BANJO the nastiest job on your list

A business principle I've lived by for 40 years is actually one of the most underrated metabolic health hacks I know. Your cortisol, your insulin, and your waistline all depend on it.

Imagine this.

You wake up knowing there's one awkward phone call waiting for you. A difficult email. A conversation you've been dodging. A task you've been pretending doesn't exist.

All morning you tell yourself you'll do it after lunch. All afternoon you tell yourself tomorrow. By 5pm you're wrung out and you still haven't done it.

I've got a rule I've lived by since I built my first company. I call it BANJO.

Bang. A. Nasty. Job. Off.

First thing in the morning, before the coffee's cold, you spot the one job you least want to do. And you do it. Before anything else.

Here's why it matters. And why it's not just a productivity trick.

Procrastination is a stress response. When your brain knows there's a nasty task hanging over you, it keeps your cortisol elevated. Cortisol is your fight-or-flight hormone. It's meant to spike for 20 minutes when a lion walks into camp. Not drip-feed you for 9 hours because you didn't send an awkward email.

Here's the part most people don't know. Chronic cortisol drives your blood sugar up. It pushes your insulin up. It stores fat around your middle. It wrecks your sleep. It makes you crave sugar and carbs. That stressful task isn't just ruining your mood. It's quietly nudging you towards diabetes, weight gain, and a knackered evening on the sofa.

BANJO breaks the whole cycle.

You tackle the thing. You discover it was 80% less awful than your imagination told you. Cortisol drops. Relief floods in. Dopamine lifts. Your insulin behaves for the rest of the day. You eat better. You sleep better.

A nasty job handled before 10am is worth more to your metabolism than most supplements on the shelf.

Your action today: Name the one thing you've been avoiding this week. BANJO it before lunch. Then notice what happens to your energy, your appetite, and your evening.