“If we want things to change, we have to start with ourselves,” writes Philippa Perry in The Book You Want Everyone You Love To Read, turning the focus further inwards, exploring why and how we build beliefs and patterns of behaviour – and how to understand them, take responsibility for them and identify “where they may need updating”. Perry argues that even when we are at our most powerless, “we still have the ability to choose how we think, how we organise our body and how we relate to others”.

How we practice this is by making a conscious effort to choose which thoughts we allow in. “There’s a difference between thoughts and thinking,” she says.“You’ll have thousands of thoughts a day. Latching on to a thought turns it into thinking; you fertilise it. So, latch on to the good ones and let the others float by.”

Practice assessing your own thoughts and the source of your reactions. The next time you need to have a difficult conversation or set boundaries, “speak in ‘I’ statements, which define your own experience, and not ‘you’ statements, which are a judgement on the other person”. For example, “I felt like X when this happened” rather than “You always do X”. This will also help you reflect on how and why you feel the way you do.

Ah, that satisfying feeling at the end of a day when we’ve got through our to-do list. Similarly, we’ve all experienced that bubbling anxiety when dinnertime comes around and we’ve accomplished nothing. Thankfully, the high-performance coach and host of The Mindset Mentor podcast Rob Dial believes he has the answer to help you stop procrastinating, focus and “upgrade your life”.

Dial urges us to concentrate on right now, aiming to achieve just one per cent more each day through a series of micro-actions. “There is no other day except for today,” he says, so don’t worry about what will happen in 10 years or even a few months from now – do what you can and it will all add up.

Do you find it difficult to focus when you have multiple tasks going on at once? Try the Pomodoro Technique. Remove all distractions, then set a timer and work on just one task for 25 minutes. Take a five-minute break – ideally outside, without your phone – then work for another 25 minutes. Do this a total of four times. You’ll be surprised how much you get done.

We often think that resolutions involving creativity must include concrete products – “I will paint every week” or “I will write a draft of my novel”. But the creative process itself can have the most profound effect. The “Morning Pages” writing practice was first described by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way, published in 1992, and this seemingly simple writing exercise has transcended its somewhat New Age roots to become beloved by creative people worldwide.

The premise is to write three longhand pages every morning on whatever comes to mind – even if it might be nonsense. Now Cameron’s more recent book, Living The Artist’s Way, offers a deep-dive into her final tool, writing for guidance, which involves writing out specific questions and then the answers that come to mind. Both techniques can help make us aware of previously unconscious knowledge, desires and worries.

In the morning, as soon as you wake up, fill three sides of A4 paper with writing. It can be a stream of consciousness, but it must be in longhand. Write whatever comes to mind, and if you can’t think of what to write, simply write that you can’t think of what to write. Repeat ad infinitum.

In his book How To Be Your Own Therapist, psychologist Owen O’Kane offers a condensed introduction to therapy. The key work here is in discovering your real-life story – the truth of your past and how it affected you, rather than the version we tell ourselves and others – and figuring out what you want from the future. “Understanding who you are, why you act as you do, knowing what you want and what to let go of will open the way to a sense of calm, control and clarity,” O’Kane says.

The book also provides a plan for 10 minutes of daily maintenance through self-therapy – these are smart, short techniques that you are encouraged to complete in the morning, at lunchtime and before bed. O’Kane describes these as life-affirming and transformative, “a time when your entire self will be acknowledged and accepted with compassion”.

In Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?, clinical psychologist Dr Julie Smith also focuses on the life skills and tools that can be used to look after our mental health on a day-to-day basis. This ranges from advice on how to improve physical health, sleep and nutrition to meditation, mindfulness and self-soothing practices such as taking a long bath or using breathing techniques.

Before you go to bed, take some time to reflect. As part of his evening routine, O’Kane suggests looking at the lessons of the day. These don’t have to be lightbulb moments, but ordinary experiences that can teach us something. “Try to pinpoint the moments when you felt strong emotions,” he says. “What thoughts were you having throughout the day? Were some old beliefs triggered?” Spend some time thinking about these prompts each evening. Practised regularly, you should begin to see patterns and gain greater understanding of your daily struggles.