Oliver Burkeman: the art of taking action. Or not
There are widespread assumptions that the traditions of south-east Asia are all about slowing down and cultivating calm – but that’s only half the story
Pay pregnant smokers to quit, and soon it will be vouchers for burglars to behave
Cash incentives may affect behaviour, but what about the moral implications of being rewarded for misbehaving?
Sundance 2015 review: The Nightmare – documentary shows truth more frightening than fiction
Room 237 documentarian Rodney Ascher takes us into the dark, shows us screaming sufferers of sleep paralysis, then tells us we could well become one of them. Good luck ever resting again
Why getting what you want doesn’t always make you happy
‘When someone you’re arguing with suddenly concedes your point,’ Oliver Burkeman says, ‘there’s a palpable sense that something’s amiss: a crucial process has been skipped’
I have decided to become an optimist – it’ll never work!
Stuart Heritage: optimists are fitter, happier and live longer than the rest of us, so I’m going to have to start looking on the bright side. But hang on, there’s a flaw to this plan …
Five reasons why we should all learn how to do nothing
Are today’s always-connected, crazily busy lifestyles affecting our health? Give yourself a break – your brain needs downtime
Losing your smartphone: the five stages of grief
Dean Burnett: Given how indispensable smartphones can become to a person’s life, the loss of one is worryingly hard to cope with
Oliver Burkeman: family mind games at Christmas
‘Family fights and failing marriages aren’t our own unique tribulations. They’re just variations on “games” we all unwittingly play,’ Oliver Burkeman says. ‘This week, why not try to catch yourself in the act?’
The best psychology books of 2014
From moving accounts of how we deal with dying and suffering to two brilliant takes on Freud. By Lisa Appignanesi
Countdown to big birthdays: how it feels to be on the cusp
The big birthdays are meant to be the scariest, but new research shows that we take the year before them the hardest – having affairs or running marathons. Oliver Burkeman, 39, and others come clean about being on the cusp