Your desk is covered with self-affirmations on Post-It notes, you spend 5 minutes every morning visualising yourself as Queen of the Universe, and you try not to stick your fingers in your ears whenever people say nice things about you. So why is it that you still struggle to believe that you're good enough?

Does writing make you anxious? Is having any original idea immediately followed by a nagging voice in your head telling you that it's probably rubbish? That's your inner reviewer 2. Here's how to deal with her.

We get into a vicious circle when we’re anxious about our productivity. We get anxious because we feel we’re falling behind, our anxiety interferes with our work, and then we worry about falling even further behind. We tell ourselves that we’d feel better if only we could work a bit faster - but instead we end up watching cat videos on YouTube. It doesn’t have to be like this. Your wise, imperfect friend is here to tell you how to break the cycle.

Do you ever find yourself caught up in nostalgia, reliving the past, convinced that nothing the future holds can possibly live up to the good times you've already experienced? There are reasons why it's easy to think fondly about the past and to be fearful about the future. The good news is that it's all an illusion - and it's one you can ditch. Here's how.

No amount of coaching is going to turn a sexist, racist, ableist society into a just and fair one. So, there's no point in trying to flourish, right? Wrong, actually. Flourishing is a marathon - an unfair one - in which some of us are carrying heavier burdens than others. You can't make the competition fair, but you can lighten your load.

So, you've dreamed up your ideal life. What now? You go and get it, that's what now. There's just one problem: there's only one person who knows how to get it, and that person is not talking. Also, that person is you. Here's the strategy you need to get yourself to spill the beans.

Do you know what you want, what you really really want? If not, you really really really really need to listen to this episode.

You need to say NO more often. Here’s a 2000-year-old guide to how to do it.

Hey, sometimes it’s fine to be negative. Put on your Morrissey t-shirt and join The Academic Imperfectionist for a deep dive into why it’s okay not to be okay.

What do you do when you're ready to collapse but you haven't done enough to earn a rest? Answer: you take a rest, and while you're doing it you have a long, hard think about the crazy idea that rest is something that needs to be earned.

It’s good to be grateful, right? Well, maybe … but maybe not.