What do you do before a big presentation? Get some water, go over your notes, check the slides one last time, etc – right?

“Even if you’re not the type of person with a tidy desk and an ordered to-do list, it can be frustrating – not to mention stress-inducing – to manage someone who’s disorganized,” writes Rebecca Knight in this Harvard Business Review article.

Effective self-motivation sets high-achieving professionals apart, but most people struggle with this from time to time. Maybe you've been hitting "snooze" on an achievable goal for a while now. One reason it’s tricky: Motivation is highly personal.

In this article, author Annie McKee points out that “close to two-thirds of employees in the United States are bored, detached, or jaded and ready to sabotage plans, projects, and other people” in their jobs. She challenges the reader to question why there is so much chronic unhappiness at work.

One of the big traps of emotional intelligence is believing that as long as you are kind, respectful, and sensitive to the needs of others, you will excel in your career.