Forget motivation, dopamine hunting is the workplace go-to

Dopamine is having a moment, again. And while it’s not a new term, the appeal of hunting or fasting against your body’s own chemical compounding is becoming mainstream. It’s replacing motivation and motivational coaching as a more reliable go-to for combating a creative or go-getting slump.

Best of all, it does not have to be chemically induced, experts say. All you have to do is get to work, literally. Dopamine, for all the attention it is getting on TikTok and other social channels right now, is not some trendy buzzword cooked up by influencers. It is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger in the brain, tied to reward, motivation, and learning.

When something feels satisfying, dopamine is part of the process that tells the brain to remember it and, more importantly, to repeat it. Now, people are timing how quickly they can pack a dishwasher, rewarding themselves for sending a single email, or breaking a task down so far that the first step feels almost absurdly easy.

Break down tasks

Dopamine hunting, or mining, has gained traction in spaces where motivation tends to disappear at the worst possible time. This holds true in the workplace, at home, and for other mundane tasks we’d normally have to rev ourselves up to do. At first, it was only common in ADHD communities, but the thread has extended and trended to everyday life now. It’s a simple rule of thumb for doing anything: Big tasks pause. Small ones get done.

Psychologist and medical doctor Dr Jonathan Redelinghuys said the appeal of dopamine hunting lies in how people actually experience motivation, rather than how they are told it should work.

“Motivation is often treated as the starting point, but in reality, it follows action. When you sit and wait for it, you are relying on something that is inconsistent,” he said, unpacking that hesitation we feel before starting something, even when the task is not particularly difficult.

“The brain resists effort when the reward feels distant. If the task looks too big, it delays engagement. What people are doing with dopamine hunting is bringing the reward closer.”

“That is where the small wins come in,” he said. “One email sent. One line written. One item crossed off. It does not look like much on paper, but it changes how the brain responds in the moment. You are creating a loop of completion,” Dr Redelinghuys said.

“Each small action gives the brain a signal that something has been achieved. That makes it easier to move to the next step, even if the larger task is still far from finished.”

There can be a playful element

There can be a slightly playful element to it; timers, checklists, music, even changing a workspace or introducing something new to break the monotony. It is not the task that changes, but the experience of doing it. “If something feels overwhelming, the brain avoids it,” he said. “If it feels manageable, the brain engages. That is the line people are working with.”

Dopamine fasting, on the other hand, focuses on removing reward. Social media, notifications, streaming, all of it has created an environment where attention is spider-webbed in a legion of directions at once. Fasting is about clipping the wings of distraction.

Dr Redelinghuys said the term fasting can be misleading if taken too literally.

“There is no switch that resets dopamine. What people are doing is reducing the level of stimulation so that other activities can compete again,” he said. “When the brain becomes used to rapid, high-reward experiences, slower tasks struggle to hold attention. They feel flat by comparison, even if they are important.”

Dopamine fasting allows smaller rewards to register again, he said.

“Reading, writing, completing a task, these things start to feel more engaging when they are not competing with continuous stimulation.”

Equally, procrastination can become a dopamine hit, which should be avoided. Otherwise, dopamine exploration fails.

“The brain learns from repetition,” Redelinghuys said. “If the reward is linked to progress, you build momentum. If it is linked to avoidance, you reinforce that avoidance.”