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

So why do inspirational quotes motivate us?

According to FastCompany.com, the appeal seems to lie in a combination of:

• good writing (or wordsmithing*)
  
• a touch of motivational psychology and
• a dash of coaching.
  

I know not everyone likes quotes. But I also know that a large number of people do.

Do you have a special quote that resonates with you?

* The act of shaping words (Wortschmieden!)

What’s wrong with the following sentences?

1. You mustn’t stay in the building after 5pm if you don’t want to.
2. I work in my business since 10 years.
3. I have finished working on my website last week.
4. Could you please control the figures before signing the contract?
5. If I would have known, I would have told you.

Why not send me your corrections? To: cb@english-trainer.de And I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Automation and digitisation are revolutionising the workplace and changing how employers and employees approach work.

New Work has been a buzzword for several years now. Together with working methods such as Scrum and Kanban.

If you’re feeling a bit lost with all these terms and words, you might like to take a look at Henkel’s New Work Glossary to learn more about the concept.

However, this “New Work Glossar” contains more terms—explained in a way that everyone understands them. But it’s in German!