Successful people do this 1 thing to be ‘happier, more productive, less stressed’ at work, says CEO and neuroscience researcher

There’s one thing successful people do that helps them achieve their many goals, says David Rock, founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a science-based leadership company: They “manage their brain better.”

Highly successful people “make better use of the limited decision-making ability that they have,” he says. They’ve also “worked out when it’s good to switch off trying to solve a problem and just let their unconscious solve it.”

With so many demands on your time and attention, it can be hard to know how to use your brain in the most optimal way.

Here’s an exercise Rock suggests trying — and why it can help.

When you’re trying to get a better handle on how to use your brain, Rock suggests “paying attention to your attention.” He describes this as noticing “patterns in the quality of your thinking across the day.”

For example, he says, maybe you “notice how amazingly focused you are in the morning and how incredibly slow you are in the afternoon.”

Like many people, you might feel more clear-headed in the morning because you’re still unencumbered by the many fires you’ll have to put out and tasks you’ll have to take on throughout the day. By the end of the day, however, your head may be filled with the various to-dos that have popped up, and it can be harder to focus.

Once you’ve taken stock of the quality of your thinking throughout the day, you can start scheduling it out accordingly.

If your mind is clearest in the morning, use that time to do deeper and more complex thinking, says Rock, “because you can just focus better.”

Save less creative work for the moments when you tend to be more distracted.

For many people, Rock recommends doing “creative work first, urgent and important work second, email and everything else third.” All of this can ensure you’re applying your brain’s most powerful moments to the tasks that truly require them.

Rock, who researched this habit in his book “Your Brain at Work,” finds that people who lean into it are “happier, more productive, less stressed.”

“They just have more brain power,” he says.

Want to master your money this fall? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course. We’ll teach you practical strategies to hack your budget, reduce your debt, and grow your wealth. Start today to feel more confident and successful. Use code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off, now extended through September 30, 2024, for the back-to-school season.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.