1 . How To Spend The Holidays Productively?

To get the most out of your holidays, you can make a calendar of the things you need to do and schedule in time for a mixture of fun activities and productive tasks.

Create a calendar of everything you want to do over the holidays.If you want to keep yourself on a regular schedule over your holiday break, making a calendar can help you stay organized.     1     Then, work everything else around those events.

Spend time learning or improving a skill, a craft, or a hobby.If you have a lot of free time over the holidays, try using that time to learn something new.    2     Or you might try learning to play a new song if you play the guitar.You can also try something totally new, like cross-stitching, building a model car, or brewing beer.

    3     The hustle (忙碌) of the holidays can sometimes be stressful, and there are usually a lot of tasty treats to tempt you into eating unhealthily.Luckily, you can help counteract both of these things by spending about 30 minutes a day exercising. For instance, you might go for a jog on a track, try some light aerobic exercise, or do weight training.

Volunteer to help out in your community.     4     Most communities have a year-round need for volunteers, although you may find that there are more opportunities around the holiday season, when many organizations run extra clothing and food drives.

Create a plan for the year ahead.As the year draws to a close, take a little time to think about your year ahead.     5    

A punctual person is in the habit of doing things at proper time in a     1     (plan) way and is always keeping his appointment. He knows     2     if he wants to succeed in his work and society he must observe regular or appointed time. The     3     (punctual) man, on the contrary, seldom does what he has to do at the set time. If he has made an appointment with someone, he never cares about the appointed time and is     4     (like) to be late for half an hour.

Unpunctuality is very harmful. Friends sometimes grow cold to wards each other, or even become     5     (enemy), because one of them has been remiss in keeping     6     (appoint). Imagine how it would be if those who are     7     (trust) with important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends, his     8     (classmate) or colleagues.

There is a proverb which says, “There is a time     9     everything.” This is true. In fact time is life     10     (it), and the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and is no doubt fond of punctuality.

10 . Calendars are for managing your time. They work overtime to keep the messiness of human life confined into neat little grids, squeezing our lives into seconds, minutes and hours. I appreciate a calendar’s determined efforts to manage time.     1     For the past several years, I’ve kept a planner with me at all times. The real magic in planners, to me, comes in the blank space where I reflect on the past and imagine the future. Cracking open a fresh week’s layout on a Monday morning and seeing the empty pages expand like a canvas waiting to be filled, the tone of the week yet to be set, the possibilities endless.

You start by creating a wish list for your ideal life. The idea is to be as specific as possible. You then pick the one goal that would have the biggest positive impact. You break that goal down into smaller tasks, and then prioritize them.     2     This method turns a general idea in your head into something that you can actually accomplish. From there, you can reflect every month on how you spent your time, and whether what you did actually is consistent with the goals you set.

    3     It leaves no digital footprint, but it does leave a paper trail that you can look back on for years to come. It doesn’t buzz impatiently when you don’t look at it, and it will not be exported to Outlook. It requires you to sit in quiet conversation with yourself, reflecting on your past and visualizing your future. It forces me to answer hard truths, like what do I really want out of life and am I spending my days in line with who I want to be.     4    

Planning helps me ensure that I’m not a passenger at the mercy of my calendar, but rather driving toward a destination that I choose.     5     And some really nice pens.