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Burnout: Modern Affliction or Human Condition?
Burnout is generally said to date to 1973; at least, that’s around when it got its name. By the nineteen-eighties, everyone was burned out. In 1990, when the Princeton scholar Robert Fagles published a new English translation of the Iliad, he had Achilles tell Agamemnon that he doesn’t want people to think he’s “a worthless, burnt-out coward.” This expression, needless to say, was not in Homer’s original Greek.
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The Puzzling Psychology of Procrastination and How to Stop It
You’re procrastinating right now, aren’t you? Don’t worry, we’re not judging. But we are here to tell you that you’re not alone: an estimated 20 per cent of adults (and above 50 per cent of students) regularly procrastinate. In fact, procrastination – defined as voluntarily and unnecessarily delaying a task – is so widespread that scientists have even found evidence of the behaviour in pigeons. So, why do so many people procrastinate? What causes it? And, most importantly, how can you stop procrastinating? ...
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These are the Text Messages That Get People to Take Vaccines
More than 169 million Americans have received one or both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, but demand is falling off rapidly. Doses administered peaked at an average of 3.3 million per day in mid-April but are now down to under 1.5 million per day. To meet the goal of getting at least one shot to 70 percent of American adults by July 4, the Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would partner with child-care centers to free up people to get injections, and provide vaccine information (and even doses) through Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons.
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Need a Reset? Take the 10-Day Fresh Start Challenge
If there was ever a perfect time to make a life change, this is it. Behavioral scientists have long known that times of disruption and transition also create new opportunities for growth and change. Disruption can come in many forms, and it happens when life knocks us out of our normal routines. It can be moving to a new city, starting a new job, getting married or divorced or having a child. And for many of us, there’s never been a bigger life disruption than the pandemic, which changed how we work, eat, sleep and exercise, and even how we connect with friends and family.
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What Happens When Americans Can Finally Exhale
This time last year, the United States seemed stuck on a COVID-19 plateau. Although 1,300 Americans were dying from the disease every day, states had begun to reopen in a patchwork fashion, and an anxious nation was looking ahead to an uncertain summer. Twelve months later, the situation is very different. Cases are falling quickly. About half as many people are dying every day. Several vaccines were developed faster than experts had dared to predict, and proved to be more effective than they had dared to hope. Despite a shaky start, the vaccination campaign has been successful, and almost half of the country has received at least one shot, including 85 percent of people older than 65.
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Humans are Hard-Wired to Expect the Worst. No Wonder We Can’t Let Go of Masks.
At long last, experts and authorities have shouted the two words we’ve longed to hear: Masks off. So why are so many staying on? Last year, millions of Americans dutifully masked up once the pandemic officially hit. Now, as things are looking up here at home, and as the warm summer air officially returns, many of those same people are choosing to stay shrouded. And even as states lift crowd restrictions in indoor spaces, many are still avoiding movie theaters, grocery stores and crowded bars and restaurants, masked or not. This behavior may seem surprising — even frustrating to some. But psychologists understand the cautious behavior.
