Art Markman

This is when it’s actually good to be a pessimist

Your tendency to always look at the negative might actually be really valuable for you if you use it right. Here’s how.

How our brains process praise and why it’s killing our potential

When your brain gets a reward (and your brain treats praise from others as a reward), what it learns is to do that action again. But, repetition builds habits, not growth.

This is the right way to assert your importance at work

If you feel underappreciated at work, this is how to make sure your capacity to contribute at work is known by the people who matter.

This is how to correct someone without sounding like a jerk

If you’re going to correct people when they haven’t asked you for feedback, there are a few general rules to follow.

How to reframe your thinking about the boring parts of your job

Every job, no matter how meaningful and rewarding, has boring parts. Here are three tactics to change your thinking about those parts of your job that you hate.

This is how you should structure all of your meetings

If you are going to bring people together, you should start by deciding the most important thing you want to accomplish.

How to reframe your thinking about your coworkers’ annoying habits

You can’t change their knuckle-cracking, loud-sneezing ways, but you can change the way you think about them. Here’s how.

This is how to decide between two seemingly equally good options

If the options are similar, even if the decision is really important, you probably won’t go too far wrong, no matter what you choose. Still, here’s how to make a tough choice.

Ask yourself these four questions when your mind starts to wander

These are the most common sources of intrusive thoughts, and what you can do to rein them in.

How to reframe your thinking about the worst parts of your job

The people who love their jobs are the ones who see how their work serves a bigger purpose. That requires seeing the forest rather than the trees.

Your open office is causing your coworkers to judge you more harshly

We are naturally inclined to judge each other, and open offices magnify it. Here’s what we are judging each other for, and what we can do to counter it.

Why everyone else seems to have more money than you

Comparing yourself to others is natural, but it doesn’t always give you an accurate picture of other people’s lives.

Why making New Year’s resolutions is a bad way to start the year

Chances are your life doesn’t need a major overhaul. Tiny changes to make you slightly new and improved are probably best.

Why you should start your New Year’s resolutions on March 4

Here’s an argument for separating the decision to make a change from the day that you are actually putting yourself on the path to change.

Five things you should stop saying to yourself

These are things we say to ourselves that are setting us up to fail at work–or your habitual mode of looking at the world can make you act as if you did.

How to train your brain to like people who annoy you

Have you ever considered that maybe you’re the problem? How you interpret people’s behavior depends on what you think about them already.

How to reframe your thinking about the worst parts of the holidays

For many, this time of year can be stressful and busy. Here’s how to reframe your thinking and enjoy the holiday season.

How to let your secret, hidden extrovert out

In a lot of ways the workplace is designed to stifle our extroverted tendencies. Here’s how you can let your social side shine.

This chart will show you when you can multitask and when you can’t