Energy > Time: Why Managing Your Energy Beats Managing Your Time

Most people think productivity is about squeezing more into the calendar.
But here’s the truth: you don’t need more hours — you need more energy.

In this episode of The Cognitive Athlete Podcast, Clint breaks down one of the biggest mindset shifts in high performance: stop managing the clock and start managing your cognitive energy.

You’ll hear a story from early in Clint’s corporate career — a day where he learned firsthand that time means nothing if your brain isn’t switched on. Then we dive into the neuroscience behind energy peaks, cognitive fatigue, circadian rhythms, and why your “brain battery” drains so quickly in modern work.

In this episode you’ll learn:

✅ Why time is constant but energy is cyclical
✅ How your prefrontal cortex (your mental engine) tires across the day✅ The role of circadian rhythm in shaping your performance
✅ Why certain tasks drain you more depending on your cognitive style
✅ How to map your personal energy rhythm using the 3×3 Energy Mapping Method
✅ How aligning tasks with your peak energy windows can transform your output

Clint also shares his own peak-performance window and how one expensive filing-cabinet disaster proved the importance of timing your deep work.

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re brilliant at 3:30 p.m. but useless at 9 a.m., this episode explains why and how to finally work with your brain, not against it.

Because the secret to high performance isn’t managing your minutes.
It’s managing your energy.

Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete — in stores 29 December 2025 👉 ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ⁠

Visit thecognitiveathlete.com.au for free tools and resources to help you improve your energy, focus, and performance.

Think you can perform at your best on five hours of sleep? Think again.

In this episode of The Cognitive Athlete Podcast, Clint dives into one of the most underrated performance tools leaders have: sleep.

Drawing on military experience, NASA research, and the neuroscience of high performance, Clint breaks down why sleep isn’t rest — it’s repair.

You’ll hear a story from his time on deployment in the Middle East, where loadmasters mastered the art of “strategic napping” long before corporate life glamorised exhaustion. Then we unpack why elite performers treat sleep as a competitive advantage — and why you should too.

In this episode you’ll learn:

✅ Why the famous “NASA Nap” boosts performance by 34%
✅ How sleep transforms memory, creativity and emotional control
✅ Why your brain literally cleans itself overnight
✅ The hidden link between poor sleep and poor decision-making
✅ How to build a simple, science-backed sleep system to improve daily performance

Whether you’re leading teams, running a business, or juggling a high-pressure workload, this episode will help you upgrade your energy, sharpen your thinking, and stabilise your mood — all by mastering the habit you already do every day.

Because great days don’t just start with great intentions.
They start with great sleep… and occasionally, a well-timed nanna nap.

📘 Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete — in stores 29 December 2025 👉 ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ

Visit thecognitiveathlete.com.au for free tools and resources to help you improve your energy, focus, and performance.

Why do you always get sick the moment you slow down?
The holidays start, your stress finally drops… and suddenly you’re wiped out.
This isn’t bad luck — it’s biology. It’s called The Let-Down Effect, and it’s one of the biggest reasons people crash at Christmas.

In this episode, Clint breaks down:
✅ Why your body suppresses symptoms during stress
✅ Why everything hits you the moment pressure drops
✅ Why December is the perfect storm of exhaustion and illness
✅How to transition from performance → recovery without crashing
✅The 7-day glide path to avoid getting sick on holidays

If you want to finish the year with energy — not collapse into Christmas — this episode is essential listening.

Listen now and glide into recovery instead of crashing into it.
Visit thecognitiveathlete.com.au for free tools and resources to help you improve your energy, focus, and performance.

📘 Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete — in stores 29 December 2025 👉 ⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ

Most people think recovery happens only after big efforts — holidays, weekends, or the yearly break we convince ourselves will “reset everything.”
But the truth is far simpler: your performance is shaped by the micro-recoveries you build into your day.

In this episode of The Cognitive Athlete Podcast, Clint breaks down the science and strategy behind micro-recovery, the small, deliberate resets that protect your energy, sharpen your focus, and prevent burnout long before it hits.

Drawing from neuroscience, real workplace examples, and lessons from high-performance environments, Clint explains why professionals are running on fumes — and how just a few intentional minutes can completely change the way your brain functions throughout the day.

You’ll learn:

✅ Why micro-recovery matters more than long holidays
✅ What happens in your brain when you don’t take breaks (decision fatigue, stress accumulation, emotional reactivity)
✅ How elite performers build recovery into training and how to translate that into knowledge work
✅ The easiest daily resets you can implement in under 60 seconds
✅ How micro-recovery restores creativity, clarity, and calm

Whether you’re a leader, a busy professional, or someone stuck in back-to-back meetings all day, this episode will help you reclaim your cognitive performance through small actions that compound into massive gains.

Small breaks create big gains.

Start adding 1–2 micro-recoveries into your day a short walk, a moment of stillness, a breath reset, or simply stepping away from the screen. You’ll think clearer, work smarter, and have more energy for what matters.

Visit thecognitiveathlete.com.au for free tools and resources to help you improve your energy, focus, and performance.

📘 Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete — in stores 29 December 2025 👉 https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ

Do you ever feel like your brain never switches off?

You’re not alone.

In this episode, Clint unpacks the science and psychology of cognitive overload — and why being constantly “on” quietly erodes your focus, creativity, and wellbeing.

Drawing on research from neuroscience and Microsoft’s Human Factors Lab, plus stories from high-stakes environments like the RAF, Clint reveals what really happens when we push our brains without rest: decision fatigue, emotional reactivity, and creativity collapse.

You’ll learn:

• Why multitasking is a myth that kills deep focus
• What your brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) does when you rest — and why it’s vital for problem-solving and innovation
• The early warning signs of mental burnout
• Simple recovery habits that protect clarity and energy — from micro-breaks to cognitive resets

Takeaway:
Protect your focus like an athlete protects recovery days. Even short mental breaks restore clarity, reduce stress, and make you more effective.

Key idea: Sustainable performance isn’t about squeezing more hours from your day — it’s about designing rhythms that keep your brain sharp and resilient.

New episodes every Monday — helping you train your brain for sustainable peak performance.

Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete book — in stores 29 December 2025👉 ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ⁠

Take the free Cognitive Athlete Self-Assessment at thecognitiveathlete.com.au

Most professionals try to “go hard all year” — and wonder why they crash. In this episode, Clint shares why that mindset fails and what you can do instead.

Drawing parallels between athletic season planning and corporate life, Clint explores how rhythm and recovery drive sustained high performance. From his days in the RAF to coaching modern leaders, he’s seen firsthand that the people who thrive are the ones who work with their biology, not against it.

You’ll learn:

• Why sprinting endlessly through your work year leads to exhaustion
• How elite performers use periodisation — training, tapering, and recovery — to stay sharp
• How to map your own performance highs and lows over the past 12 months
• Why recovery isn’t a reward, it’s a strategy

Takeaway:
Draw a simple graph of your past year — mark your energy highs and lows. Patterns will emerge. Your best performance happens in rhythm, not constant output.

Coming up next: how to recover with purpose and rebuild momentum.

Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete book — in stores 29th December 2025 👉 ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZLearn more and take the free Cognitive Athlete Self-Assessment at thecognitiveathlete.com.au

In this episode, Clint — coach, speaker, and author of The Cognitive Athlete — breaks down the core idea behind the movement: what it truly means to be a Cognitive Athlete.

Drawing on lessons from the Royal Air Force, elite sport, and neuroscience, Clint explores how our approach to work hasn’t evolved since the production line era — and why it’s time to rethink performance.

Through vivid examples from his time training fighter pilots and coaching leaders, Clint shows how top performers build mental fitness the same way athletes build physical conditioning — through rhythm, recovery, and deliberate training.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between production-line workers and knowledge workers
• Why constant grinding leads to burnout, not success
• The 4 key principles every Cognitive Athlete applies daily — train, recover, prepare, and perform
• A simple self-experiment to track your energy and unlock your best hours

Takeaway:
Start thinking of yourself as a Cognitive Athlete. Track your energy for one week — notice your peaks, dips, and recovery needs. Align your most important work with your highest energy, and you’ll start performing smarter, not harder.

Take the free Cognitive Athlete Self-Assessment at thecognitiveathlete.com.au
Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete book — in stores 29th December 2025 👉 ⁠https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ

In this first episode of The Cognitive Athlete Podcast, Clint Rahe — high performance coach, speaker, and author of The Cognitive Athlete — shares the personal story behind the book and why he believes we need a new approach to performance.

After more than two decades working with fighter pilots, athletes, and corporate leaders, Clint noticed the same pattern everywhere: smart, capable people running themselves into the ground. The harder they worked, the less effective they became.

This episode takes you behind the scenes of the book’s creation — from the moment Clint recognised that traditional productivity advice was broken, to how his time in the Royal Air Force shaped his philosophy on energy, rhythm, and recovery.

You’ll hear how The Cognitive Athlete framework was born: blending lessons from elite sport, military conditioning, and neuroscience to help leaders think, work, and recover like high-performance athletes — without burning out in the process.

In this episode you'l learn:

• Why traditional “grind culture” fails in modern knowledge work
• The moment that inspired Clint to write The Cognitive Athlete
• How the military and sport shaped his approach to performance and recovery
• The simple truth behind sustainable success — it’s not about hours; it’s about energy

Key Takeaway

You can’t out-work biology. Peak performance isn’t about doing more; it’s about training smarter. Start paying attention to your energy cycles, not just your calendar.

Take the free Cognitive Athlete Self-Assessment at thecognitiveathlete.com.au to discover your performance profile.

Pre-order The Cognitive Athlete book — in stores 29th December 2025 👉 https://amzn.to/4fVUHwZ

New episodes every Monday — short, practical, science-backed strategies to help you perform at your best without burning out.