For many of us, procrastination comes with a lot of emotional baggage, says neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff, PhD.

“We’ve been taught to associate procrastination with laziness and lack of willpower, and so whenever we procrastinate, we start blaming ourselves for not doing the thing that we said we were going to do,” Le Cunff says.

Those negative feelings only make it harder for us to get back on track, according to Le Cunff, the author of “Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.”

From her perspective, procrastination shouldn’t be a source of shame — it’s “really just a signal from your brain that something is not working quite right at the moment,” she says.

“Instead of ignoring that signal, instead of trying to push through and blaming yourself in the process, what would it look like to just listen to that signal?” she continues.

A better approach is to “get curious” about the root of your procrastination habits, Le Cunff says. Here’s her strategy for overcoming procrastination.

Le Cunff created a “triple-check” system that helps her evaluate why she might be avoiding a task — in her words, whether “the problem is coming from the head, from the heart or from the hand,” she says.

If your procrastination stems from the head, it means that “at a rational level, you’re not fully convinced you should be working on that task in the first place,” Le Cunff says.

The heart refers to your feelings: “If the problem is coming from the heart, it means that at an emotional level, you don’t feel like this is going to be fun or exciting.”

Finally, “if the problem is coming from the hand, it means that at a practical level, you don’t believe that you have the right tools, the right skills, or the right support network in order to get the task done,” Le Cunff says.

Once you’ve identified why you’re avoiding a task, “you can systematically find ways to get unstuck,” she says.

To tackle “head” problems, Le Cunff recommends taking a step back and evaluating what doesn’t feel right about the work.

For example, if you’re dragging your feet on finishing a task because you’re not sure whether it aligns with your project’s strategic goals, “you can go back to the drawing board and kind of redefine the task and see if that’s the right approach,” Le Cunff says.

For tasks you’re avoiding because they don’t feel sufficiently exciting or stimulating, Le Cunff’s best advice is to “make the environment fun,” she says.

“Maybe grab your favorite colleague and do a little co-working session, or go to your favorite coffee shop to do the task,” she says.

If you tend to procrastinate when you feel overwhelmed or unprepared, Le Cunff recommends reaching out to trusted friends or colleagues for advice.

“I always tell people, raise your hand, ask for help,” she says. That support could involve coaching, mentoring or asking your company to sponsor an online course — “whatever it is that you need to feel like you have the resources in order to get the job done.”

The triple-check system helps circumvent the ‘shame’ component of procrastination, Le Cunff says.

“It’s really going from this vague sense of dread and self-blame that you’re not doing the thing that you should be doing, to acting a little bit more like a scientist, like a detective, and seeing it as a puzzle to solve,” she says.

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When I was in college, in between my English and creative writing classes, I would race a few blocks downtown to volunteer at an animal shelter on the east side of Manhattan. 

Getting lost in books and spending time with shelter dogs were the twin pillars that held together the chaos of my twenties, and what kept me sane and motivated day after day. The north star of my career has been telling stories about animals in need. 

My first job out of college was working for a dog photographer. I followed him around New York City, and then the country, and then the world, helping to carry camera equipment and making notes of all the dogs we met that day. I didn’t make good money, but I loved it. 

After seven years, I was unexpectedly let go.

It was the eve of my 30th birthday, and I was suddenly without a job. I had two options: I could find another position, or I could try to make it on my own. The choice, for me, was simple. I had to at least try to make a name for myself, doing what I loved most, which was helping dogs.

This upheaval all coincided with me moving into a new apartment with my now-fiancé, Jacob, and our special needs rescue dog, Simon. 

This apartment was special because after living in seven New York City apartments, I had a backyard for the first time. I had fostered some dogs over the years, but with a big yard and a rare dog-loving landlord, I decided it was a great time to really lean into it again.

We welcomed our first foster, a Heeler mix named Ken, a few months after moving into the new apartment. On our way to pick him up, I handed Jacob my phone and asked him to take a video of me. I had an Instagram audience of about 50,000 followers, where I posted videos about my dog. 

But I decided that I wanted to highlight the process of fostering, every step of the way. I wanted to show people exactly how it was done, so it wouldn’t be so intimidating for people who might want to try it themselves.

I spoke to the camera and explained what we were doing in the sweltering subway tunnels, my excitement and nervousness bubbling off me. We recorded the entire thing: Ken coming off the transport van, bringing him back to our apartment, and introducing him to Simon. 

Afterwards, I edited the clips together and posted it to Instagram and TikTok. Miraculously, for whatever reason, people loved it. The video blew up. On TikTok it got 257,000 views, 27,000 likes, and over 500 comments. 

I was in shock by how people responded to it, and the immediate emotional connection these strangers on the internet felt with Ken. So I continued: a video of us giving Ken a bath, a video of Ken playing with Simon, a video of Ken chasing bubbles I blew for him in the backyard. And, finally, a video of Ken getting adopted by his new mom.

Over the week that we had Ken, my audience grew. People wanted to see his journey, and the process of fostering a dog in New York City. But, more than anything, I think people wanted to see a happy, feel-good story play out in front of their eyes, to feel a piece of magic that happens when a dog is loved for the very first time.

After that first foster, I decided to focus on fostering primarily medical and behavioral cases. Simon has struggled with idiopathic epilepsy his entire life, and my experience caring for him completely shifted the way I interacted with the world and the level of patience I have.

Plus, most rescues and shelters cover all costs associated with fostering: supplies, food, and any medical procedures a dog might need, so the only thing I needed to sacrifice was my time and heart.

I wanted to tell the stories of the dogs who would otherwise be forgotten and show the world how incredible they are. 

Since Ken, I have fostered nearly 30 difficult medical cases and found them all loving homes. I’ve raised over half a million dollars for animal welfare organizations. I’ve worked with brands like Toyota, Chewy, The Farmer’s Dog, and Williams Sonoma. I’ve grown my audience to over two million followers across platforms. 

And, my greatest dream came true. I wrote a memoir called “Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About,” and it will be published in the spring.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have made a career doing exactly what I’ve always dreamed of: helping dogs and telling stories. I have more freedom, I make more money, and I’m making a bigger impact. 

My biggest advice for people who hope to make their passion their full-time job is to start small. Before I went out on my own, I did freelance content creation for a year and a half. I reached out to every dog brand I could think of and asked if they needed help creating content or managing their social media.

My biggest client was Adopt a Pet and Kinship, where I got to travel to shelters and highlight adoptable dogs. It wasn’t until it became unsustainable to work full time and do content creation that I actually stopped those jobs. But the connections I made absolutely helped forge my way as an independent creator.

Every day looks different for me: Some days I’m picking up a dog from the shelter and scrubbing feces off of them, some days I’m doing a photoshoot with my previous foster dogs for Oscar de la Renta, and some days I’m sitting in a coffee shop, hoping to meet my writing deadline on time.

What has become most apparent to me, through every foster dog and every journey I document, is that dogs are one of the greatest human connectors that we have. 

They represent life, love, loss, joy, sadness, and living each day in the moment. They ground us, motivate us, and when you tell their stories, people can’t help but listen. Never in a million years did I think that telling my stories could turn into a career. But as I sit in my Brooklyn apartment with my rescue dog snoring at my feet, I am eternally grateful that it did.

Isabel Klee is a dog owner, writer and content creator. She shares her experiences rehabilitating foster dogs on social media @SimonSits. She lives Brooklyn with her fiancé, Jacob and her rescue dog, Simon. She is the author of the upcoming memoir ”Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About.”

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You need to have the right skills to do the job you’re hoping to land. But your ability to communicate that you have them — and can use them to help your prospective employer become more successful — is just as important.

“The things that make us good at communication also make us very, very attractive in an interview,” Charles Duhigg tells CNBC Make It.

Duhigg has studied hundreds of people in authoring three books on productivity, habits and communication. His latest book, “Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection,” examines what sets the most effective communicators apart.

Duhigg shared three communication tips that candidates should take into their next job interviews to connect with the person on the other side of the table (or screen) and make a stronger impression.

Interviewers know candidates are eager to impress. But if your answers to interview questions sound too polished or canned, you could be doing yourself a disservice.

“They know that you’re performing; they know that you’re there to try and get a job,” Duhigg says. But the more we can “genuinely convey who we are,” the more the employer has “a chance to see whether we’ll actually succeed there.”

Answering questions genuinely, but tactfully, can help you stand out, he adds. “The interviewer is going to remember that answer,” he says. “The best communication is the most genuine communication.”

One of the toughest questions to answer in an interview is “Tell me about your weaknesses.”

If they ask a question like this, Duhigg says, “and I answer it as honestly as I can, it doesn’t mean that I have to expose my flaws, it doesn’t mean that I have to say something out of line.”

Career coach Madeline Mann previously told CNBC Make It that an ideal answer would briefly explain a genuine weakness, but not one that’s “core to the job,” before laying out steps you’re taking to address the problem area.

“Think about how many people go into an interview and the person asks them, ‘Do you have any questions for me?’ and the question they ask is completely predictable,” Duhigg says.

The best communicators typically “ask a lot more questions” than their peers, Duhigg says. They also ask what he calls deep questions, or those that center on a person’s values, beliefs or experience.

For job candidates, that might mean asking an interviewer how they got into that line of work, or what their favorite part of working there is.

Some of the most important communication is silent. Body language can be very telling, and mirroring things like your interviewer’s posture, gestures and expressions can make you a more attractive candidate for the job.

That could be as simple as smiling back when they smile during conversation or noticing when they lean in and doing the same.

“The more we are prepared and comfortable doing that, the better off that interview is going to go,” Duhigg says.

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The minute you step into an interview or new role, everyone around you will start asking themselves three questions: 

1. Can you do the job well? 
2. Are you excited to be here?
3. Do you get along with us? 

Your job is to convince your interviewer, manager, and coworkers that the answer to all three questions is a resounding “Yes!” 

As a Harvard career advisor who’s worked with thousands of early career professionals, I know that when you demonstrate all three Cs — competence, commitment, compatibility — you’ll unlock opportunities and accelerate your career. Fail to master them and you’ll find yourself getting looked over for projects, promotions, and full-time job offers. 

In my experience, highly successful people:

Competence means you can do your job fully, accurately, and promptly without needing to be micromanaged — and without making others look bad. This means not undershooting to the point of looking clueless and not overshooting to the point of looking overbearing. Try: 

• Taking ownership: Don’t stop at “What do I do next? Help!” Share your thought process, your proposal, or your point of view.
• Minimizing errors: Don’t just submit your first draft. Double-check your work for typos, miscalculations, and formatting inconsistencies first.
• Managing expectations: Don’t say “yes” and then forget what you promised. Do what you said you’d do. And if you can’t, deliver bad news early.

True competence can be difficult to measure. Managers often rely on proxies like how much progress it looks like you are making on a project, how confidently you speak in meetings, and how well you promote yourself. Your actual competence matters, but your perceived competence can be just as important, especially if your daily output is hard to quantify.

Ask yourself: Compared to others around me, especially those near or at my level, am I being complete, thorough, and responsive?

Commitment means you are fully present and eager to help your team achieve its goals, but not so eager that you put others on the defensive. This means not undershooting to the point of looking apathetic and not overshooting to the point of looking threatening. Try:

• Being present: Ahead of meetings, brainstorm questions you might be asked and show up with a point of view (or at least a notebook to take notes).
• Replying promptly: Don’t wait until you’re done with your work to let others know. Reply at least as quickly as others around you (or let people know if you need more time).
• Showing curiosity: Don’t say “nope!” when someone asks if you have any questions. Share what you already know — and then ask a question that can’t be easily answered with an online search. 

Perception and reality don’t always align. Little actions like showing up late, looking away on video chat, not volunteering for tasks, not speaking up enough, or not replying to emails as quickly as your coworkers do can be enough to cast doubt on how committed you are. 

Ask yourself: Compared to others around me, especially those near or at my level, am I being proactive and present?

Compatibility means you make others comfortable and eager to be around you — without coming across as inauthentic or trying too hard. This means not undershooting to the point of looking passive and not overshooting to the point of looking like a poser. Try:

• Building relationships: Don’t just do your work. Introduce yourself and show an interest in people.
• Showing deference: Don’t just say anything to anyone at any time. Uncover the unspoken hierarchy of your new team and approach those higher up with an extra dose of seriousness.
• Uncovering norms: Don’t assume the working style of your last job will work for this one. Show an interest in adapting to how the team operates.

What’s challenging about compatibility is that it depends on whom you’re with and what norms and unconscious biases they have. People like people who are similar to themselves, so they tend to hire, hang around, and promote those who look like, talk like, and have the same backgrounds and interests as they do.

Ask yourself: Am I adopting the behaviors I see that feel authentic to me?

For some, competence is expected; for others, incompetence is expected. For some, commitment is assumed; for others, it’s questioned. For some, compatibility is effortless; for others, it’s tiresome.

If you’re joining a team where people are different from you — in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender, sex, sexual orientation, dis/ability, religion, age, degree of introversion or extroversion, or other characteristics — then your identity can influence how others judge your three Cs.

Women, for example, often walk a tightrope of needing to be both likable and competent. Black people tend to be more closely monitored at work than white people are. And people with easy-to-pronounce names tend to be evaluated more positively than people with difficult-to-pronounce names. 

Is this fair? No. Do we need a better system? Yes. Might we have a better system by the time you start your job? If only.

Until that better world arrives, knowing the three C’s can help you diagnose what’s happening around you and arm you with the tools to become the professional you have the potential to be.

Gorick Ng is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ”The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right″ and the How to Say It® flashcards for professional communication. He’s a first-gen professional turned Harvard career advisor turned keynote speaker across the Fortune 500.

Join Make It’s book club discussion! Request to join our LinkedIn group, drop your questions for the author in the comments of this post, and come chat with us and Gorick Ng on Wednesday, January 28, at 10 a.m. ET.

Excerpt adapted from ”The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right.” by Gorick Ng (and ”The 3 C’s: The Unspoken Rules of Career Success″). Copyright © 2021. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Public tantrums can feel like one of the most dreaded parts of toddlerhood. That sinking feeling of panic and embarrassment is something nearly every parent experiences. 

As a mom, former nanny and author of “Transforming Toddlerhood,” I’ve seen all the behaviors. Every tantrum and power struggle can feel like a personal failure. And the fear of judgment and shame can unravel even the most steadfast person. 

But what I teach as a parenting coach is that every tantrum is a chance to better understand and strengthen the bond between you and your child. Here’s how:

If your child starts to melt down in public, make sure both you and your child are in a safe environment for them to do so. At the grocery store, for example, you might go into a quieter aisle or a bathroom. 

Take deep breaths, stay calm and remind yourself that this is not an emergency. Staying calm is the most powerful thing you can do during a tantrum once you know your child is safe. Your steady presence is essential for helping them to regulate their emotions.  

When it comes to your child’s comfort during stressful moments like these, follow their lead. Pay attention to how much physical closeness a child can handle during a tantrum. Sometimes less is more. Offer a hug or to simply sit nearby, if they’re receptive. 

If a child is hitting you, you might have an impulse to hold their hands, but that can sometimes feel restricting and lead to greater upset. One way to help them establish a clearer sense of personal space is by sitting with them but placing a cushion or a bag between you. 

First, if they are exhibiting any unsafe behavior, calmly but firmly set a limit around actions like hitting or throwing, with a phrase like, “I won’t let you hit.” 

If the tantrum is more about them feeling overwhelmed, try validating statements like, “I know that’s upsetting,” or, “I’m here to help.” 

Keep your words clear and predictable. Then invite them to express their feelings, without judgment. 

As things start to calm down, offer them some choices that are within your own boundaries. Provide some clear, age-appropriate options to give them a sense of control. 

In a grocery store, for example, those options could be something like, “Would you like to ride in the cart or hold my hand,” or, “Would you like to hold the list or help me push the cart?”

A big part of managing tantrums isn’t just helping your child regulate their emotions, but also how you regulate yours. 

During a public tantrum, people will almost always stop and stare. Even if it’s just out of curiosity, it can feel like judgment. But before you let that get to you, focus on what you can control in that moment.

1. Don’t take it personally. Remember that your child’s tantrum isn’t a reflection of you as a person or of your parenting. 
2. Shift your perspective. Instead of thinking your toddler is trying to cause a scene, understand that they’re really just having a hard time coping. 
3. Manage onlookers. You have the choice to ignore them or respond with objectivity and compassion. A simple “I’m doing my best” can go a long way. 
4. Manage overwhelm. If at any point a public tantrum feels too overwhelming, it’s perfectly fine to step away to a quiet space, allowing your child to work through their emotions while giving yourself a moment to ground. This might mean abandoning your cart at customer service or in the aisle and stepping outside or going to the car to calm down. Remember, you and your child are both human and doing your best.

Devon Kuntzman, PCC, is a parenting coach and the founder of Transforming Toddlerhood. On a mission to dispel the myth that toddlerhood is a “terrible” stage, Devon wants to empower parents to confidently navigate the ups and downs of toddlerhood. She is also the author of ”Transforming Toddlerhood: How to Handle Tantrums, End Power Struggles, and Raise Resilient Kids—Without Losing Your Mind.”

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This excerpt is adapted from ”Transforming Toddlerhood: How to Handle Tantrums, End Power Struggles, and Raise Resilient Kids—Without Losing Your Mind″ by Devon Kuntzman. Copyright © 2025 by Devon Kuntzman. Used with permission of Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus, LLC.