Have you ever agreed to do something only to find out later that you don’t have time? Are you constantly stressed from rushing from one assignment to another? If so, you may have a problem with overcommitment. Overcommitment happens when you decide to do more things than you realistically have time to do. 【小题1】 Your quality of life also suffers because overcommitment leaves you less time to take care of yourself. It’s preferable to do one or two things well than to do 10 things poorly - or worse, to back out once you’ve agreed to something.

Time management coach Elizabeth Saunders suggests creating a budget for your time like you do with money. The total amount of time you have each day equals 24 hours minus（减去）the time you need for basic wellness activities. 【小题2】Saunders suggests adding up your time commitments to other people and the time needed to meet your personal goals. If that total is greater than the amount of time you have each day, you have a problem.

【小题3】 Schedule times for everything you need to do – including taking care of yourself. But you don’t have to fill every blank space.

It’s also worth looking at your current commitments. Do your commitments actually match your priorities? 【小题4】

Learning how to say no politely but firmly also helps with overcommitment. It helps to have a good sense of what your priorities are so that you can say yes or no when appropriate.

I have a rule that I never immediately agree to any long-term time commitments. 【小题5】That’s because my first instinct（本能反应）is usually to say yes, even if I don’t really have time. Having time to think about a potential assignment gives me space to say no if I need to.

The holidays can be a divisive season. Because the holidays are full of merriness, some love them. Others can feel troubled by them, affected by the financial pressure and family gatherings often accompanying the holidays. 【小题1】 So, what can you do if you’re feeling like that? Roll your sleeves up. We’re going to get real, make a plan and enjoy the holiday atmosphere.

【小题2】 This may be obvious for many — you may feel triggered owing to the stress of social events or gift-giving. But others may have a harder time detecting what is going on.

Begin tracking how you’re feeling on the day-to-day life. You can keep a journal or take a brief walk where you can reflect at the end of your day. Doing this lets you see a pattern of what may be activating your negative feelings.

After getting your triggers written down, let’s make a plan. If it is money fueling the discomfort, let’s strategize how you can cut down the financial expectations. You can select a thoughtful low-cost decoration or a bunch of flowers.   【小题3】 Don’t be afraid to let them know your financial condition. If holiday gatherings are extremely stressful, it is time to see how this can shift. Avoiding holiday gatherings altogether isn’t possible for most. However, you can consider an excuse that can serve as a reason to leave early. 【小题4】

Rethink how to love yourself rather than care for others too much. If you have to be with someone, are you at risk of yourself because of arguments or conflicts? 【小题5】 Minimizing the time you spend with them is a wise choice.

Flash fiction is a name for short stories that are kept within a specific word or character limit, usually up to 1,500 words.【小题1】. It’s about finding clever ways to keep as much detail as possible about the plot, characters and setting but in the fewest words possible. Use these four top tips to help you write your own fascinating flash fiction.

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When planning a flash fiction story you first need to decide what are the important parts of the story that the reader just cannot miss. This might be a few moments from the beginning, middle and end. Once you have these, then any extra detail can either be cutaway or added in—if it makes the story better and the word limit allows.

●Develop characters using adverbs

Good flash fiction has well-developed characters who have personalities and faults. You can takeout long descriptions of your characters and replace them with the occasional adverb to help the reader understand the characters’ movements and behaviour. Adverbs are words that describe verbs.【小题3】.Examples of adverbs include, “The prince stared angrily and marched awkwardly back to his horse.”

●Use clauses to add colour and detail

Clauses add detail to sentences without adding too many words.【小题4】.This is a section of a sentence starting with which, who, when, where, etc. For example, “The air, which smelt of oranges...” Be careful not to make sentences too long, though, and takeout any clauses that don’t add anything to the story.

●Combine your sentences

【小题5】.For example: Mary was upset she had school and took her shoes off. She slumped on the sofa and flicked on the TV. It was going to be a long day and she was nervous about meeting the new head teacher. This becomes; Mary slumped in front of the TV, took off her shoes and decided she was too nervous for school.