The small thing you look forward to gives tomorrow a point of warmth.

Days that contain nothing to look forward to are harder than days with the same amount of work in them and one good thing at four o’clock. The good thing does not have to be much: a coffee somewhere pleasant, a chapter, a phone call with the right person. What it does is give the hours a shape, something they lead towards rather than lasting.

Put one small thing in tomorrow and let yourself know it is there. If the week ahead looks heavy, place one in each day, and treat them as part of the plan rather than a reward you have to earn.