Many parents have a favorite child, and so I also have a favorite newsletter. A few, actually.

While I mean no disrespect to anyone, I’ve sorted the newsletters that land in my inbox into two categories.

I defer those in category B for when I’m less busy. For those in category A, even when I’m busy, I go digging in my inbox to see if the latest edition is out. I couldn’t be happier when I finally find the latest edition.

It’s not because they contain the best-written content per se; it’s not because they contain the most life-changing content…

People will go to extreme lengths to impress friends and even strangers.

You want them to remember the times they shared with you fondly; you want to leave them with positive associations of you.

But there’s no need to stress yourself to impress anyone. It’s about letting things flow naturally; allowing your personality to shine through.

Too often, however, people try too hard to impress others. And when it’s that obvious it can get awkward. Here are six ways you may be doing that — or habits you need to avoid.

1. Playing the role of a fake comedian

Humor builds and maintains healthy friendships; its benefits extend…

Hardcore productivity is fast becoming a hot potato, the aroma of which attracts too many chefs to the kitchen.

But what all these hardworking chefs forget is that we, the diners, are sated.

It feels like going online and enduring several targeted ads by eCommerce sites advertising all the discounted deals on gadgets for the upcoming Black Friday special promo.

The only difference is that the tech guys come around every November, while the productivity wheel spins 24/7/365.

Seriously though, haven’t you had more than your fair share of the productivity hacks and tips?

No, all of it is not…

#AppleEvent was trending hours to the launch of the new iGadgets.

Apple stuff filled my Twitter feed all afternoon.

Apparently, Apple CEO Tim Cook caused all that frenzy. He had tweeted something to whip up interest in Apple’s upcoming launch of their new gadgets.

And that got the social media fanboys and girls in a buzzing, unleashing memes and jabbing competitors.

Later that day, a slew of shiny devices with incremental upgrades and more than proportionate increases in prices over last year’s models were announced.

Me, I didn’t watch the stream. And since I don’t want anyone throwing dust into…

The professor lamented a common thread that has run through the work of his students over decades.

According to him, many of his students, aspiring writers, usually bury the key point (s) of their articles, making readers dig deep to find the main argument of their essays.

As a student in a MOOC he taught, I saw how that applied to me. I’ve since been on the lookout for that trend in my work and those of others.

Alas, Professor James Ensell, the instructor, was dead right.

Although I don’t enjoy doing it, I often refer to the title of…

The teardrops on modern smartphone displays have always caught my eye.

And so upgrading my 2015 Motorola Droid to something sleeker for my upcoming birthday treat is an easy decision.

Thanks to the digital days we live in, I naturally jump online, land on an eCommerce site, and shell out on a glass-clad 5.8-inch mid-range Android handset.

After reading the many negative reviews of my new phone — I’d learned about Caveat emptor in school but forgotten all about it in practice — I decide I’ll return it.

That may look normal, but returns and refunds are almost taboo in…

He slid the book further to his right, slanted his midriff area to the left, and rested his left elbow on the desk.

That’s what it took the girl sitting in front of me to write comfortably as a lefty. After a few minutes, I giraffed to see if she wrote anywhere as well as I did.

Her near-cursive handwriting gave my gently slanted style a run for its cash.

But as a very biased judge, I crowned myself victor, if only by a whisker.

That was the first time I had ever seen someone write with their left hand…

It’s not the editors.

It’s not the readers.

It’s not the algorithm.

Many writers are their own worst enemies; their own dream killers.

I know we all face our unique challenges as writers. Language barriers, work pressures, family obligations feature prominently on that list. While some of these challenges are easy to work around, others lend themselves to no adjustment.

But as big as those challenges are, none of them compare to writers sabotaging their own success.

I know it because I’ve been there, I’ve lived it.

I’m an ESL writer, the words sometimes refuse to roll off my pen…