Write down every invading and negatively distracting thought and schedule a ten-minute review session later in the day to focus on these anxieties and lay them to rest.

It’s time to stop blaming our surroundings and start taking responsibility. While no workplace is perfect, it turns out that our gravest challenges are a lot more primal and personal. Our individual practices ultimately determine what we do and how well we do it. Specifically, it’s our routine (or lack thereof), our capacity to work proactively rat

You’ll also want to get a notebook to record questions that you’d like to pursue, ideas that you have, or experiments that you’d like to try.

Frequency is a realistic approach.

Otherwise you’re sacrificing your potential for the illusion of professionalism.

Which means beefing up your presentation, marketing, and networking skills. It doesn’t matter if you’re shy or introverted. If you want to succeed, you need to communicate. And grow a thicker skin. Show me a creative who’s never suffered a setback or a bad review, and you won’t be pointing at a superstar.

Meanwhile, I’ve been out there in the thick of it, working hard but never taking stock. If you keep playing without any time-outs, your game starts to slip.

www.99u.com/routines

Exercise sharpens brain activity, reports Newsweek: “Almost every dimension of cognition improves from thirty minutes of aerobic exercise, and creativity is no exception. The type of exercise doesn’t matter, and the boost lasts for at least two hours afterward.”26