What Foods Would You Like to Make

Food loves company.

For a recent company get-together, we experienced an Iron Chef-like competition. In case you haven’t heard of that show, it’s a competition in which you must use a key ingredient to make a recipe. In our case, the company was divided into teams, and each team got an ingredient to create an appetizer. 

We discovered that the challenge was not everyone knew what to do with the key ingredient. That was related to the fact that we had people on our team who didn’t cook. (But the purpose of the activity was to have fun so a lack of cooking expertise didn’t matter.)

The competition was held at a cooking school with plenty of ingredients, stoves, ovens, and tables. Our team was assigned blue cheese as an ingredient. Half the team hadn’t tried blue cheese or didn’t like it, so one person took charge and came up with a recipe.

In the end, we made blue cheese with apples and nuts on a cracker. We were defeated by teams that had key ingredients such as salmon and another type of cheese. Of course, these competitions really depend on taste when determining the winner. The chef (and judge) thought our team’s recipe was too sweet, but a coworker liked the appetizer.

In the end, we got to try the appetizers made by all our coworkers. The main course was made by the instructor at the cooking school and his team. Many coworkers thought the dessert was too sweet. (Again, food is so subjective and depends on individual taste.)

In the end, it’s not just about the food. (Well, if the food tastes good, then certainly, you get a great meal.) What we remember is the time spent with the people we care about and the memories we create from the experience. 

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Daily writing prompt
What foods would you like to make?
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Losing Track of Time: Growing Up Too Soon

When I was ten, my parents bought me a notebook. “Tina,” they said, “you talk so much about so many things. Why don’t you write your thoughts down?” So I did.
I was an only child with an active imagination, so I wrote every day.

I wrote about all the things that I wanted to say to my parents. I described all the places that we would go as a family if my parents weren’t always working all the time. In just a few weeks, I had managed to fill an entire notebook, so my parents bought me another one.

“Want to see what I wrote?” I asked.

“Later,” they said. “Eat your dinner. Do your homework.” Then my dad’s eyes went back to the screen as he checked work emails, and analyzed numbers to see what he could trade. Mom typed on her laptop. Next to her, her planner was open, full of appointments and bright post-it notes. They were both very busy. They were like this every day of the week.

Another week passed. Then another month, and another year. My parents bought me my own computer but I still preferred the connection of my thoughts pulsing through my fingers to my pen, and transforming into words on the page.

Over time, my notebooks filled several boxes in my closet. They contained dreams I wanted to fulfill, sketches of places I wanted to go, lines of poetry, random thoughts that made me draw happy faces across the page, or angry words like silent screams across several paragraphs.

One day, I went to collect all the boxes of notebooks from my closet. “I can’t believe you’re moving out already,” Mom said. “How long did you study for your degree? Is your boyfriend helping you on moving day?”

“We broke up. We’re just friends now. I told you that last year.”

“That’s a lot of notebooks,” said Dad.

“Yeah,” I said. “You once told me to write down all my thoughts, so I did. I just wish I could have shared some of them with you, but you both were always so busy with work.”

“We gave you a good life, didn’t we?” asked Mom.

“I guess,” I said. “You did help with the downpayment of my condo.”

I made sure all the boxes were closed. I was going to keep them sealed for a long time. Years of thoughts were in there, collecting dust and silence throughout time.

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Daily writing prompt
Which activities make you lose track of time?
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An Invitation One Can’t Refuse

Daily writing prompt
If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?
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I knew that he would come to dinner because he knew how important this one evening was. Prior to dinner, we had argued. We had stayed in touch, but we hadn’t seen each other in months. It took me courage to ask him to come to my place. 

He had been there several times before. In the first year, we laughed a lot and spent hours together, collecting memories. In our last year, we had argued less and less until we didn’t have much to say at all.

“Will you come by?” I asked. 

“Yes, of course,” you said.

So I spent the whole afternoon preparing dinner, making the perfect meal with the food that he loved. I wore his favorite T-shirt and jeans. Remember where we were when I first wore this outfit? It was such a fun vacation!

He arrived on time, which was unusual because he was often late. He gave me a hug and a kiss, which he hadn’t done in a year. Then he saw the food and couldn’t wait to eat it. “I’ve missed you,” he said. 

“I missed you too,” I said, my eyes watering, “and I’m sorry.”

Everything was what I’d hoped for. There were no arguments, no anger. When you remember something, it tends to be perfect because your mind selectively edits everything. 

It removes all the bad stuff, so you only remember the good.

I stared at the plate of food in front of him, still untouched.

It was all in my head, of course. In my mind, I’d fixed it all. We were speaking again. No more regrets over things left unsaid, no more agonizing over mistakes we’d made. Just this perfect dinner where he was here again, and everything was perfect. 

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3 Tips to Increase Your Productivity

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Working when it’s a holiday is tough. (Canada Day was July 1 and Independence Day is July 4) Your family and friends have invited you to join their plans but you must spend a few hours at the computer to meet an urgent deadline. Work can be fun if you enjoy it; a real pain if you don’t. 

If you’re working from home and trying to ignore distractions, (and if you’re not working and just attempting to be productive at your personal goals), try these tips to stay productive, regardless of the day of the week.

1 Set Goals

Before you begin your workday, set your goals. Ask yourself what must be done today and what could be done today if you have the time. 

Work backward, calculating the number of hours you plan to work and estimating the number of hours you need for the critical tasks. If you still have time left, add the tasks that would be nice to complete. 

For example, if you plan to work X hours, estimate how long it will take you to complete the mandatory tasks. Then decide what tasks you could work on if you still have some time left.

After prioritizing these tasks, complete the most urgent or difficult one first. Make a checklist of your tasks for the day, and cross off each task as you complete it. It’s a great feeling to see your list shrink as your day progresses.

If you’re a freelancer or business owner, your goal for Saturday or Sunday might be to catch up on less important tasks. It’s a peaceful time to clear out some paperwork or catch up on the accounting you didn’t have time for during the week.

2 Time Blocking

Okay, you’ve decided on a list of what you want to complete by the end of your work day. Next, you want to block time for working productively.

Estimate how much time it takes to complete a task. Then focus on working in short spurts. You might want to set a timer to mark when 15 to 30 minutes have passed. Or, you might want to work in long time blocks of one hour, although shorter periods are better for focused concentration.

After a short block of time has passed, take a brief break. Stretch, walk around or sip on your favorite work beverage. If you work in long time blocks, take a longer break.

Set boundaries for communication and socialization, especially if you live with others. Have a way to signal to family or roommates when it’s your office hours. For example, close your home office door. When it’s break time, open the door so they know that’s their time to speak with you or spend time with you.

If you have coworkers who also work, even on the weekends, you can also time block. If answering messages and emails distracts you from your task, wait until your task is complete before answering messages. If you don’t have time to complete a work request, tell your coworker when you will be completing the task.

Most importantly, when it is time to work, use that block of time productively. Focus on your work and turn off all distractions. Listen to music if it helps to keep you focused. Tell your furry coworker friend they can work next to you as long as they don’t sit on the keyboard (which cats sometimes do).   

3 Prioritize Health

Time blocking can greatly increase your productivity. Just as important to your productivity is including habits to improve your mental and physical health.

Working on a stat or national holiday can already be challenging if everyone you know has time off. This type of work schedule can affect your mental health if you want to break free and join whatever your family is doing.

But since you’re committed to the work day, commit yourself to setting boundaries. Decide on blocks of time when you can have a quick chat with your family during a work break. Make plans for later in the day so you’ll have something to look forward to.

If you live alone, chat with your friends during your work breaks. Take advantage of support systems that you find on social media. 

People who freelance or run a business reach out to online communities so they can share their challenges and struggles. This network is especially important if your friends aren’t business owners and constantly ask why you’re working on the weekend or a stat/national holiday.

In addition to social support, look after your body. When you work from home, it’s easy to hunch over a computer and stare at a screen for hours. It’s not healthy for your back or eyes. 

During a break, stretch, get a cup of tea or coffee, and walk around. Take in your surroundings. Chat with your plant, cat, bird, or dog about what you’re working on. Sometimes you’ll have a breakthrough while you brainstorm, and you’ll work out what was stumping you about your work task.

Key Takeaways

If you’re working from home this weekend, you can improve your focus and productivity with careful planning. First, set your goals, then use time blocking to ensure that you achieve them. Third, remember to take breaks and rest to keep your body and mind healthy.

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The Best Teachers: Who Are They?

Daily writing prompt
What makes a teacher great?
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A perfect teacher does not exist. Teachers are people and people aren’t perfect. Children remember moments like the first time they saw their teacher walking into the staff bathroom and they realize that teachers are human, just like them.

Teachers can be great humans. That one teacher, for example, who made a difference in your life and inspired you to make a life-changing decision. 

Teachers are role models. Teachers at elementary schools aren’t supposed to swear, for example. I’ve heard them swear in the staff room, where they can be adults like you and me.

Teachers are adults who have the important role of shaping lives. They teach us facts, like mathematical calculations and important historical dates. But more importantly, they teach us critical thinking so we can question those facts and separate opinions from theories.

Teachers who inspire us to learn information, then question it, and develop something from it are the true heroes. Scientists start off as students who become inventors who create something to improve people’s lives. Writers start off as students and then write stories that make us laugh or cry. Somewhere in life, physicians, first responders, lawyers, designers, engineers, farmers, etc, all started learning from a teacher.

Teachers do more than teach. They teach us to teach ourselves and become lifelong learners. Teachers can be parents, siblings, friends, mentors, coworkers, bosses, complete strangers — anyone who provides us with life lessons that can make us better people.

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