How ancient Greek philosophy could help you work smarter and better

Though now considered outdated, the four temperaments according to Greek philosophy may help you become a more efficient professional, writes Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Why is your colleague already on step five of a project when you’re contemplating how to approach step one? Or why is another co-worker never finished with anything and still another rapidly checking items off the to-do list?
 
The answer may lie in a theory from ancient Greek philosophy known as the “four temperaments.” The Greek physician Hippocrates surmised that people had different proportions of four fluid substances in their bodies: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Philosophers and early doctors alike believed that the levels of these fluids, or “humors”, determined an individual’s placement in one of