6-Month Performance Semiconductors vs. Consumer Staples Converging to Even

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4. Meta Capex Chart

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5. META 5-Year CDS

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6. Monetary Policy is NOT Restrictive: Torsten Slok

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7. Contra-Indicator

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8. Iran’s Fleet of Shadow Tankers Has Run Out of Oil After Monthslong U.S. Blockade

WSJ Tehran had millions of barrels of crude in tankers in Asian waters that gave it a steady flow of cash. Now, that oil has dried up. By Jon Emont
For most of the war, Iran had an invaluable cushion: dozens of oil tankers holding millions of barrels of crude sitting safely in waters in Asia. Tehran steadily sold the oil to China, bringing in billions of much-needed cash. Now, that floating storage is gone. By mid-October, the reserves were fully depleted, according to analysts at Kpler, as a U.S. naval blockade prevented Iran from replacing the crude it normally sells to Chinese refineries.

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9. Ranking Most Dangerous American Cities

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10. A Brain Researcher Says This Is How You Should Start Your Workday. Most People Do the Opposite

A few changes to your daily routine can bring major brain benefits.

EXPERT OPINION BY MINDA ZETLIN, AUTHOR OF 'CAREER SELF-CARE: FIND YOUR HAPPINESS, SUCCESS, AND FULFILLMENT AT WORK' @MINDAZETLIN

How can you be more effective at your work, create more of an impact, and build bigger success for yourself and your company? You may be familiar with the 80/20 rule (also called the Pareto Principle). It states that 20 percent of the work you do has the biggest impact, while the other 80 percent matters much less. So it makes sense to do your absolute best at that 20 percent. But how can you make that happen?

Erin Venza has some helpful suggestions. She’s assistant director for research operations at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. In an interview with Inc., she offered some research-backed ways to bring maximum brain energy and creativity to the work that matters most to you.

1. Plan on two impactful tasks per workday

Venza says that at the gym, she often hears the advice to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. “Our brains need that too,” she says. “When we wrestle with a tough problem or think through a new situation, we’re giving our brain the kind of challenge that engages deeper thinking. There’s a payoff in that process. A lot of research has shown that when we make progress on tasks that are challenging and also meaningful, it taps into the brain’s reward system and motivation. So we get that sense of accomplishment, which can also help us go forward with the next step.”

She calls these impactful tasks “elephants,” and the rest of the work you have to do “rabbits.” And she recommends planning on no more than two elephant tasks per day, to be completed in two 45-minute sessions.

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Why 45 minutes? For one thing, a typical brain becomes fatigued after about an hour of this high-level work, she says. Also, limiting tasks to 45 minutes will force you to divide them into manageable chunks. “Often we can write down a to-do item that is going to take longer. It will take multiple sessions or multiple days,” she says. “That can dampen that reward system. So it’s really important that we give ourselves accomplishable tasks. Even if you know you’re going to break this up over time, what will you check off today?”

2. Tackle those tasks when you’re at your best

Plan your elephants with your own circadian rhythms in mind, Venza advises. For most people, she says, it’s a particularly bad idea to start your day by working on rabbit tasks. “It can be so tempting to check off those low-hanging-fruit items of the day, the things that feel like an easy win and don’t really require a cognitive effort. But we know you get more of a neurochemical boost, more of a sense of accomplishment when you complete something a little more cognitively demanding.”

You should do those high-level tasks when your brain is at its best. For most people, though not everyone, that’s early in the morning, Venza says. “The risk is, I come in and I’m replying to all the easy emails, and I’m doing these little things. Then, before I know it, it’s almost lunchtime, and I’m already starting to feel a little more fatigued.”

3. Take five-minute brain breaks throughout the day

“We encourage this idea of a five-by-five,” Venza says. “Five minutes, five times a day, stepping away from any kind of screen, and people, if possible. Because those are the two sources of a lot of information.”

Don’t read a book, she adds. That, too, is a source of information. Even meditation, because it require focus, isn’t a good brain break activity, she says. So what should you do to give your brain a break?

“A brain break could be me leaving where I work, doing a lap around the parking lot, or even a couple of laps inside, walking around the halls without my phone, without talking to people,” she says. She herself spends her brain breaks either making food or walking her dog around the block. Even standing up, stretching, and looking out the window can be a good brain break.

These breaks are so beneficial that if you’re about to tackle an elephant first thing in the morning, she recommends taking a brain break first. “Once you step away from screens and people, the brain can more likely shift into a different mode of thinking, the default mode, where sometimes we get aha! moments. It can also help you recharge and refocus for when you go back to work,” she says.

Make the most of your brain

Put these three tips together, and you can give your brain maximum support to be alert, engaged, and in the zone. Use this knowledge to tackle those all-important tasks.

There’s a growing audience of Inc.com readers who receive a daily text from me with a self-care or motivational micro-challenge or tip. Often, they text me back and we wind up in a conversation. (Want to know more? Here’s some information about the texts and a special invitation to a two-month free trial.) Many in my text community are entrepreneurs and business leaders, and some of the work they do can mean the difference between success and failure for their companies. Knowing just when and how to tackle those important tasks can prime you for success when it matters most.

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