【推荐1】Renee says, “After seeing that my friend wrote her own English songs, I am eager to write one, too. But I am a senior now.     1     Some friends are persuading me to give up and concentrate on my studies. Should I take their advice or do what I really want? What should I do?”

I am glad to read about her passion for music. Playing music is my favorite hobby and I have many thoughts about her problem.

First, don’t cut into study time to write a song. Songwriting can be difficult, especially in a foreign language. Instead, wait for school holidays.     2     A possible topic could be “delayed passion”. I think many people can relate to (与……有关) that, I sure can!

In the meantime, if she has a good idea, then write it down and save it for the holiday.

Now, she has been inspired by her friend to take up a challenge. This is great. Arts flourish (蓬勃发展) with friendly competition, but be careful.

    3     One quit his job and tours the world with an accordion (手风琴). Sometimes I think that I must be like them. I put pressure on myself to write songs, then I am disappointed with my results. In that process, I forget what I love about making music. Instead, I become angry at myself. But songwriting is different from writing stories and articles.     4    

So she shouldn’t judge herself by the standard her friend has set. Instead, write a song to please herself and enjoy the process. Learn from it.     5    

We would love to hear a song she writes in English. She can send in whatever she comes up with.

【推荐2】Good leadership skills are important, no matter what position you’re currently in. The following are several examples of tips you can use when increasing your leadership abilities:

Get inspired.     1     Determine what inspires you in the workplace and use that to fuel your leadership efforts and encourage others to take action.

Reward your employees. Good leaders don’t just critique (评判) employees or assign tasks, they also take note and reward employees for a job well done. When a team member achieves a goal or performs well, reward their good performance.     2    

    3     It can be hard to assign tasks if you don’t first trust your team. Learn how to trust and let go so that you’re better able to release certain responsibilities to others. Not only will this help build mutual trust between you and your employees, but it will also allow you to free up your own time to focus on things that matter.

Remain transparent.     4     Your team must be up-to-date on current circumstances to perform their best and focus on the most appropriate tasks to achieve their goals.

Find a leadership mentor (导师). There is likely someone in your company who holds a leadership position that you look up to. Consider asking this individual to be your mentor when it comes to developing your leadership skills.     5     Try to apply what you see that leader doing to your own work and ask for feedback regularly to ensure you’re making progress.

【推荐3】Tips on Increasing Your Memory Power

One of the most common problems today is forgetfulness. Many people are searching for the key to a better memory.    1    

Increase your memory power by using associations.

The first technique to remember the things is the association technique. This includes the use of mnemonics（助记符号）or things similar to a particular word in order to remember what should be memorized.    2    However, the associations that a person creates himself will help to remember things more easily and more quickly.

Increase your memory power by repetition.

    3    Stimuli（刺激物）are things that stimulate a person to make his brain work. As a person repeatedly acquires stimuli to make his brain work, these stimuli are remembered by the brain. It is like learning words as a child. He applies all the repeated words he has heard during his life.

    4    

The third technique is about the application of body movements. By using simple hand gestures while saying a word, a person can remember things that he has forgotten.

There are lots of other ways to increase memory power. However, one must also be aware of the things to be avoided. The first thing that a person must do is to prevent stress.    5    If you follow these techniques on how to increase your memory power, life will be easier for you.

【推荐1】Office Manners

Be punctual. As a newcomer, you should arrive early, not just on the first day and don’t be the first to leave at the end of the day.    1    It shows that you respect your colleagues’ time and, in return, they will respect your time, too.

Respect other people’s privacy. Knock before you enter someone’s office and do not read any correspondence lying on somebody’s desk. If you need to discuss a private matter with a colleague, make sure nobody else can overhear you.    2    

Be neat and clean.    3     It shows respect for both your colleagues and clients and is a sign that you are professional. Keep your personal workspace clean and neat at all times, for a messy desk will make people think that you’re an unorganized person.

    4    Remember to leave the photocopier in working condition. Return the stapler (订书机) that you borrowed with at least a few staples left inside. When you use up all the paper in the printer, put more in it for the next person. If a machine jams, try to undo the jam or to tell somebody else about it.

Don’t disturb others. Always apologize if you interrupt a discussion, someone’s concentration or other activities. Be aware of how loudly you may be speaking. If people in other offices comment on your conversations, perhaps your voice is too loud.    5    

In short, office manners are about being respectful and polite in the office. It is an essential part of growing professionally and becoming a more mature person in the business world.