You might never actually stick to your ideal week; that’s what I mean when I say it’s ‘ideal’. Inevitably, things will come up that blow you off track – and that’s ok. Time blocking isn’t about creating a rigid schedule that stresses you out; it’s about providing structure and ensuring there’s dedicated time for what matters most to you.

In my case, that often involves a simple method: not miraculously overcoming my low confidence, but transforming it into a non-issue. My favourite method is simple. Just try asking yourself: ‘How confident do I actually need to feel to just get started with this? Could I just get started even though I’m feeling unconfident?’ In most cases, the

Those who cultivate positive emotions at work morph into better problem-solvers, planners, creative thinkers and resilient go-getters. They’re less stressed, attract higher evaluations from their superiors and show a higher degree of loyalty to their organisations.

It happens when we become overwhelmed by the unknowns or the complexity of a situation, leading to an inability to act. This paralysis prevents us from making progress on tasks, projects or decisions. It gets in the way of feeling good and gets in the way of getting things done.

Opportunity costs reflect the fact that every ‘yes’ we say is a ‘no’ to whatever else we could’ve been doing with that time and energy instead. Suppose a co-worker asks you to take on some extra projects. If your goal is to get a promotion or raise, and helping out on extra projects is a way to get there, then you might be more inclined to say

That means finding a way to move from fear to courage. And it begins with changing the way that you’re seen by the most important person in your life: you.

an intriguing feature of human motivation: that starting something alone is infinitely more difficult than starting it together. When we find a partner to hold us accountable, we’re much more likely to overcome inertia.

We get procrastination wrong. All too often, we approach procrastination by treating the symptoms rather than the underlying causes. And all too often, those causes relate to our mood: when we feel bad, we achieve less. So the unblock method is about establishing what’s really blocking your good mood – and finding a way to eliminate it.

Positive emotions are bound up with a set of four hormones3 – endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin – which are often labelled as the ‘feel-good hormones’.