Why You Should End Relationships Fast

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Dec 5, 2025 · 10m

I’ve come to a pretty strong belief over the years: if I’m struggling to make progress on something, if I’m not energized at all, if nothing is moving, then it’s often a sign I should stop and find something else to do.

And yes, this applies to graduate students. But it also applies to professors. Researchers. Founders. Everyone.

I think we give far too much benefit of the doubt when nothing is actually happening. We tell ourselves, “Next month will be different.” And then another month passes. And another. And nobody wants to say the hard thing out loud.

In my experience, dragging things out…