Chronically Automated - Episode #17 No Dopamine, No Problem: Systems That Work Anyway

In the latest episode of Chronically Automated, Anthony and I basically turned a chaotic morning into content therapy. I forgot my own intro, my kid had a dentist emergency, dopamine was at zero, and that’s exactly why this conversation needed to happen.

We ended up talking about what it’s really like trying to run a business when your brain isn't cooperating. Like how when dopamine drops, everything feels harder, slower, and less worth doing. Even the systems I usually love felt heavy, until we started laughing about it, which somehow brought my brain back online.

We talked about how hard it is to stay consistent when your neurodiverse brain just decides “nope.” And how automation, when it’s built right, can actually carry you through those crashes. Not the fake productivity hacks or robot cold-callers, but real systems that give you breathing room when you need it most.

I even joked about building Anthony a “Lobo Dialer”, which, let’s be honest, I could do, but I won’t, because sales should still feel human. Just like ops should feel fun. And it actually can, when you build it around how your brain really works, not how it’s “supposed to.”

If your brain’s ever betrayed you mid-launch, mid-project, or mid-conversation, this one’s for you. The chaos is real, but so is the magic when you stop fighting it and start designing around it.

Go listen. It’s the most honest conversation I’ve had in a while, and if nothing else, it might make you feel a little less broken.