Your Mind’s Being Hijacked (and You’re Calling It Productivity)

If you’re reading this, you probably already feel it.

Something’s off—not just in your schedule or stress level, but in your mind itself.

Focus is harder. Thoughts are noisier. And even the most brilliant, high-functioning people are struggling to hold a clear internal state.

This isn’t just personal.It’s structural. Systemic.And yes—engineered.

We’re living in a moment where your mind is the battlefield.

The very tools you rely on to lead, build, create, and grow…are the same ones hijacking your clarity.

AI-generated content. Algorithmic overload. Dopamine traps disguised as productivity.

Here’s the trap:The higher your performance, the more valuable your attention.

So even though you know what's happening, you still might find yourself pulled in 20 directions your brain was never designed to handle.

That disorientation? That fog?That’s digital smog.

Let’s name the paradox

Yes, I’m writing this through a digital platform.And yes, I love technology.I find AI absolutely fascinating—the power, the possibilities, the wild brilliance of it.

As someone who’s struggled with writing, with dyslexia, with nonlinear thinking—AI has made things accessible I never thought possible.This article? These words? They’re mine. But they’ve been translated through tools that finally allow me to express them at the level I always dreamed of.

So no, this isn’t about being pro- or anti-AI.

It’s about awareness.It’s about having the right conversation.Not “Is this good or bad?”But: “What do we need to be, so that this becomes a collaboration—not a hijacking?”

What I’m seeing in my clients and in myself

• The new burnout isn’t physical. It’s cognitive erosion.

• ADHD-like glitches. Brain fog. A fading inner spark.

• “If it takes under 2 minutes, just do it”—used to be brilliant. Now it’s a trap.

• AI makes everything faster… but when do you stop?

• You spend your focus on things you didn’t even choose.

• You’re always on. But never really with yourself.

Your nervous system is spinning.Your inner compass? Offline.And that “glitching” feeling? It’s not failure.It’s a system overload.

Let’s talk about the real trap: The Performance Spell

If you’re a high performer, chances are you were conditioned to equate your worth with your output.You carry a lot.You’re naturally capable of doing a lot.But you’ve also been trained to find value in holding it all together.

The algorithms feed on that.

They mirror back your “strength” as constant productivity.And when you’re tired, they tell you: just push a little harder.

This is the performance spell.It’s what keeps you in the loop.

And it’s why even the most self-aware people I coach find themselves…glitching. Spinning. Reacting. Fading.

So what’s the answer?

Not to disconnect. Not to go offline.

But to re-sovereignize.To rebuild the inner architecture that lets you be in the digital world—without being of it.

To stay clear.To stay sharp.To choose where your attention goes.

Because clarity is no longer a personal virtue.It’s a survival skill.

Why The Clear State Memo exists

To help you reclaim your mind before it gets co-opted.To help you lead, build, and evolve—without burning out.To be awake in a system designed to keep you reactive.

This is for professionals, founders, researchers, visionaries.People who carry a lot.People who want to keep evolving—but on their own terms.

A note from me

I’m Jennifer Picci Baroncini.

I’m an organizational psychologist, a holistic business coach, and a mother navigating the intersection of family, ambition, clarity, and sovereignty.

I live in Switzerland, hold three nationalities, and thrive in the wild mix of entrepreneurship, breathwork, coaching, and dinner-making with my kids underfoot.

The Clear State was born from a question I couldn’t stop asking:

“What’s really going on here?”

And I’m here to explore it—with you.

What’s next?

This is the first of many Memos.

Soon, The Clear State podcast will launch:A space for deep, clear, embodied conversations about success, sovereignty, burnout, and the future of leadership.

In the meantime:

Subscribe to stay close.Share this if it resonated.And reflect: Where is your mind being directed… without your consent?

Let’s flip that.