For every problem, you can find a raft of generic solutions. But find the one that works spectacularly for you — and that’s your “secret formula.”

Pointless, interminable meetings are often the bane of a worker’s day. How did it happen that highly trained and educated professionals choose to waste hours of their time each day, and what can be done to tame the meeting monster?

Who could have predicted that a website that restricts posts to 140 characters each would become a top-tier social media property? Twitter’s success has a lot to do with how it shapes our communication styles. Couples seeking to polish their communication skills would do well to examine what makes tweeting so compelling.

Clients teach their therapists at least as much as therapists teach their clients. Only recently have my clients taught me practical ways to apply a theory developed in 1943 that is a mainstay of most introductory psychology courses.

Everyone has habits, but while most of us struggle against habits acquired without much forethought, if we’re looking to make lasting changes in our lives, we’ll need to design and install new, healthier habits. What makes some habits “stick” while others fade? I believe seven factors make the difference between durable habits and last year’s forgotten resolutions.

Therapy is a tool, and like all tools, it can be used for good or ill. Too often, plumbing the depths of a problem leads not to a solution, but to a thicket of obstacles.

Thinking of life as a sport comes naturally to many. As the new year begins, thoughts turn to “racking up points”, “the big score”, and “winning”. But unless you stop to figure out what kind of game you’re playing, winning may turn out to be losing. The good news is that whatever “game” you’ve decided to play, you can often change the rules.