Our to-do lists keep growing, but the number of hours we have available doesn’t change!

Here are some of my favourite productivity tips in a sentence (inspired by Josh Spector).

Perfection is productivity’s enemy.
It’s much easier to do something every day than only once in a while.
A finish is more valuable than 100 starts.
Work expands to fill the time you give it.
Productivity requires opposite skills: The ability
to pay attention and ignore.
You can’t make something better until you’ve made it.
Busy is not productive.
The 100th time you do something will be more productive than the first.
You don’t have to reinvent the  wheel—you can learn from the person who did.
The most effective productivity hack is to say no.

Do you have a favourite productivity tip to add to this list?

The man in the image is holding up his middle and index fingers in a V shape as a sign of victory or even peace. 

If he now turned his hands around, with his palms facing towards him, that V-sign would be considered rude in Britain. (Perhaps also in Australia and New Zealand?) It’s the British version of the German “Stinkefinger”.

So be careful when ordering two pints in the pub!

Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates:
At the first gate, ask yourself “Is it true?”
At the second gate ask, “Is it necessary?”
At the third gate ask, “Is it kind?
Credited to the 13th century poet Rumi

I wanted to share this quotation with you because it illustrates the importance of thinking before we speak. If we examine our words carefully before we say them, we can make sure that they’re not going to hurt anyone. 

I know it’s not easy. But it’s well worth thinking about—and practising!

My dream was to speak German without an accent.

But many years later I realised that this dream wasn’t going to come true. Try as I might!

I’ve now come to realise speaking with an accent doesn’t make us sound unprofessional.

Accents are wonderful. Accents are part of what we are and where we come from. They are a mark of what makes us different.

And just as there’s a difference between fluency and accuracy, there’s a difference between accents and pronunciation.

What is much more important than trying to lose one’s accent is focusing on being able to speak in English clearly. Because poor pronunciation can lead to serious misunderstandings.

So just focus on being understood, pronouncing clearly, speaking at a steady pace—and enjoy your accent.

I’ve learnt to live with my accent. I hope you can, too!

 

Here’s an online activity I like to do now and again using positive words.

I ask participants to find an adjective that rhymes or starts with the same letter of their first name and that tells us a little about themselves. I might call myself Creative Christine, for example.

If you find it difficult to find positive words, you might like to look at this list of positive words or this list of adjectives in alphabetical order.

Here’s a little fun activity you might like to do with me.

Find positive words for every letter of your name, by entering your first name in the box provided on this page.

This is what came up for me:

Cute, Happy, Relieved, Innovative, Shining, Tranquil, Incredible, Nurtured, Enlivened.

Okay, I think I could find better words myself, but it’s a start!

Would you like to share your name and words/adjectives with me? I’d love to know them. 😊