'Owed to Joy'

Today, a story by Ted A. Thompson shows us the true meaning of Christmas.

He writes: The year our youngest daughter, Shelly, was four, she received a Christmas present of a giant bubble-maker, a simple device of plastic and cloth, the inventor promised would create huge billowing bubbles, large enough to swallow a wide-eyed four year-old.

Both Shelly and I were excited about trying it out but it was after dark so we would have to wait until the next day.

Later that night I read the instruction booklet which stated that Joy dishwashing detergent would create the best giant bubbles. I would have to buy some.

The next monring, I was awakened very early by small stirrings in the house. Shelly was up. I arose and made my way towards the kitchen to start the coffee. In the hallway, I met my daughter, already wide awake, the bubble-maker clutched in her chubby little hand, the magic of Christmas morning embraced in her four year-old heart.

Her eyes were shining with excitement and she asked, "Daddy, can we make bubbles now?"

I sighed heavily and rubbed my eyes. "Shelly," I said, my voice almost pleading and perhaps a little annoyed, "it's too early. I haven't even had my coffee yet."

Her smile fell away. Immediately, I felt a father's remorse for bursting her bright Christmas bubble with what I suddenly realized was my own selfish problem and my heart broke a little.

But I was a grown-up. I could fix this. In a flash of adult inspiration, I unshouldered the responsibility. Recalling the inventor's recommendation of a particular brand of bubble-making detergent --- which I knew we did not have in the house --- I laid the blame squarely on him, pointing out gently, "Besides, you have to have Joy."

"Oh, Daddy," she promised, with all the honesty and enthusiasm and Christmas excitement she could possibly communicate, "Oh, Daddy, I do."

I broke records getting to the store and in no time at all we were out on the front lawn creating gigantic, billowing, gossamer orbs --- each one filled with Joy and sent forth shimmering into the Christmas sun.

Written by Ted A. Thompson

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祝大家圣诞快乐哦！也要记住，真正的快乐是因为身边的家人朋友的相伴而不是礼物的价值哦！

加油~！

^_^g

Effective Time Management

Time is one of our most precious resources.

Each of us is only given a finite amount of it and how we choose to make use of that time makes all the difference.

Consider these questions:

Do you know where your time is being spent?

Do you know where you are maximising your time and where it is simply being wasted?

Are you spending more time on the things that take you closer to your goals?

Do you prioritise your activities in order of importance or impact?

Do you focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to do many things at once?

People who feel like they're stuck are not fully aware of where their time is going or going into. They don't prioritise their activities and tend to spend most of their time on things that don't bring about any positive change.

The passage towards their goals is often derailed by distractions. And they try to cram as many tasks as possible into a period of time, often ending up with mediocre or even below-average results.

The first step towards taking control of your time is understanding what it is exactly you're spending it on. Keep a record of how much of your time each day is spent doing what.

You might be surprised at just how much of your life is being wasted on activities that essentially don't benefit you at all.

Gradually scratch those things off your schedule and replace them with what I call "actuators" --- activities that get you ahead in terms of your self-development.

Next, identify the activities that give you the greatest mileage and spend more time on time. For example, would shifting your gym training to before you go to the office make you more alert and efficient?

Would it give you more time later to tackle unforeseen tasks and finish your work properly?

What about focusing on clients who demand better quality work but also pay better rather than accepting every job that comes along?

Always prioritise your tasks and highlight the top or top two jobs that absolutely must be done by the end of the day. This way, even when contingencies crop up (as they often do), you'll be sure that you got the most important things covered.

As much as possible, focus on one task at a time and strive to give it your best. Too much emphasis is put on multi-tasking these days and it's highly over-rated.

If you can do several things at a time but only produce average results, you're simply a robot in a factory line.

It's the ones who can do one thing but excel in it who are most valuable.

And finally, even if the Internet seems like the only thing you'll need these days, it can be one of the biggest time-wasters.

Things like email, instant messaging and social networking can easily take up a huge chunk of your day if you don't limit the time you spend on them.

So give yourself a quota. One or two hours a day and that's it.

There's more to life than Facebook.

Adapted from 'A Slice of Life' --- Presented and Written by Eugene Loh

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没错，其实，我们可能都没有好好地去利用时间，所以才会觉得时间永远都不够用。馆主有时也会这样觉得，所以，开始在生活中做出了不同的尝试和改变。希望大家也能在生活中找到更好的使用程序哦！

加油！

^_^g