By Nicole Dhanraj
I’m not gonna use the B-word.
But I am going to talk about what’s actually happening in your body when you go home exhausted … and then somehow find yourself up at 11:47 p.m. trying to “just knock out one more thing” so your brain will let you sleep.
Because if you’re an imaging director, you already know this routine. You get home. You’re cooked (you can tell I have adapted some Gen Z slang). And yet … you can’t fully shut down.
Not because you love emails. Not because you’re bad at boundaries. Not because you’re addicted to productivity.
But because your brain has an open tab it refuses to stop refreshing.
Problem: Your Nervous System is ‘Stuck in Gear’
When you’re leading in a high-demand environment (hello, imaging), your nervous system spends most of the day in a high-alert, high-decision state.
You’re constantly scanning for problems:
• Who’s short?
• What went down?
• What’s delayed?
• Who’s upset?
• What’s the risk if we don’t fix this now?
That’s not just “stress.” They are threats to the system you are responsible for protecting. By the time you clock out, your body is physically home, but your nervous system is still back in the department, wearing a headset and looking for fires.
You aren’t “stressed.” You are stuck in a high-alert neurological loop.
Your nervous system doesn’t always recognize the difference between “a genuine emergency,” and “a staffing gap plus a vendor delay plus two frustrated messages.”
It just registers pressure + responsibility + uncertainty.
So, even when you clock out, your body doesn’t always follow. You get home physically tired … but mentally revved. That’s why you can feel exhausted and still struggle to rest.
‘Open tab’ problem: why you stay up late
Let’s talk about that late-night spiral.
You’re lying there and suddenly your brain goes:
• “Did we handle that complaint the right way?”
• “What if that tech quits?”
• “I need to send that email so it doesn’t become tomorrow’s fire.”
• “If I don’t solve this now, it’ll haunt me at 6 a.m.”
So, you get up. Not because you want to. But because your brain is trying to create safety by creating closure. In a weird way, staying up late is your nervous system saying: “If we tie up this loose end, maybe we can finally relax.”
The problem is … imaging leadership has infinite loose ends!
So, your brain learns a pattern:
1. No closure = no calm.
2. More doing = temporary relief
You’ve conditioned your brain to believe that doing more is the only way to find peace, when in reality, more “doing” is exactly what’s draining the battery.
And that’s how depletion builds.
Decision fatigue is real but it’s also neurological
We often think of recovery as “doing nothing.” For a high-achiever, “doing nothing” feels like a waste of time, which actually increases anxiety. Here’s a simple way to think about your brain at work.
All day you’re using the pathways for:
• decision-making
• prioritizing
• conflict navigation
• rapid problem-solving
• task switching
• emotional regulation (the hidden one)
Those pathways are expensive. They burn fuel. And the more you use them without recovery, the more your brain starts to narrow to only two modes:
1. Do
2. Worry about what you didn’t do
That’s why true rest can feel hard. Your brain is stuck in “action lanes.”
What recovery actually is: not ‘rest,’ but switching lanes
This is the part most leaders don’t hear often enough: Recovery isn’t just stopping work.
Recovery is when your brain gets to use different neural pathways, the ones that aren’t responsible for constant action and decision.
Think:
• creativity
• play
• curiosity
• sensory engagement
• social connection without problem-solving
• slow thinking
• daydreaming
• movement without urgency
These aren’t fluff.
They’re how your nervous system resets. I am still trying to revive some of mine!
If your day is 95% decision/action pathways, and your evening is just … more decision/action pathways (emails, planning, fixing, catching up), you never let the other parts of your brain “breathe.”
You keep running the same circuits until they’re smoked. That’s why some people can sit down and “relax” and still feel awful. Because their brain isn’t actually switching lanes.
How to stop the late-night ‘tab closing’ habit
I’m not going to tell you to meditate for 45 minutes and drink tea in silence but I will still encourage you to do so.
Here are three strategies that can work for you:
1. Create a ‘tab parking lot’ (so your brain stops refreshing)
Your brain refreshes the same worry because it’s afraid you’ll forget it. Before you leave work (or right when you get home), take 5 minutes and write:
• The tab that keeps popping up
The next step: when you will touch it again (a specific day/time)
That last part matters.
Your brain calms down when it trusts there’s a plan.
You’re not “forgetting it.” You’re containing it, or rather taming the beast.
This is basically telling your nervous system: “Not now. It’s scheduled.”
2. Build a ‘shutdown cue’ that signals safety
Nervous systems love cues. You need a ritual that signals “The Threat is Over.”
Pick one small ritual that marks the end of leadership mode:
• change clothes immediately
• take a 7-minute walk
• shower with music on
• sit in your car for 2 minutes and do a quick brain dump
• stretch for 5 minutes
Not because it’s magical. Because it’s a consistent signal: “We’re off duty now.”
3. Replace one evening ‘do’ with a ‘lane switch’
This is your #3, expanded: Pick one block, 20-30 minutes, where the goal is not to “rest,” but to use different circuitry.
Examples that actually work:
• a simple show you don’t analyze
• cooking without multitasking
• light exercise with no performance goal
• a hobby that uses hands + senses (grilling, guitar, LEGO, gardening)
• talking to someone where you do not fix anything (you just exist)
• reading something that is not self-improvement or healthcare
The point is: you’re letting the non-decision pathways come online. That’s what refills the tank.
Because if you keep living only in action circuits, you will eventually start feeling like a machine that won’t turn off.
A quick call to action (and it’s not cheesy)
Here’s what I want you to do after reading this: Forward this to one person who thinks you’re “fine” or one person who helps carry the load with you. And add one sentence: “I’m OK, but I’m running low. Can you help me protect one recovery block this week?”
That’s it. Not a dramatic confession. Not a breakdown. Just an honest leadership move.
Because “creating magic” isn’t about grinding harder. It’s about building a system and a team that doesn’t require you to bleed to keep it running.
OK, well I know you probably won’t do that, so here is a call to action that isn’t overly vulnerable cause most of y’all aren’t going to send a “Hey I’m running low” text. Right?
Here are better options that still change your week.
Option A: Make a small operational change (no emotions required)
Pick one sentence you’ll use starting this week:
• “Thanks can you route that through the lead first?”
• “I’m batching non-urgent items and replying by 3 p.m.”
• “If it’s not safety, downtime or patient escalation, it goes to tomorrow’s huddle.”
That’s not vulnerable. That’s leadership, self-leadership to be exact.
Option B: Give yourself a rule (and tell no one)
Tonight, choose one:
• No tab-closing after 9 p.m.
• One lane-switch block before any extra work
• If I want to work late, I must first write the parking lot plan
You don’t need permission. You need a rule your nervous system can rely on.
Option C: Ask for help without making it personal
If you do want to reach out, send something neutral and operational: “Can you own [specific item] through Friday and just send me a quick update at the end of the day?” No feelings. No confession. Just delegation with a time boundary.
The Bottom Line
If you’re going home and staying up late trying to close the open tabs, it’s not because you’re weak. It’s a sign that your brain is doing exactly what you trained it to do: protect the department. That’s because your nervous system has learned: “Closure equals safety.”
Your goal isn’t to be a leader who magically has no stress.
Your goal is to be a leader to build a rhythm where: tabs get parked; lanes get switched; and your brain is allowed to be more than a problem-solving machine.
Imaging requires you to create magic every day.
Just make sure you aren’t using your own nervous system as the fuel.
I’ve been in that 11:47 p.m. loop, well 1:47 a.m. to be exact, so I know exactly how heavy those “open tabs” feel.
We’re taught how to manage technology and throughput, but nobody teaches us how to manage the toll this role takes on our own internal systems. I’ve spent my career figuring out how to lead high-performing teams without burning out the leader in the process.
If you’re feeling the weight lately, you don’t have to “tough it out” alone. Reach out. I’d love to share what’s worked for me and help you find a bit more breathing room this week. Drop me a message or let’s grab a virtual coffee. •
Nicole Dhanraj, is a radiology administrator and workforce strategist focused on military-to-healthcare transition pathways. Radiology leaders interested in exploring this approach are encouraged to connect with her directly at nicoledhanraj@gmail.com.
