I’ve tried before, but it’s never really worked for me.

But I have this thing about notebooks. I have several. Somehow those blank, unscribbled-on pages make me want to write on them. Do you know the feeling?

In the photo you can see my latest book. It was given to me as a Christmas present. And it’s already in use!

I’ve started collecting quotations and snippets of text. But only when I find something worth saving.

Dan Pink uses a book to write a night line. While Austin Kleon uses one as a commonplace book for quotations he reads or lines he hears.

What about you? Do you love notebooks, too? And if so, what do you use them for?

We don’t need to wait until next year in January to break a habit we don’t like, or to form a good one.

In 2012, Alex Abelin conducted an experiment in, what he called, ‘More & Less’.  He decided on a new theme each month—on something he wanted to add or subtract to his life  for the whole month.

Here’s his list (which you can also see if you follow the link above):

Is there anything you would like do less of or cut completely?  For instance, no alcohol, no social media, no coffee, no red meat, no sugar, no spending, no curse words? Is there anything you would like to do more of? More meditation, more journaling, more exercising, more doing good deeds? 

What would be the most difficult for you to give up? For me, it would be social media. And for you?

Merriam-Webster has a 10-question vocabulary quiz. You have 10 seconds to answer each question. The faster you answer, the higher your score. The harder the question, the higher your score.

Would you like to try it now? Here’s the link!

Looking for a bit of fun?

Here are sentences I hear again and again. Would you like to try and correct them, and then send them to me? I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

1. We’ll make a pause before we get back to work.
2. Please remember me to send him an email.
3. We will see us on Friday at 2pm.
4. I will hand in the report until Wednesday.
5. My office is in the near of the town centre.

Good luck!

Do you often sit for hours in front of your computer screen?

We know it’s not good for our eyes. So how can we give our eyes (and our minds) a break?

One exercise I like to do is to look into the distance every 20 minutes or so and blink 20 times. It helps my eyes refocus and keeps them lubricated. (I’ve never ever used eye drops. Touch wood!)

You need a reminder? I have an old-fashioned egg timer next to my computer. But you can set a repeating timer alarm on your mobile phone if you prefer. 

Can you recommend any eye exercises? 

Homophones are those words that sound the same, but are spelt differently—and have different meanings. They seem to confuse a lot of people.

Words such as:

cent, sent and scent
beat and beet
they’re, their and there
raw and roar
board and bored, and so on.

Could visuals help you understand them better?

Take a look at Bruce Worden’s “Homophones, Weakly” to see the words that people often get wrong.

Oh, and by the way, you might often see jokes using homophones, such as:

What did the chess piece say before going to bed? Knight knight.
Why does the lion not enjoy cooked vegetables? He prefers them roar.

Do you know of any?

chess = Schach
knight = Ritter