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Procrastinating is linked to health and career problems – but there are things you can do to stop

<p>Do you ever beat yourself up for procrastinating? You might be composing that message to a friend who you have to let down, or writing a big report for school or work, and doing your best to avoid it but deep down knowing you should just get on with it.</p> <p>Unfortunately, telling yourself off won’t stop you procrastinating again. In fact, it’s one of the worst things you can do. This matters because, as my research shows, procrastination isn’t just a time-sapper but is actually linked to real problems.</p> <p>Procrastination is not a result of laziness or poor time management. Scientific studies suggest procrastination is due to <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor mood management</a>.</p> <p>This makes sense if we consider that people are more likely to put off starting or completing tasks that they <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886999000914" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feel aversion towards</a>. If just thinking about the task makes you anxious or threatens your sense of self-worth, you will be more likely to put it off.</p> <p>Research has found that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psyp.13782" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regions of the brain</a> linked to threat detection and emotion regulation are different in people who chronically procrastinate compared to those who don’t procrastinate frequently.</p> <p>When we avoid the unpleasant task, we also avoid the negative emotions associated with it. This is <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.609874/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rewarding</a> and conditions us to use procrastination to repair our mood. If we engage in more enjoyable tasks instead, we get another mood boost.</p> <p>Tasks that are emotionally loaded or difficult, such as studying for an exam, or preparing for public speaking are prime candidates for procrastination. People with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-021-02075-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low self-esteem</a> are more likely to procrastinate as are those with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/per.2098" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high levels of perfectionism</a> who worry their work will be judged harshly by others. If you don’t finish that report or complete those home repairs, then what you did can’t be evaluated.</p> <p>But <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6_7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guilt and shame</a> often linger when people try to distract themselves with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215004343" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more pleasant activities</a>.</p> <p>In the long run, procrastination isn’t an effective way of managing emotions. The mood repair you experience is temporary. Afterwards, people tend to engage in <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2002-10572-023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">self-critical ruminations</a> that not only increase their negative mood, but also reinforce their tendency to procrastinate.</p> <h2>How is procrastination harmful?</h2> <p>So why is this such a problem? When most people think of the costs of procrastination, they think of the toll on productivity. For example, studies have shown that academic procrastination <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-psychiatry/article/academic-procrastination-in-university-students-associated-factors-and-impact-on-academic-performance/D230B8D2D670DC7C2884294A274A08B5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negatively impacts student performance</a>.</p> <p>But academic procrastination may affect other areas of students’ lives. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/03075079.2013.854765" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In one study</a> of over 3,000 German students over a six month period, those who reported procrastinating on their academic work were also more likely to engage in academic misconduct, such as cheating and plagiarism. But the behaviour procrastination was most closely linked with was using fraudulent excuses to get deadline extensions.</p> <p>Other research shows employees on average spend almost a <a href="https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/how-much-time-are-your-employees-spending-procrastinating" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quarter of their workday procrastinating</a>, and again this is linked with worse outcomes. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijsa.12048" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In one US survey of over 22,000 employees</a>, participants who said they regularly procrastinated had lower annual incomes and less job stability. For every one-point increase on a measure of chronic procrastination, salary decreased by US$15,000 (£12,450).</p> <p>Procrastination also correlates with serious <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/procrastination-health-and-well-being/sirois/978-0-12-802862-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health and wellbeing</a> problems. A tendency to procrastinate is linked to poor mental health, including higher <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10942-017-0271-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">levels of depression and anxiety</a>.</p> <p>Across numerous studies, I’ve found people who regularly procrastinate report a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886902003264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greater number of health issues</a>, such as headaches, flu and colds, and digestive issues. They also experience <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/91791/1/Procrastination%20and%20self%20compassion%20rev2%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">higher levels of stress</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2015.1074776#:%7E:text=Research%20to%20date%2C%20testing%20the%20procrastination%E2%80%93health%20model%20%28Sirois%2C,health%20problems%20and%20behaviors%20that%20included%20sleep-related%20outcomes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor sleep quality</a>.</p> <p>They were less likely to practice <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886906004454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">healthy behaviours</a>, such as eating a healthy diet and regularly exercising, and use <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1002/per.1985?journalCode=erpa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">destructive coping strategies</a> to manage their stress. In one study of over 700 people, I found people prone to procrastination had a 63% greater risk of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10865-015-9629-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor heart health</a> after accounting for other personality traits and demographics.</p> <h2>How to stop procrastinating</h2> <p>Learning not to procrastinate isn’t going to solve all your problems. But finding <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780675/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">better ways to regulate your emotions</a> could be a route to improving your mental health and wellbeing.</p> <p>An important first step is to manage your environment and how you view the task. There are a number of <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/procrastination/fuschia-m-sirois/9781433838064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evidence-based strategies</a> that can help you quarantine <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjso.12243" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distractions</a>, and set up your tasks so they <a href="https://theconversation.com/working-from-home-here-are-five-ways-to-reduce-procrastination-and-be-productive-133636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provoke less anxiety and feel more meaningful</a>. For example, remind yourself why the task is important and valuable to you can increase your positive feelings towards it.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886910000474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forgiving yourself</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15298868.2013.763404?journalCode=psai20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showing yourself compassion</a> when you procrastinate can help break the procrastination cycle. Admit you feel bad without judging yourself. Remind yourself that you’re not the first person to procrastinate, nor will you be last.</p> <p>Doing this can take the edge off the negative feelings we have about ourselves when we procrastinate. This can make it easier to get <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167212445599?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back on track</a>.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/procrastinating-is-linked-to-health-and-career-problems-but-there-are-things-you-can-do-to-stop-188322" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Body

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Cafe won’t let guests leave until they finish their work

<p dir="ltr">If you struggle a lot with procrastination then the only thing left for you to do is to book a ticket to Japan and head to this one cafe.</p> <p dir="ltr">Unless you procrastinate that too, but hear us out. </p> <p dir="ltr">Manuscript Writing Cafe in Tokyo is the one-stop destination for procrastinators looking to get their work done.</p> <p dir="ltr">There are 10 workstations and people are allowed to leave ONLY when they have finished their work.</p> <p dir="ltr">And the staff will make sure you have completed your projects as they come to check in on you at least six times an hour. </p> <p dir="ltr">They also bring with them free snacks, tea, coffee, water and high-speed wifi. </p> <p dir="ltr">Once you have completed all your tasks, you are given a paper with an orange stamp and you are free to leave. </p> <p dir="ltr">The video was shared to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@leanneinjapan/video/7095383871398694149?is_copy_url=1&amp;is_from_webapp=v1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> and has been viewed more than 624,000 times and has received around 120,000 likes with many commenting about how they need to be at the cafe all the time. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Yup, I definitely need to work there.. ah.. maybe later,” one wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Kindness and torture at the same time,” someone commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I guess I'm bringing a sleeping bag,” another joked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ll go later,” another joked about procrastinating their visit.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So essentially I'd be living there,” read another. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: TikTok</em></p>

International Travel

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Cleaning and storage tips from a regular procrastinator

<p>We all know those super-organised people, don’t we? They’re up at the crack of dawn baking muffins for the school fundraiser, work nine-to-five in a high-powered job, have numerous well-turned out children and, on top of it all, their house is always perfectly clean and organised – without any paid help. Do they make you sick, or do you secretly envy them? Don’t waste your energy. Instead, watch how they do it and see what you can learn. Our homes shouldn’t be driving us mad; they should be our sanctuary. As much as I wish I could pay one of those personal organisers to come into my house and turn it upside down, I don’t have the spare budget (sigh). So I’ve learned from my clean-freak friends and I’m forever reading up about what I can do to take control of my home. Here’s what I’ve found helpful:</p> <p><strong>Regular clean-ups</strong></p> <p>Like many people, I’m more of a regular procrastinator than a regular cleaner, often preferring the motto “Why do it it today, if I can do it tomorrow?” However, since having kids and a home to look after, I’ve learnt the hard way that this motto isn’t really doing that much for me.</p> <p>I’ve often watched friends with tidy homes and wondered what their secret is. Now I know; they simply clean up as they go rather than wait for the magic fairy to come in and do it.</p> <p>They never wake up to a kitchen full of dirty dishes.</p> <p>By doing a little bit each day in bite-sized chunks – and getting other members of the household to do the same – things don’t pile up and become overwhelming. Create a roster so that everyone knows what they have to do and when.</p> <p><strong>A place for everything </strong></p> <p>I know Marie Kondo didn’t invent this idea, but if there’s one thing I’ve taken from her much talked-about book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, it’s the idea of having a place for everything and putting everything back there.</p> <p>Apply this rule to all areas of the house – from the kitchen and the laundry to the linen cupboard. Take stock of every single item you own and ensure there’s <a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/collections/storage?utm_source=Over60&amp;utm_medium=in-article-link-storage&amp;utm_campaign=Over60Shop&amp;utm_content=storage" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>a place for each one</strong></span></a>.</p> <p>Best of all? Your mornings will be transformed. No more running around the house first thing in the morning looking for your keys, your coat or the other shoe – you’ll know exactly where to find everything, and fast.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/40640/image__500x333.jpg" alt="Image_ (409)"/></p> <p><strong>Use storage wisely </strong></p> <p>However, good <a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/collections/storage?utm_source=Over60&amp;utm_medium=in-article-link-storage&amp;utm_campaign=Over60Shop&amp;utm_content=storage" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>storage</strong></span></a> with a place for everything only works if you’re managing it. Have you ever blamed your messiness on your lack of storage? I used to, but recently I finally got the new fitted wardrobes and mudroom of my dreams installed, only to find we were still messy – alas, the storage doesn’t magically tidy up for you. Of course it helps, but you still have to do the work of keeping it organised. The other members of the household need to be schooled in the simple ways of putting their things away too.</p> <p><strong>Declutter sprees </strong></p> <p>One of the ways our houses can drive us mad is by having too much stuff. Are you forever unable to find things – your wallet, the potato masher, your favourite pan? This is often because we can’t see the stuff we’re looking for among the chaos. If you have a family and new things regularly coming into the home, it’s important to get rid of stuff often too. Regularly – even as often as monthly – go through kitchen drawers, pantries and wardrobes and take stock of what you have, getting rid of what you’re not using.</p> <p><strong>Buy less</strong></p> <p>Which brings me to my next point. The less stuff we buy, the easier our things will be to organise. Shop wisely – never on a whim – and only for things you really need. Buy one expensive item of clothing over five cheap ones.</p> <p>If it’s all clearly visible and you can see what you actually have, you’ll be less likely to fall into the trap of buying things you already own. The things you buy will be the things you really need.</p> <p>This rule applies not just to the clothes hanging in your wardrobe, but to every other area of your home too, including your kitchen and food pantry.</p> <p><strong>Clean up your tech</strong></p> <p>With so many of us working from home these days or, at the very least, bringing work and technology home with us, we often find it creeping into all areas of the house – computer and phone cords everywhere, laptops and phones invading areas of the house that should be kept for relaxing. If you don’t have a dedicated home office space, see if you can find an area to squeeze one in, and then buy filing boxes to keep your life admin and important documents under control.</p> <p>Keep a separate drawer or cupboard for tech stuff – cameras, phones, laptop and all their associated chargers and cords, so you can find everything when you need it.</p> <p><strong>Make lists</strong></p> <p>I couldn’t do without my daily to-do list. If you create daily goals, write them down and tick them off as you go – you’re more likely to get things done and the ticking off part really adds to the feeling of satisfaction.</p> <p><em>Written by Liz Durnan. First appeared on <a href="http://www.domain.com.au" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Domain.com.au</strong></span></a>.</em></p> <p><em><strong>To find your home essentials <a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_campaign=Over60Shop&amp;utm_medium=in-article-link-o60shop&amp;utm_content=over60-shop" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">head to the Over60 Shop for high-quality offerings</span></a>.</strong></em></p> <p><a href="https://shop.oversixty.com.au/collections/living?utm_source=Over60&amp;utm_medium=in-article-banner-living&amp;utm_campaign=Over60Shop&amp;utm_content=over60-shop" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.oversixty.com.au/images/EditorialAddon/201706_Shopnow_EditorialAddon_468x60_Living.jpg" alt="Over60 Shop - Living Range"/></a></p>

Home & Garden

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Why do we procrastinate?

<p><em><strong>Jim Selman, a 70-something-year-old guy, is determined not to let the cultural conversation of what it means to grow older and what is and isn’t possible as we age define the rest of his life.</strong></em></p> <p>Why do we procrastinate? As with many of my less agreeable habits, I decided to do a workshop on the subject for a European client late last year. The overarching question of why we procrastinate was framed a bit more specifically as “Why don’t we do the things we KNOW we need to do to accomplish what we SAY we want to accomplish?” The correlation to this question is if we don’t know what to do, why do we put off some action to learn or be coached to move forward to achieve whatever we say we want?</p> <p>One of the first things that became obvious is that everyone has a conversation about procrastination. No one has ever said, “I always do what I need to do when I need to do it”. Furthermore, it is generally a negative self-assessment. I also haven’t heard anyone say “I am just fine and happy not doing what I know I need to do.” There always seems to be some explanation or justification and most of us know that whatever our story, it is a pretty thin excuse. The excuse I hear most often is a variation of “it’s just the way I am”, which somehow seems to stop the conversation and kill any possibility of changing one’s practices. I am sure there must be some super-disciplined people who do manage themselves and their schedules so that everything they do is a conscious choice, but I think they are rare and the exceptions that prove the rule.</p> <p>As we delved into our own experience as procrastinators we could see that the overriding belief that justifies most procrastination is a misconception about the nature of time. Most of us believe that there is a future — in the future. That is, we say that we’ll get to it tomorrow as if tomorrow exists independent of today. As a consequence, shifting or delaying a task to another day is as easy as moving the furniture in your office. If we think about it, tomorrow doesn’t exist yet, and when we wake up it will be today again. Tomorrow never arrives and is always a concept in our mind today. It is a pure abstraction that we believe is ‘real’.</p> <p>Moreover, we generally think about tomorrow as an extension of the past. This is the basis for the famous French aphorism: “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” One of my favourite formulations for this idea is that “Yesterday is just a memory, tomorrow is just a dream and today is always just a conversation — usually about yesterday and tomorrow”. But action can only happen in the present. Action can never happen in the future.</p> <p>A second rationale that contributes to the persistence of the habit of procrastinating is that whatever the ‘it’ is that we’re putting off doesn’t matter, or it doesn’t matter if it gets done. This is reinforced sometimes as a choice about priority, although most of us know that the priority justification usually follows the moment we decide or begin to procrastinate, and that it is not uncommon to then procrastinate about doing whatever we thought was a higher priority. There always seems to be another ‘something’ to displace whatever it is that we’re putting off. This leads to the question of whether procrastination is a choice at all. In fact, we can easily observe it as a pattern that is omnipresent and over which we generally have no control. I say ‘generally’ because it is also true that from time to time we grit our ‘teeth’ and ‘just do it’. I am thinking of when I finally resolve to clean the garage today and force myself into action regardless of the nagging desire to do almost anything else instead.</p> <p>Like most strong habits, patterns or even addictions — the issue is more the persistence of the undesired behaviour as much as whatever the behaviour may be. There is certainly nothing ‘wrong’ with putting off something or choosing to do something else. The problem is always the self-judgment and meaning we give to the practice afterwards. A variation of “darn, why don’t I have more will power” or “I should have done it, or should do it now or should be more motivated or whatever ever else I think I should be or do to get it done”.</p> <p>The final insight we learned about ourselves followed some reflection about what is going on when we DON’T procrastinate. What we saw was that when we are genuinely committed, we either get it done or are pulled into some other action and do not ‘feel bad’ about not getting it done. In other words, when we are committed and in action, there is no procrastination, even if we aren’t doing everything on our ‘to do’ list. This suggests that procrastination doesn’t really exist, other than as some set of judgments about what we are doing or not doing.</p> <p>Moreover, procrastination is a conversation that is more of a cover-up than an excuse. It blinds us to the fact that we’re always choosing, and allows us to conceal or deny our responsibility for our choices. When I beat myself up for putting off something I think I SHOULD BE DOING, or feel bad when I don’t do what I know I should do, then I am blaming procrastination for my actions and even for my experience. I am giving my power to the pattern or the habit, and eventually becoming resigned that I have no choice about whether I procrastinate or not.</p> <p>At the end of the day, we realised as I realise now, that procrastination is not a problem it is a choice. When we remember that we are the chooser we can disconnect from our story about the way we are or the way it is and become present to what is calling to us to be done. We can learn to ‘listen’ for what really needs doing, as opposed to what is merely important or desirable. The more we learn to be present, the less time we spend in yesterday and tomorrow, and the more fully we can experience and participate in life as it is happening each and every moment of today.</p> <p>I am now learning to uses my procrastination habit as a reminder and a way of learning to live in the present, free of guilt and negative judgments about what I am not doing and becoming more fully alive and appreciative of what I am doing.</p> <p><em>To read more from Jim’s blog, visit his website <a href="http://www.sereneambition.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Serene Ambition here</strong></span>.</a></em></p> <p><strong><em>If you have an opinion to share please get in touch at <a href="mailto:melody@oversixty.com.au">melody@oversixty.com.au</a>.</em></strong></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/health/mind/2016/06/5-steps-to-help-you-speak-your-mind/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 steps to help you speak your mind</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/mind/2016/05/how-to-beat-self-doubt/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How self-doubt holds you back</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/mind/2016/05/self-care-essentials-to-enrich-your-life/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Self care essentials to enrich your life</span></em></strong></a></p>

Mind

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How to stop procrastinating

<p>Ian Wilson, organisational psychologist and human resources specialist with the Council of Europe, said his colleagues laughed when he pitched his thesis on procrastination.</p> <p>"It's something we all recognise, often laugh about, but perhaps don't take as seriously as we should, given the negative consequences of it," he said.</p> <p>"There's not a lot of research out there, but it's very costly for organisations."</p> <p>Procrastination has been labelled the most expensive invisible cost in modern business, with the average worker admitting to wasting more than two hours each day on non-job-related activities.</p> <p>Of course, some people are worse than others when it comes to last-minutism, which is largely dictated by personality traits along with the nature of the task, Wilson said.</p> <p>The American Psychological Association (APA) estimates one in five people are chronic procrastinators – producing symptoms of depression, obsessive compulsive behaviour, stress, anxiety, and disturbed sleep patterns.</p> <p>Studies show procrastination is associated with high stress and poor emotional and physical wellbeing.</p> <p>Self-regulation, or the ability to control and regulate one's behaviours, thoughts, and emotions, has been described as the "quintessential characteristic of human beings". In contrast, procrastination is regarded the "quintessence of self-regulatory failure".</p> <p>In 1952, in the APA's first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it was listed as a symptom of mental illness. It was dropped several editions later, but the stigma remains.</p> <p>"What's clear is procrastination is something that's perceived very negatively by everybody, even though we're all guilty of doing it," Wilson said. "People who do it are seen as lazy, or ill-disciplined. There's a loss of productivity, a lot of negative consequences."</p> <p>It's important for an individual to recognise when they are procrastinating, and ask themselves why they're doing it, he said.</p> <p>His research has shown there are three main characteristics to the tasks people put off, and different ways to overcome each:</p> <p>1. An unpleasant task: This is the type of task we procrastinate the most – we push it aside as a coping mechanism – and this in turn provokes anxiety and stress.</p> <p>How to overcome it: You could make a to-do list in order of the most unpleasant task to the least. Starting at the most unpleasant end, it should get easier as you go along. Promise yourself a reward when you get to the end, it doesn't have to be much. If there isn't a deadline for the task, you could set one yourself, and make sure you tell people about it -- you're more likely to follow through with a social commitment.</p> <p>2. An ambiguous task: We tend to put off tasks that are a bit ambiguous, thinking that time will make them clearer. This is especially the case if the consequences are a long way off.</p> <p>How to overcome it: Clarify it, ASAP. The quicker you get help or clarify the task, the better. It will only get more embarrassing the longer you leave it.</p> <p>3. An overwhelming task: There's a tendency to wait until the last minute before addressing those overwhelming tasks. Perfectionists may be hesitating, worried they'll look bad if it goes wrong, but this only adds to the anxiety they're already feeling. Others, with lower energy levels (more often known as lazy…) don't suffer such anxiety, and may require external pressure to get them moving.</p> <p>How to overcome it: Break it down into smaller tasks, and knock them off one by one. Keep it simple.</p> <p><em>Written by Kate Kenny. First appeared on</em> <em><strong><a href="http://stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz.</span></a></strong></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><em><strong><a href="/health/mind/2016/02/myths-about-the-brain-you-thought-were-true-asapscience-video/"></a></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2015/12/positive-thinking-and-mental-health/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Can positive thinking improve your mental health?</span></a></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><a href="/health/mind/2016/02/myths-about-the-brain-you-thought-were-true-asapscience-video/"></a></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/mind/2015/11/expert-tips-to-stress-less/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">5 expert-approved ways to stress less</span></a></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><a href="/health/mind/2016/02/myths-about-the-brain-you-thought-were-true-asapscience-video/"></a></strong></em></p> <p><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/relationships/2016/01/bad-habits-that-ruin-relationships/">4 bad habits that will destroy your relationship</a></span></strong></em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

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