Luciana Owain

Browser tabs, introduced in the early 2000s, are widely used but are now being considered an outdated concept that may hinder our productivity.

They are now seen as a manifestation of our cluttered mind and the work that is pending, bleakly staring at us. Browser tabs increase anxiety, divide our attention and crash our machines when overloaded to the hilt.

Since the start of the lockdowns, a new trend started in social media feeds: People enjoying the beautiful, calm village life in cosy cottages, wooden pathways, and beautiful picnic-friendly gardens that contrasted with the horrors of the pandemic.

It was a surreal, escapist fantasy turned standout aesthetic of the turbulent year, that gave birth to a new hashtag: #Cottagecore. Taylor Swift swiftly embraced the trend with her new album Folklore, which carried a raw, escapist, earthy and nostalgic sound.

As humans are social creatures, we consciously and unconsciously imitate the mannerisms, actions and habits of those around us.

Watching the ambitious, efficient and highly successful coworkers can sometimes backfire, as it can feel demotivating. One has to look at the thing which is being sought after, the achievement that one is moving towards, and talk to the successful person to find their motivation.

• While starting out to accomplish a goal, we feel overwhelmed with the abundance of advice and information, creating an analysis paralysis.
• Inaction and decision fatigue ensues, as we lose track of where to begin.
• The Rule Of Five is a remedy to this problem. It is a commitment to take five daily actions (also called systems) to move quickly towards one’s goal.

Loneliness has become a "plague," and "epidemic" that strikes young and old. But loneliness is not a universal human condition. It is a historically specific one.

Before 1800, the word loneliness was not really used in the English language. Where it was used, it meant the same as oneliness - the state of being one or single. Trees were lonely; roads were lonely. Before the 19th century, people did live alone, but they weren't lonely.

Some tools Martin Seligman​ suggests are:

• Sending a letter of gratitude to someone.
• Intentionally use one of your strengths daily in an unusual way. For example, if your strength is hope and optimism, you could volunteer to teach or mentor.
• Physical exercise, such as a walk or run.
• Self-improvement through reading or taking a course.
• Creativity - composing, art, dance crafts.
• Focusing on friendships that energise you.
• Reframing - choosing not to see things as 'good' or 'bad' but 'effective' or ineffective.'
• Healthy substitutions you love within in easy reach.
• Keeping positive pictures easily accessible.
• Self-compassion - doing things that makes you feel warm and fuzzy, such as a bubble bath or a cup of tea.

By learning to fight, he was able to better understand who he was — he could force himself out of his comfort zone, test his limits, and confront his fears. 

They're about taking responsibility for unintentionally (or even intentionally) hurting someone emotionally or physically.

You apologize less because of you and your crime, but because of its effects on someone, usually someone you say you care about.

All great achievements involve some measure of collaboration.

Some geniuses were obvious partners - like Orville and Wilbur Wright, or Marie and Pierre Curie, or John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Then there are other more obscure cases where collaboration was the driver of creativity. 

• Van Gogh had a brother Theo, who was "as much their creator as I, because the two of us are making them together."
• Picasso rose to the height of his creativity through a friendly rivalry with Matisse.
• After "a lot of discussions" with Michele Besso, Einstein "could suddenly comprehend the matter."

Making excuses about our social transgressions comes natural to us, as we experience guilt or shame upon committing the error. The excuse is our attempt to lessen the potential (or imagined) blame from others or even ourselves.

Example: Giving the excuse of being too busy to call up a friend on their birthday works both ways, as apart from saving our face, we also mask the fact that we are a thoughtless and negligent entity.