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mercurysnitch · 5 years

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Mother Mercury, Part 2: If I Could Only Reach You…

Summary: Questions about Mel’s true identity swirl amongst the main cast, but her mother’s visit to the set may bring some of the answers they’re seeking.

Author’s note: It’s back, bitches! 😂 I know this part’s taken a while, but I’ve had my massive final semester group project due, and exams, and a life, so I’ve had a bit going on lately. I’m on holidays right now, but I’m starting a work placement next week so I’m not sure when Part 3 will be done. I am home alone at the moment, so hopefully it’ll be soon, but I’m not making any promises. At this point it’s looking like it’ll be 4 parts plus an epilogue, but that might change depending on how the story develops. During this part you may notice I’m not big on slow-burn romance (or tension, frankly), but that doesn’t mean there’s not lots more plot still to come.

As I said in the previous part, this story is built around the idea that Freddie Mercury accidentally fathered a lovechild during a drug-fuelled party in the late 70s. If you’re not comfortable with that notion that’s absolutely fine, but I suggest you stop reading now. I know I said the whole lovechild situation would be explained in this part, but I’ve rearranged the plot slightly since then, so that section will be in the next part. In any case, Freddie is still very much gay in this story, it’s just that things also happened while he was under the influence which resulted in a lovechild. Remember this is fiction, and that particular element basically just needs to happen for the rest of the plot to work.

This was supposed to be written from Mel’s perspective, but it ended up going in a different direction as this part unfolded. I’m still trying to write it mostly from Mel’s point of view, but the pov character will shift when required. Hopefully it’s not too confusing - there are a lot of pov changes in this part, but there should be less from hereon in (I hope 🤣)

PS: Thanks for all the lovely messages about part 1. Feel free to send me an ask or DM any time, and don’t hesitate to ask if you want to be tagged.

Warnings: Writing about real people, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of teen pregnancy, mentions of labour, multiple perspective switches, I’ve probably missed a few typos so please forgive that

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Rami's head was full of questions the next morning. Could Freddie really have had a secret lovechild? Could that lovechild really have grown up to be Mel's parent? It seemed almost too good to be true for Freddie's grandchild to end up working on his biopic, Rami thought uneasily. Then again, that would only be possible if he had indeed fathered a lovechild in the first place. That was the key question that needed answering, Rami realised. But how to answer it? Mel might be the best source, but he could hardly go and ask her about her family history out of the blue. And she might not know herself, depending on the circumstances. Hell, Freddie’s child might not even know the truth about their origins. No, asking Mel was definitely not an option. But if not her, then who? Who else might have answers?

Rami supposed Brian and Roger might know something, or quite possibly everything. But he didn’t think it would be appropriate for him to ask them about it. More to the point, they might not want to tell him even if they did know the full story. Perhaps direct questions wasn’t the best approach here, Rami mused. Maybe it would be better to start with Mel and work backwards. But who other than Mel would know about her family? Ben was quite clearly the closest to her, Rami realised. Might as well start with him then.

Ben was suspicious as soon as he saw Rami in makeup that morning. There was a look in his friend's eye that Ben was quite sure meant he was up to something. Exactly what that was became clear when they found themselves alone together between takes. "Uhh, Ben?" Rami began, not wanting to rush in to what could be a delicate subject. Here it comes, Ben thought. Outwardly, he smiled reassuringly. "Yeah?" "You and Mel, you're… close, right?" Rami's question mostly confused Ben. "Um, not… not really" Ben replied hesitantly. "We hang out a bit on set, but it's not really any more than that." Rami seemed surprised at Ben's response. "Really?" he questioned. "Why would I lie about that?" Ben said crossly. "I didn't say that!" Rami backtracked. "I just meant, you and Mel seemed so cosy together yesterday, I thought you must be hanging out without us" he explained. Ben glared at him suspiciously. "You've seen us together all of once, Rami." "I know" Rami replied evenly. "But Lucy agrees with me, and she's seen Mel a lot more than I have." Ben sighed. "Look, I do like her, but- wait, why are you even asking that?"

Rami smiled nervously. "I was wondering if she'd told you anything about her family, but I guess not." Ben raised an eyebrow. "I think she still lives with her mum, but that's about it. Why?" he asked suspiciously. "I did some digging in my research last night. About Freddie" Rami explained. "And?" Ben asked, not sure where his friend was going with this. "I found out something… intriguing." "Yes?" Ben urged, suddenly intrigued himself. "Turns out there used to be rumours that Freddie had a lovechild back in the day" Rami said casually. Ben was shocked. "What?" "Keep your voice down!" Rami hissed.

"Wait, what does this have to do with Mel?" Ben questioned. "I think that could be how she's related to Freddie" Rami admitted. Ben was confused. "But she wasn't even born until years after he died." Rami shook his head. "I don't mean that she's his child" he clarified. "But the rumours seemed to agree that the alleged Mercury lovechild was born in about the late 70s or very early 80s, and Mel was born in… when was she born, Ben?" Ben looked thoughtful as he racked his brains. "Well, she's 21, so she would have been born in-" Ben went quiet while he did the maths. "-1996" he finally declared. Rami smiled. "So if the lovechild was born by, say, 1981," he explained, "in 1996 that child would have been old enough to have a child themselves." Ben wasn't convinced. "They would have only been a teenager though." "Teenagers do have kids sometimes, Ben" Rami reminded him. "I guess" Ben conceded. Suddenly he realised Rami's overarching point. "So are you saying you think Mel is Freddie Mercury's granddaughter?" he gasped. Rami nodded. "But don't tell anyone. Right now there's no way of being sure he even had a lovechild, let alone a grandchild." Ben smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I won't say anything." He paused, shaking his head. "Christ, that's massive though. If it’s true I mean." "It's huge" Rami agreed. "I only hope it's not too big to be true."

Ben found himself gripped with excitement after hearing Rami's theory about Mel's background. If Rami was right, he could have stumbled on one of the biggest secrets in Queen history, hiding in plain sight on the set of Freddie's movie. Of course he could very well be completely wrong, but even so Ben couldn't shake the feeling Mel's resemblance to Freddie was more than just a weird coincidence. Ben was itching to ask Mel about it, but at the same time he didn't want to put her off by trying to be too close too soon. No, he thought, a bit of patience would be needed here. Perhaps if he took her on a date they could get talking and… no, stop it, Ben thought to himself, she might not even like you in that way. But what if she does? suggested a small voice in his head. Ben had to admit the thought was rather intoxicating, but some more skeptical part of him refused to be convinced it was a real possibility.

Ben found himself horribly distracted by the various conflicting thoughts whirring through his head. So much so that he nearly walked into the very girl he’d been brooding over on his way to lunch. “Oh, shit, sorry Mel, didn’t see you there.” Luckily she wasn’t angry at him. “I was wondering how long you’d take to notice me waving” she laughed. “Clearly there’s something on your mind today.” Yeah, Ben thought, you. But he didn’t say it. He couldn’t. All he said was, “Yeah, been busy with lines today.” Mel seemed unconvinced, but said nothing. “Anyway,” Ben hurried on, “you headed for lunch?” “Actually, I came to tell you Brian May’s coming to set this afternoon” Mel commented. Suddenly she broke into a cheeky grin. “But I might grab some lunch too, while I’m here.” Ben smiled, internally relieved he hadn’t completely blown his chance with Mel just yet. “Might as well eat together then” he said coolly.

Lunch was spent with the rest of the band, as they’d taken to calling themselves. Even Allen and Lucy were there for a change. Joe was bouncy as ever, and all in all they were a merry bunch. But Ben felt a small knot of guilt in his stomach when he realised the others hadn’t yet heard about Rami’s new theory on Mel’s origins. Gwilym would never hold it against either of them, Ben knew, but he thought Joe was unlikely to appreciate being left out. Fortunately, Joe was soon distracted by Mel's recounting of her near-collision with Ben that morning. "Jesus, Ben, are you as blind as Roger too?" Joe quipped, when he'd finished falling about laughing. "I didn't know you were that method-"“Oh, come off it” Ben grumbled, not appreciating the joke.

Fortunately Ben was saved from further teasing by the approach of a very familiar grey-haired figure. Brian smiled as he reached the table. “Hello boys! Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to check in while you weren’t busy” he explained. "It's quite alright" Gwilym reassured him, setting off a chorus of agreeing noises from the rest of the table. Brian looked relieved. "Oh good. I must say, it's a bit odd seeing you all in costume together, it's almost like looking into some kind of time warp" he commented, looking around the table at them all. His face suddenly grew puzzled when he reached Ben. Ben was momentarily confused until he realised Mel was sitting next to him. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot you haven't been introduced" he gabbled apologetically. "Brian, this is Mel, one of the wardrobe assistants. Mel, th-" "I know who he is" Mel cut him off, smiling shyly. "Lovely to meet you" Brian responded, shaking Mel's hand across the table. She smiled up at him as she returned the handshake, and Brian had to suppress a gasp when he finally got a good look at her face.

Somehow Brian continued with the conversation he'd been planning while internally, he was absolutely reeling. The girl in front of him bore an absolutely stunning resemblance to Freddie. Far too much for it to be a coincidence, Brian thought. But what was the connection? How could she be related to him? Unless she was… But she had to be too young, surely. Freddie's child would be nearly forty by now, but Mel looked like she was barely more than a teenager, fresh out of uni, perhaps.

Brian was shaken from his reverie by a sudden commotion at the table. Rami and Lucy were needed on set, apparently, and Mel wanted to get back to work before she ran over her allotted break time. The others had finished their lunch and decided they might as well decamp to Gwilym's trailer until they were needed for filming again later. A sudden idea popped into Brian's head as Mel left the table. "I, erm, need to go and talk to someone for a minute" he said hurriedly, standing up from the table. "I'll come and find you in the trailer later, if that's alright?" Gwilym smiled. "Of course, Brian." Brian flashed him a relieved smile before heading off after Mel.

"Mel, wait!" Brian called, hoping desperately he wouldn't attract too much attention. Mel turned around looking curious. "You want to talk to me?" she asked, surprised. Brian nodded as he caught up to her. "Yes. Has anyone ever told you you could be Freddie's spitting image?" Mel smiled. "On this set, many people" she told Brian. "But it means a lot to hear it from you" she added softly. "Ah, Mel…” Brian began, suddenly uncertain. “I don’t want to seem intrusive, but how old are you?” “21” Mel replied casually. Definitely too young to be Fred's girl, then.

Brian was suddenly desperate to find out more, to get to the bottom of the mystery, but another part of him was rather nervous. Should he even be asking someone he’d just met something like this? “Is my age important or something?” Mel asked, cutting off his hemming and hawing. That gave Brian the push he needed to forge ahead. “Mel, if you don’t my me asking, is there any chance you could be related to Freddie, do you know?" He sounded almost apologetic as he posed the question. "The similarities… it seems too much to be a coincidence” he explained.

Melina was taken aback by Brian’s forwardness, but she recovered quickly. “Uh, very probably, we're not absolutely sure." Brian wasn't quite following. "Who's not sure?" "My mum. And my grandmother, I suppose" she explained. Brian was still confused. "What's your grandmother got to do with it?" "Look, I think you'd be better off talking to my mum" Mel sighed. "Would she want to talk to me though?" Brian asked, mildly concerned. He wanted answers, but he wouldn't blame Mel's mum for not wanting to talk to a virtual stranger about something so personal. Mel herself simply shrugged. "She might. It's worth a shot. I think she should, anyway, it's… it's been long enough." Brian found the last comment rather mysterious, but he thought it best not to ask about it just then. Instead, he smiled kindly. “Alright then, when might she be available for a meet’n’greet?” Melina grinned. “She’s coming to visit me here tomorrow.”

*** The band stared after Brian in stunned silence, before bursting into excitable chatter that continued all the way to Gwilym's trailer. "What was that about?" Joe started, utterly confused. "I… don't know" Gwilym mused. Ben felt rather guilty; he had a hunch he knew what Brian was up to, but he wasn't sure if he should share Rami's theory with the others. "I, um, might have an idea" he said sheepishly. "I think he might have wanted to talk to Mel." Strangely, this seemed to make perfect sense to both Gwilym and Joe. "You think he might have thought the same thing as Rami, then?" Gwilym asked. "You know about Rami's theory?" Ben asked, only mildly surprised. "I don't" Allen piped up. There was a pause as Joe explained it to him. Suddenly Allen smirked at Ben. "So Ben fancies Freddie Mercury's granddaughter?" "Quiet!" Gwilym hissed. "We don't want the whole bloody set hearing." Meanwhile, Ben's jaw dropped. "Shit" he muttered. He'd never thought of it like that. What had he gotten himself into?

*** The next morning Mel was hard at work on some urgent mending when she heard a soft knock on the door of the wardrobe truck . “Come in” she called. “Mel, you’ve got a visitor” Joe told her softly, trying to open the door quietly. She looked around. “Mum! You’re here!” Her mother rushed over to embrace her. “Hello darling!” “I see you’ve met Joe already” Mel commented as they broke apart. “Is he the one playing Deacy?" her mother asked. Mel nearly snorted. "Who else d'you think he'd be playing?" Joe was both surprised and rather flattered. "Do I really look that much like him out of costume?" he asked uncertainly. Mel and her mum both looked at him with bemusement, but surprisingly it was the older woman who answered. "Yes” she said bluntly. “If you looked any more like him I'd be asking serious questions about your parentage." Joe laughed, and Mel's mother looked at him quizzically. "What?" "I thought the same thing the first time I saw a photo of him" Joe explained. "I like him" Mel's mother whispered to her conspiratorially. Mel just shook her head. "Alright, Mum. Now come on, I’ve got so much to show you.”

*** Brian made extra sure he and Roger were both on set that day. He had many questions, and he imagined Mel’s mother might too. They finally got an opportunity to talk over lunch. Mel came bounding over to join them in the queue for food. “Brian, Roger, this is my mum Eve” she introduced. Both men looked at Eve curiously. Her hair was chestnut brown rather than jet black, and her eyes were lighter, almost hazel, but the shape and the warmth they exuded were all Freddie. She wasn’t the precise image of their friend, her jawline was less angular for a start, but the resemblance was clear nonetheless.

Roger suddenly realised hers was a face he’d seen before. It was a long time ago, when she was much younger, but the eyes were unmistakable. “Evangeline?” he gasped. She nodded. “I can't believe you recognise me, it’s been a very long time.” Roger smiled. “Maybe too long. You were just a kid then, now here you are with a grown up daughter of your own.” “So Mel is yours” Brian said wonderingly. “But that would mean…” Eve suddenly smiled nervously. “Yeah, I was a teenager.” Roger was shocked. “You were-? That must have been hard.” Eve’s smile vanished alarmingly quickly in the wake of his statement. “I don't need your 'sympathy' ” she growled. “It wasn’t easy, but I chose to do it. I wasn’t a victim.” Roger and Brian broke into identical bemused smiles at that. “Doesn’t she sound just like Fred?” Roger murmured. “Practically identical” Brian agreed.

“Incidentally, you’ve raised a good kid” Brian commented to Eve. Mel, who'd been watching on in quiet amusement, beamed at the compliment. Eve smiled too, her anger quickly forgotten. "Thanks, Brian." "She looks like her grandad too" Roger commented. "Even more than you do, strangely." "Does she really?" Eve questioned, rather surprised. Roger smiled. “Love, your daughter looks so much like Fred she could practically be his twin. Have you really never noticed the resemblance?” "Mum always said I look a lot like my dad" Mel chimed in. “He’s Greek” Eve explained. “Olive-skinned, black hair. I always assumed she just took after his family looks-wise. He chose her name too, actually.” Brian raised an eyebrow curiously. “Now you mention it, what is her full name? We only know her as Mel.” "It's short for Melina" Mel piped up. Brian smiled wonderingly, but Roger nearly gasped. "Melina? Freddie's granddaughter's called Melina?" "Coincidence" Eve clarified. "I'd forgotten Papa's connection to that name by the time I had her." She paused, smiling slightly. "But as soon as her dad suggested it I just knew it was her name. It just suited her perfectly." Brian and Roger agreed, it definitely did.

"So what do you do with yourself these days, Eve?" Roger asked casually, hoping to ease the slight awkwardness in the air. "I'm an illustrator" she replied. "Mostly kids books, but I enjoy it." Roger couldn't help looking at Brian then, knowing they were both thinking the same thing without needing to say a word. "So you got to uni then?" Brian asked conversationally. Eve nodded. "I did. Well, to art college. Not Ealing though." "Shame" Roger murmured. "That's a fair achievement you know, getting through school and uni while raising a small child" Brian commented. "Oh, I had lots of help" Eve explained modestly. "There must have been times, though, when you felt scared or alone" Roger suggested. Eve nodded. "There were" she agreed. "But Papa was with me."

1996 Eve was troubled. Not surprising, really, considering she was facing the biggest decision of her young life. The decision itself was not actually troubling her particularly, strangely. She knew what she wanted to do, but what worried her was what people would think. Would keeping her baby really ruin her life? Was doing what she wanted really the right thing for either of them? These questions haunted her as she tried to get to sleep.

Sleep, unsurprisingly, took its time to descend that night. When it finally did, Eve had unsettled dreams, the sort where she thought she was still awake half the time. She woke more than once, jolted by restless visions. It was after one of these wakings, when she wasn't sure if she was still dreaming or wide awake, that she saw him.

He was standing at the end of her bed, all dressed in a shining white material that seemed to glow around him. He had long black hair and dark, friendly eyes. Eve didn't know who he was at first, but she felt like she'd known him forever somehow. He smiled gently as he walked around to sit on the end of her bed, and suddenly she recognised him. "Papa?" Eve gasped. "But… how? Why?" Freddie smiled mysteriously. "I heard your call, darling, so I came." Eve was confused. "What call?" she asked suspiciously. "It doesn't matter, I'm here now" Freddie said airily. "Now, tell me your troubles, darling." Eve was uncertain. "Why should I tell you?" "I could help" Freddie said evenly. Eve snorted. "I doubt that." Freddie just smiled wryly. "You won't know if you don't try, dear. Tell me everything." For some reason Eve did. Oh well, she thought, can't hurt to vent to a ghost. Freddie, who now she thought of it looked younger than she'd ever seen him in life, simply smiled and nodded as she explained just what her troubles actually were.

"You want to keep it" Freddie said, almost as soon as Eve stopped speaking. It wasn't even a question; somehow he knew what his daughter was thinking. "I do" she agreed. "But…" She took a breath. "I'm scared. What if it ruins my life like everyone says? What if I'm a terrible mum? What if I never actually get my shit together and they end up hating me for cocking everything up?" The words almost fell out of her mouth in a sort of panicked jumble. Freddie's expression softened at her obvious fear. "They won't hate you, darling, you're their mother" he reassured you. "And it won't ruin your life if you don't let it." Eve stared at him, confused. "So, I should just go ahead and assume everything'll be fine?" He shook his head. "Don't assume. Make the effort to get things to work for you. Get angry if you have to. Make sure you can still live the life you want, even with the bumps in the road." Eve was suddenly crestfallen. "But everyone says…" Freddie grinned. "Fuck what they say. Don't forget, you're not most people. Making the choice you want won't derail everything, the journey will just be… different." Hope bloomed in Eve's chest at his words. Maybe things wouldn't be as awful as everyone said. "It will be alright, darling" Freddie assured her.

It seemed as though Eve only looked away for half a second, but when she looked back he was gone. The next morning Eve woke up feeling peaceful. She was filled with resolve. She knew, now, what her decision would be, and she'd never felt more sure of anything in her life. Talking to her late Papa must have been a dream, a figment of her imagination. But how could a mere dream give her so much reassurance, so much certainty? He must have been, though. He couldn't be anything else. Surely not.

Of course, making the decision was only half the battle. There were still many people to be told. Nikos was surprisingly pleased at the prospect of teen fatherhood, though his parents were a lot less enthusiastic, much as Eve had expected. They'd never particularly liked her, and now they were sure to hate her forever for "ruining" their precious son's life. Eve's own mother wasn't exactly thrilled, but she promised to stick by her daughter regardless. And then there was Uncle Deaky and Aunt Veronica. Strangely, Eve didn't actually have to say anything to them initially.

It took one look over afternoon tea for Aunt Vee to guess what was going on. "You're not pregnant, are you?" she asked quietly, sounding as though she didn’t want to believe her own theory. Eve's eyes went wide. "How did you know?" she gaped. "I've had six children, dear, I know the signs” Aunt Veronica pointed out. She softened considerably when she realised just how frightened Eve was, despite being absolutely certain about her choice.

Uncle Deaky was also surprisingly calm when Eve finally told him about her situation, and what she’d decided. He almost immediately pulled her into a hug when he realised she was about to cry. “It’s alright, love, I’m not cross at you” he reassured her. Eve was surprised. “You’re not?” Uncle Deaky smiled. “No. I mean, I’m not jumping for joy, but it’s not the end of the world either.” Eve smiled. “Besides,” he added softly, “I was in your shoes once. Well, we weren’t exactly teenagers, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t scared when we found out Robert was on his way.” “You were scared?” Eve asked, incredulous. “Of course.” Deaky smiled. “Knowing it’s what you want doesn’t mean it's not also terrifying.” Eve found that statement oddly reassuring. And she was very glad when Uncle Deaky reassured her he and Veronica would support her every step of the way. Though when she thought about it, she wasn’t that surprised at this reaction.

Over the following months Eve sometimes felt the oddest sensation while she was alone. It was as if someone was standing near her, someone she couldn't see. She wondered whether it was her papa looking out for her. She found the thought rather comforting, really. But she was never more grateful for it than the day her daughter was born.

Eve had been home alone when she'd first realised she was going into labour, more than a week early, and she didn't think she'd ever been so scared in her life. She couldn't reach her mum, or Auntie Vee, who'd promised to stay with her at the hospital, and she knew calling Nikos wouldn't help, even if she was having his bloody child. She couldn't even get an answer at the Deacon house. Presumably they were all out enjoying the summer holidays somewhere. Eve was starting to feel very scared and very alone when Jim suddenly turned up at her door.

She wasn't expecting him, but his presence was very much welcome. He'd been visiting her in London as much as he could while she was pregnant. She'd expected him to be angry when she broke the big news, all those months ago, but Jim was only mildly shocked. "You're hardly the first person to be a teenage parent, love" he told her. "You're not the first I've known, either. Doesn't mean I'm happy about this, but you're still my Evie. I'll always be here for you, you know." And he'd proved it that fateful day.

"You have no idea how glad I am you're here" Eve quipped as she let Jim into Garden Lodge. "You know, I wasn't even planning to come today, but I had more spare time than I expected" he mused. Suddenly Eve groaned, and he turned around in alarm. "You alright, love?" "I'm in labour" she griped. "You're just in time to take me to the hospital." Eve relaxed as the pain passed. "Honestly, you couldn't have come at a better time" she said happily. Jim smiled gently. "Well then, Freddie must have sent me for you."

Jim sat with Eve at the hospital for a while, although he absolutely would not countenance staying for the main event. Both Nikos and Veronica had already agreed to be present to support her through that part, but they were taking their sweet time getting to the hospital. Jim agreed to stay for the time being, but eventually he needed a break, so he stepped out for a few minutes, leaving Eve all alone in her stark white room.

And yet she didn't feel particularly alone. It was as though Freddie was standing in the room with her, somewhere just out of sight. Eve wasn't a paranormal enthusiast by any means, but she almost felt like if she turned her head she would see her beloved Papa next to her, cheering her on. The feeling disappeared as soon as Jim returned, with Veronica arriving soon after. But it returned several hours later, after her daughter had finally been born. Eve was sitting in the bed, cradling her newborn child, and she could have sworn Freddie was peering over her shoulder, admiring the new baby. It thrilled Eve to think her father might have visited her for this momentous occasion, and it brought her comfort to know he hadn't let her go through it alone.

2017 Brian and Roger weren't the least bit surprised to hear that Eve had felt Freddie with her when she needed him most. But they were a little bit shocked that this was the first they were hearing about her teenage years. "I can't believe Deacy never told us Fred was a grandad" Roger said, still trying to process everything. "I'm sure he had his reasons" Brian said evenly. "I didn't want him to" Eve explained. "I didn't particularly want the world to know I was a teen mum." "We're hardly the world" Roger pointed out, slightly miffed. "I know" Eve conceded. "But he was hardly seeing you by then anyway, it was just easier not to say anything." She paused as something suddenly occurred to her. "Besides, you lot turning up at Garden Lodge again would have caused a sensation, and then all Papa's efforts to keep me secret would have been for nothing." "You're right, of course" Roger sighed. “I just wish we could have been there for you. We could have helped, you know.”

“You did help” Eve said softly. “You kept Queen going.” Roger was confused. “And how did that help you, exactly?” “It meant I kept getting royalties” Eve explained. “Not a vast fortune, of course, but enough to keep me going while I finished school and whatnot.” Roger smiled. "Well I'm glad to know we were able to do something for the two of you." "And I'm sure Deacy was a brilliant support to you" Brian chimed in. "He was" Eve agreed, nodding. "He and Veronica pretty much got me through my teens, really."

At the mention of his old friend Roger looked thoughtful. “How is John these days?” Eve smiled rather sadly. “He’s… happy enough” she said slowly. “He still misses Freddie bitterly, but he likes the quiet life.” Roger and Brian both smiled in understanding, though they seemed a little wistful. “He was never much into the rockstar lifestyle” Brian commented.

Suddenly the warm atmosphere was shattered by Mel cursing. “Bugger. I’ve gotta get back, the band’s all wondering where I am.” “The band?” Eve questioned. “The young men playing us” Brian explained. “Some of the production staff referred to them that way and it sort of stuck.” Eve grinned. “Makes sense.” “Well, they could hardly call them Queen II could they?” Roger joked.

“Actually,” he went on more seriously, “you should meet them, Eve. They’re nice lads, and I’m sure they’d enjoy hearing your perspective on a few things…” “Rami and Joe in particular would be very appreciative, I think” Brian added. “Why-” Eve started to ask, but Mel cut her off. “They can’t talk directly to the people they’re playing” she pointed out. “Oh, of course” Eve murmured. “I’m not sure, I wouldn’t want to expose myself to the world” she demurred. “You wouldn’t” Mel countered. “They’d never sell anyone out like that.” Eve hesitated. “Your daughter’s quite right, they’re perfectly trustworthy” Brian assured her. “At least talk to Rami, he’d be absolutely thrilled to speak with you” he urged. Suddenly Eve smiled. “Well alright then.” With a cheeky grin she turned to her daughter. “Take me to the band!” she jokingly ordered. Roger and Brian laughed almost as much as Mel, finally revelling in the joy of the day’s unexpected reunion.

Luckily, the band were still eating lunch together, so locating them all was a simple matter of finding their table in the catering tent. Mel eagerly led her mother towards them, Brian and Roger having quietly wandered off along the way, ostensibly to have a chat with the producers. Eve was almost as eager as her daughter, curious to see what the men Mel spoke so highly of were really like. They were in early 70s garb today, all long hair and flared pants. Eve was rather grateful that Rami wasn’t wearing the moustache; she wasn’t sure how she would have reacted to seeing him dressed as the Freddie she'd known. As it was she thought they all looked equally wonderful in today’s costumes.

Mel couldn’t help smiling when she caught Ben’s eye. She could have sworn he smiled back, but it was Joe who spoke first. “Mel! Where’ve you been, Ben’s been worried sick all lunch break” he asked dramatically. “Oh, shut up” Ben grumbled, shoving his shoulder crossly. Mel just rolled her eyes affectionately. “I’ve been showing my mum round, you knew I’d be busy today.” “Your mum?” Gwilym questioned. “Yes” Mel replied simply. “Guys, this is my mum Eve.” Polite hellos were duly exchanged across the table, though Eve could feel genuine warmth behind them. Even Lucy, half draped across Rami’s lap, was obviously pleased to meet a relative of Mel.

The group chattered amiably while they finished their lunch, but before long the band and Lucy were needed back on set. Mel expected them Rami to lead them all back to work, but surprisingly he hung back, telling the others he’d meet them at the set. They apparently accepted this without question, though Mel was quite sure they’d be discussing it at length before they got back to work. When the rest of the band were safely out of earshot, Rami turned to Eve. “Has anyone ever told you that you and your daughter both look like Freddie Mercury?”

Eve smiled. “I know Mel’s been hearing that a lot lately,” she said knowingly. “But it’s been a while since anyone’s said that to me.” Rami peered at her curiously. “Do you… do you have any idea where that resemblance might have come from?” Mel could feel the tension rise at Rami’s blunt question, but to her immense relief her mother seemed untroubled. “Well,” Eve said, grinning mischievously, “I expect it’s the family resemblance.” Rami stared at her, brows furrowed in confusion, until realisation suddenly dawned across his face. “Wait, are you saying-” “I can explain, but I’d rather do it in private” Eve explained, cutting Rami off before he could accidentally reveal her great secret. To her immense relief he quickly flashed her an understanding smile. “I have to go to work now, but come to my trailer later. Mel knows where it is.” He smiled again, and with a quick ‘nice to meet you’ he hurried off back to set.

Mel turned to her mother expectantly. “Well?” “He seems nice” Eve commented. “Actually they all seem like nice lads, I can see why you like them so much.” She paused thoughtfully. “I think I can see why they wanted him to play Freddie, too.” Mel smiled with relief. “So you’ll help him?” “As much as I can” Eve agreed. “Perhaps you could help Joe too” Mel suggested. Eve smiled. “I suppose I could.”

Mel found herself facing a busy afternoon, so she sent her mum to watch the filming while she worked. It soon became clear that none of the band was going to get much downtime until shooting finished for the day, so between takes Rami organised to meet Eve just before he went home for the night. The filming went on for hours, but finally the director called cut and everyone started to pack up. Amongst all the activity Eve managed to slip away unnoticed, to a deserted corner near Rami’s trailer where they were unlikely to be seen.

Rami grinned mischievously when he spotted Eve behind his trailer. “So, about that family resemblance…” Eve took a breath. “I meant that sincerely you know” she said casually. “The truth is, as far as anyone knows Freddie Mercury was my biological father.” Rami raised an eyebrow. “As far as anyone knows?” “He’s not the only, ah, candidate, but I’ve never actually had a DNA test” Eve explained. Rami snorted. “You don’t need one.” He paused, suddenly looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Sorry if this is a bit forward of me, but I’d love to talk to you about Freddie, somewhere a little more private” he said warmly. “So I was thinking we could get dinner at my hotel?” “What, now?” Eve questioned. Rami nodded. “If that’s alright with you.” Eve was hesitant. “Just checking: this isn’t a romantic invitation is it?” Rami shook his head. “God, no!” he burst out, almost too quickly. “Sorry, I just meant I’m kind of not… available in that way.” Eve smiled. “It’s fine” she reassured him. “If it was I would have had to turn it down seeing as I’m a married woman.” Rami grinned with relief. “Well, in that case, shall we?” Eve smiled. “Just let me ring home on the way and I’m all yours.” With that, they trotted off along a less conspicuous route to Rami’s chaffeured car, chatting amiably along the way.

Ben had almost reached his trailer when he spotted Mel lounging against it. He smiled at the sight, but his expression shifted into a frown when he noticed Rami and Eve wandering off together looking very friendly. Possibly too friendly. Mel made to smile at Ben, only to be confused when she noticed him frowning. She turned away just in time to spot Rami walking with her mum. She thought he looked rather excited. Mum must have told him, Mel mused. In which case they must be off for a long conversation about Papa. Mel’s contentment at this development turned to concern when she realised Ben was storming towards her looking less than pleased.

Ben seemed fairly calm when he hauled Mel into his trailer, but when he turned back to her after carefully locking the door she could see the anger on his face. "What the hell is going on?" he fumed. "With what?" Mel responded calmly, not quite sure where all this was coming from. "I just came across Rami looking very cosy with your mum" Ben growled. “Almost suspiciously cosy.” Mel sighed. "It's not like that, Ben, she’s married for God’s sake." Ben was not particularly soothed. "Well then what is it like?" he snapped. "Cos from where I'm standing it doesn't look good." "Oh my God, Ben, why do you even care so much?" Mel snapped back. "Because he's my friend!" Ben yelled. "And Lucy's my friend, and…" His voice trailed off as he realised something. "What?" Mel questioned, confused by the sudden change of mood. "I like you" Ben admitted. "I like you a lot, and I don't want to think you would allow something like that, but…" "Of course I wouldn't, Ben, I'm not an arsehole" Mel responded, hoping to reassure him. It didn't work. Ben was still cross, and now he was confused as well. "Why didn’t you stop it, then?" "Because she’s helping him!" Mel cried. "Helping him?" Ben questioned, even more confused. "How can she help him?"

Mel sighed. She'd really done it now. There was no way out of this conversation without letting Ben in on the family secret. "Alright Ben" she said eventually, suddenly much quieter and calmer. "I'm going to tell you something, so you'll understand. But you have to promise me, what I'm about to say does not leave this trailer." Ben smiled reassuringly. "I won't tell another soul, I promise." Mel took a calming breath. Here goes nothing. "My mum can help Rami with this role because she's Freddie Mercury's daughter" she confessed.

Ben was stunned. "She's…what?" he spluttered. Mel smiled reassuringly. "It's big, I know." Suddenly Ben stared at Mel wide-eyed. "So it's all true then…" Mel was confused. "What's true?" "The rumours about Freddie. That he had a lovechild." Ben explained. "How did you hear those?" Mel questioned. "Rami" Ben said simply. "He saw you, remembered the rumours, and guessed you must be Freddie's grandchild." Mel was stunned. "Shit. He worked it all out." Ben grinned. "God, he's going to be so pleased with himself tomorrow."

Suddenly Ben reached out and pulled Mel into his chest. She wondered whether he was trying to ground himself after all the big revelations. Not that she minded, of course, it was Ben after all.

"Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me the truth" he murmured into her ear. "Of course" Mel murmured back. They stood silently for a moment, thinking over everything that had just been said. "Can't believe you got so worked up about my mum" Mel commented. Ben smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." "Can't believe you thought her and Rami…" Mel trailed off as something else Ben had said suddenly hit her like a truck. "Wait. Did you say you liked me?" she asked, stepping back to look at Ben's face.

Ben's gentle smile disappeared instantly. "Shit. I thought you didn't notice." "So did you mean you like me as a friend or…?" Mel asked curiously, her heart suddenly hammering at the possibilities. Ben could feel his own heart race as he opened his mouth. "Well I do consider you a friend. But… I'd really like us to be more than that" he confessed. Mel smiled as she moved closer to Ben. "I'd like that too." Ben could have wept with relief. "So, do you want to get dinner tonight?" he asked, beaming. "I'd love to" Mel beamed back. Ben grinned. “Great! I’ll just grab my shit and then we can go.” True to his word, within five minutes he and Mel were walking towards the studio car park hand in hand.

***

Less than an hour later, Rami was sat at a table in the hotel restaurant, buzzing with excitement. Freddie Mercury's biological child was sitting in front of him! What a day. Eve smiled with amusement as his obvious enthusiasm. "So I suppose you have a few questions you'd like to ask?" Rami grinned. "Oh, hundreds." "Well, go on then" Eve encouraged. "I guess the biggest one is this" Rami said thoughtfully. "How exactly did a man like Freddie Mercury manage to father a lovechild anyway?"

*******************************************************************************************

Taglist: @wandering-at-midnight @fruityfreddie @trumanjo @ohmygoditsanthonyedwardstark @itsametaphorbriansblog @theedwardscollection @simplyvictoria-93 @kotoamor @j1224 @florenceivy @jennyggggrrr @mercurycrowley @xstrawverrymilktaex

(I’ve removed a couple of urls from the Though You’re Many Years Away taglist because the tags aren’t working)

#ben hardy fic #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x oc #freddie mercury fic #freddie mercury imagine #bohemian rhapsody cast fic #bohemian rhapsody imagine #bo rhap imagine #rami malek #rami malek imagine #gwilym lee imagine #joe mazzello imagine #ben hardy x reader #queen fic #queen band fic #brian may imagine #roger taylor fic #roger taylor imagine #brian may fic

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kyouryokusenshi · 5 years

Text

A Light In The Darkness

Post-IWTB AU. Tied up in a snowstorm during Christmas Eve, Mulder and Scully end up receiving their Christmas Miracle.

Written for Dee @speechteacher for the belated Easter @xfilesfanficexchange organized by @gaycrouton. Dee expressed interest in a story about M&S depending on each other to survive in a bad weather scenario or family fluff including dad!Mulder. This is my attempt to capture both of these elements. A HUGE thanks to Jess @GirlieX29 and Monika @monikafilefan for their pregnancy/birth expertise and beta work and to Cate @rationalcashew for her expert grammar help and beta while dealing with strep. Y’all rock!!

The wind howls outside as the Unremarkable House is bathed in snow. The light emitted from their living room is the only one that permeates the darkness aside from the single strand of Christmas lights delicately wrapped around a small ornate Douglas-Fir Mulder managed to chop down nearby a few weeks back. “Mulder, we’re having a Christmas baby. We need something simple and low maintenance,” she had said. And so, for the first time in years, they got a Christmas tree.

Mulder and Scully nestle beside each other on the couch as they watch Caddyshack. Unphased by the tumultuous weather taking place outside, Scully's hand curls around the crest of her abdomen, her fingers gently soothing the kicking coming from the tiny miracle therein.

Mulder, however, looks ill at ease. He steals several glances outside at the sleet covered windows into the white blanket outside. Scully's due date was yesterday and should the baby decide to make her grand debut today, he doubts they would never make it out of here.

Sensing his unease, Scully clutches his hand with her free one. “It's okay, Mulder,” she offers reassuringly. “It's supposed to start clearing up by Friday. We just need to make it through the next few days.”

Mulder nodded, forcing himself to relax for Scully's sake. He was a free man again. He and Scully had been blessed with another miracle; A second chance; A fresh start.

“Scully, you're about to pop any second. How in the world can you be so calm about all this?”

Scully smirks. “Well, considering I gave birth in the middle of nowhere, without any electricity or plumbing, and with a questionable audience last time, this is a princess cruise. Besides, I'm a doctor, Mulder. If in the slightest chance this baby decides to make her grand debut, I can coach you just like I did Monica.”

“Well, you'll be disappointed to know I don't keep up with the latest whale song trends.”

Scully rolled her eyes and allowed herself to imagine it, just for a moment, before she laughed.

They sat there a moment, listening to the sound of the TV droning on in the background as winter continued its song and dance. Mulder reached out and placed his palm on the curve of her abdomen, desperate to feel the movement from within.

They had months to get accustomed to the idea of a second baby, but Mulder was in constant awe of his daughter, and of Scully and the changes in her body.

Scully places her hand over his and gently moves it until he feels the discernible movement coming from within.

Mulder's features light up in childlike wonder, the movements of the second miracle within never ceasing to amaze him. He pulls close to Scully as he gently rests his cheek against her belly.

“Just a few more days, little one…”

-----

The following day, both Scully and Mulder start to become restless. The snowfall has yet to let up and Mulder can’t even start on shoveling the snow. Mulder itches to get out to do his morning run, but aside from the issue of snowfall, the temperatures are absolutely frigid, so he resorts to the treadmill he managed to squeeze into his office. He isn’t one for going to the gym or utilizing it’s equipment, he was a nature boy at heart, but the machine came in handy when he was holed up and fearing the government.

Scully isn’t doing much better. She starts to complain of lower back pain as she wades her way through the living room as Mulder tens to the flames in their fireplace. He hands press into her lower back as she arches backward, causing her abdomen to simultaneously push forward and that’s when Mulder noticed it.

“The baby dropped more,” he deadpans, resulting in a raised eyebrow from Scully. He closes the distance between them, in awe of the miracle between them. Yet, underneath that awe laid anxiety and fear. As he places his hands on her belly, Scully looks down and that’s when she notices the added distance between her breasts and her abdomen that she hadn’t felt before.

“Don’t tell me Oprah taught you that,” Scully scoffs.

Mulder shakes his head. “More contemporary reading…' What To Expect …' cover to cover. You may as well title it, What To Expect...for Dummies “Whose Wives Are Doctors ,” he smirks.

Scully looks up at Mulder from their joined hands on her belly, the meaning not lost on her, but she says nothing. She looks thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I suppose you’re right. Actually, I’ve been so focused on my back pain that I hadn’t really noticed; but, now that you mention it, I am starting to feel the pressure building.”

Before Mulder could respond, Scully sucks in a pained breath and as she reaches out for him, he quickly steadies her. “Scully...Scully?! What’s wrong is...is it the baby?”

If there was one thing his reading hadn’t taught him, it was that he was never going to be fully prepared for this. Scully had nearly bled to death when William was born. If something went wrong…

“Mulder,” Scully’s voice permeates his lucid thoughts. “It’s okay, it’s just Braxton Hicks. I’ve been having them for a while.”

Mulder doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure...I’m not doubting you, but that one just seemed so...strong.”

Scully takes a deep breath as she stands. “I’ll know when it gets close. I’m a doctor, Mulder,” she finds herself spitting out before she could take the words back. Mulder stiffens, visibly hurt before she lets out a resigned sigh. “Sorry...I’m just tired, uncomfortable...hungry...did you get that $12 out of season watermelon I asked for the other day?”

Mulder forces a smile. “Of course I did, much to the cashier’s amusement. But when I told him my wife was pregnant, it all seemed to make sense.”

“ You’re a good man, she’s lucky to have you, ” the elderly gentleman mused. If only he knew.

“Why don’t you go lay down and I’ll cut that sucker right up?”

-----

Scully grows restless as the storm outside howls on, the blizzard causing their screen door to bang against the doorframe of the doorway with a thump thump as the overarching tree branches beat against their rooftop in unison.

Mulder is nearly fast asleep beside her when Scully lets out another pained gasp. He jolts into an upright position as Scully takes several breaths, her arm supporting the weight of her abdomen as she gingerly rubs her hand back and forth underneath in a soothing motion.

“Scully,” he starts, but the words die on his mouth as the lights flicker and the TV starts cutting out before bathing them in complete darkness, despite it only being three in the afternoon.

He tries to bite back the panic that manages to settle in the pit of his stomach as he continues.“Are they getting stronger, more frequent...should I call Doctor Lee?”

Scully shakes her head as she swings her legs over the side of the bed, clutching her abdomen. “No...not yet, Mulder. I mean, there’s no getting in or out of here right now. I mean, worse comes to worst, I can coach you. It’s been a few hours since the last one.”

Mulder, although unconvinced, nods hesitantly. “I’ll get some candles going.”

-------

Twenty minutes later, as another contraction grips her, Scully is finally convinced she's in the early stages of labor. As the ice pounds their mid-century unremarkable home, she realizes no one would be going or coming here anytime soon. Determined not to alarm Mulder, she reaches with one hand for the railing as she descends the stairs and holds her belly in the other.

In the distance, she can hear Mulder tending to the fireplace before she's seized by another contraction and she can't help but let out an audible gasp as warm fluid rushes between her legs, causing her to slip slightly. “Dammit!” Before she can react, Mulder has caught sight of her and rushes up to catch her before she can fall.

Scully squeezes her eyes shut and grits her teeth before she feels Mulder's hand on her back. “Breathe, Scully,” he soothes.

With one arm looped around him for support, she forces herself to take a deep breath as she feels him tuck a strand of her long strawberry hair behind her ear that managed to come loose from the lazy bun.

“That was definitely a contraction, wasn't it?” He says, more of an observation than a question.

Scully takes a slow breath. “Yeah, the early stages, but we’ve still got time, Mulder. I'm just glad I'm not giving birth in the middle of nowhere with no electricity and a strange audience of onlookers.”

Mulder smiles as he gently helps Scully to her feet. “Hate to break it to you, but we do live in the middle of nowhere in case you haven't noticed and our power is out.”

“You know what I mean,” Scully grumbles.

“I do,” Mulder says sympathetically. “Now let me get this cleaned up before one of us seriously hurts ourselves.”

Scully can't help but smile as she retreats back up the stairs to get into some more comfortable, loose clothing. He sounds like a father already.

-------

Scully returns to the stairs wearing an oversized New York Knicks shirt. The only light came from a mixture of fire burning and electric candles. She could hear Mulder on the phone with the doctor. Mulder's anxiousness was palpable. She'd done this before and she was a doctor, she knew what to expect and the process. She wanted Mulder to feel as involved as he could in the birth process since he wasn't around much for the first one.

“Mulder?” she calls out.

“Scully,” he says as he makes his way to the base of the stairs.

“Shouldn't you be...resting?”

Scully shakes her head as she eases her way down the stairs. “I need to walk,” she insisted.

“It'll help her head ease into the pelvic opening and be in the best position for the birth.” Mulder gave her a blank stare before she continued. “It'll help the birth progress.”

Mulder nods but is clearly uneasy. “Well, right now there's no way in or out. The backroads are closed off due to the storm. Most likely the roads won’t be plowed until tomorrow when it clears up.”

“No shit, Mulder,” she winces, grunting through another contraction.

“Have you been timing them?”

Scully nods. “About fifteen minutes now. We still have plenty of time, but we should get everything ready just in case. I have some medical supplies in the spare bedroom. We’ll need to get some towels and cold water when we’re close. But for now, we’ll need to get the pull out ready as well as some old sheets and blankets.”

Mulder concedes. He has faith in Scully and her belief that they can do this, but he can’t help but worry in case something might go wrong.

-----

Once they have the bed set up in the living room, they ready the medical supplies, towels, and swaddling. Scully stops momentarily to breathe through a contraction and Mulder is immediately at her side.

He hates seeing her in pain even though he knew it was only temporary until their second miracle made her way into the world.

Scully breathes slow, shallow breaths as sweat starts beading her forehead. One hand curls under the expanse of her belly as the other braces her weight on the arm of the sofa. Mulder took a moment to come up from behind her, placing his hand under her belly over her own in an attempt to help ease the weight from her hips.

Scully’s labored breathing softens as she leans into him, closing her eyes as she sighs, and allowing him to nuzzle the crook of her neck.

Mulder moves his free hand up along her belly as he gently rocks them back and forth in a languid motion. Scully gasps as his hand settles along her breast, his fingers gently teasing the buds that were undoubtedly peeking through the cotton t-shirt.

“Mmm, Mulder, you’re a tease. Especially now that my water has broken, you KNOW we can’t go that far.”

Mulder pulls back with a resigned sigh. “I know, I was just hoping to be a distraction.”

Scully rewards him with a small smile. “Well, we have time. I’m going to take a...shower before the water gets cold. It might be my last one until the baby comes.”

“Want company?”

“Always.”

------

Scully pulls her long strands of wet hair to the side as Mulder uses the loofah to lather up her back, watching as the stream rinsed away the suds, deep in thought. The only light illuminating the bathroom coming from the flickering candles outside the shower. The water was slowly, but surely growing cool due to the lack of power.

He is going to be a father...again. This is what they wanted. From the moment Scully told him she was pregnant, he couldn’t help but be excited by the changes in Scully’s body and savor every moment of this pregnancy with her.

As he moves the sponge around to the front of her abdomen, he feels the taut skin contract against his touch as Scully lets out another pained moan, using both hands to grab onto the railing of the shower. Mulder drops the sponge, now forgotten as he moves to support Scully’s weight.

“Mmmm,” Scully moans against him before taking several breaths. “Ten minutes,” she mumbles. As the seconds pass by and the contraction passes, Scully straightens as she turns into Mulder, startling slightly as her tummy brushes into his erection. Just the sight of her always causes him to stand at attention. Scully can’t help but feel for Mulder. Starting now, they would be on at least a six-week break from regular intercourse.

As the water continues to pour over them both, Scully looks up to meet Mulder’s gaze as she takes him into her hands, starting slow before picking up the pace in an effort to bring him to a much-needed release.

“Oh, Scully…” he murmured. “Is this...a...a good idea?”

Keeping his grip on Scully’s hips, he closes his eyes and throws his head back.

Scully slowly eases herself down onto her knees, relishing the feel of the weight shifting from her lower back.

In one fluid motion, Scully brings the tip of Mulder’s cock in contact with her lips and she takes a moment to tease the head with her teeth before her tongue works it’s magic, savoring the taste of him.

“Oooohhh,” Mulder moans.

Mulder stiffens. It doesn’t take long before he can feel his release building. Scully picks up the pace, quickly moving back and forth.

“Oh, God…Scully, where did you...ohhh!” He screams as he spills his seed inside Scully’s mouth.

She pulls back as she swallows, enjoying the milky taste of him.

It only takes a moment of euphoria before Mulder is grounded, realizing Scully is struggling to stand and he quickly moves to help her up. Her strawberry hair is fanned over her chest, slick against her wet skin. That’s when he notices a creamy sustenance pooling at her nipples as a result of her own excitement. He read that secretion of colostrum was normal during arousal late in pregnancy and after birth before the breast milk came in during the months of breastfeeding.

Scully watches him for a moment before following his gaze before emitting a small gasp as he moves his lips over her nipple. She closes her eyes and releases a moan of contentment. The moment is short lived as she feels another contraction building in her lower back before rippling across her abdomen.

“Oooh, God,” she winces, squeezing her eyes closed.

Mulder catches her before she’s able to slip and he realizes the contractions are getting closer together, fast. “I don’t think she’s going to wait much longer, let's get out of here before one of us slips and falls.”

Once Scully catches her breath, she mutters, “Relax, Mulder, she’s not going to drop into the shower.”

-----

They spend the next few hours walking around inside as much as the width of four walls would allow. The baby hasn’t even been born yet and Scully already feels cooped up inside their unremarkable home. Scully sits on the edge of the day bed in the living room, wearing nothing but an over-sized shirt. The fire and multitude of candles in the room being the only light illuminating the darkness. The snowfall has since ceased and the sun set hours ago.

Scully braces herself against the mattress, using her palms to support her weight against it as she takes several shallow breaths. She hears Mulder in the kitchen as she breathes through another contraction, suddenly fighting the urge to push.

“Oooooohhhh,” she cries out.

Mulder is there in an instant, placing a bucket of cold water at her side before he reaches out to her with a damp towel and gently presses it against her forehead.

“Four minutes,” she gasps. “I don’t think it will be long now, Mulder.”

He nods as he examines her worried features, helpless as he watches her in pain. Scully opens her eyes and seems to take notice. Taking the towel from him, she offers, “it’s all perfectly normal, Mulder...it’s just...I’d hoped we’d be in a hospital this time. I wanted doctors, nurses, electricity and dammit, the epidural,” she whimpers.

“Since when has anything gone as planned in our lives, Scully?” He offers a small smile.

Scully takes another breath as Mulder moves to situate himself behind her. He rubs her back as she sways just slightly.

“This isn’t exactly what I imagined when I said I wanted to get away from the darkness, Mulder,” she mutters.

Mulder chuckles slightly, doing his best not to let Scully be privy to how anxious he felt.

“And I remember telling you the darkness always finds you and I,” he says as he moves back to sit in front of her.

As her face contorts, he can tell another contraction is building, each one slowly bringing them closer and closer to their daughter.

“Oh, God...”

“Breathe,” he whispers. Scully does her best to fight the urge to push and, in a lame attempt to distract her, he places his hand on her abdomen.

“She’s our light in the darkness, Scully,” he whispers. “A guiding beacon. Tangible proof that we always seem to find our way back to each other.”

Scully looks back at Mulder, tears welling in her eyes unrelated to the pain. Their unspoken language telling him she believed the same thing.

The pressure in her cervix has her in doctor mode almost immediately. “Mulder, I’m feeling so much pressure.I feel like I need to push...I need you to check and see if she's close,” she says methodically. “Once I'm fully dilated, I can push,” she explains.

Mulder looks at her, his eyes wide.

“Mulder, I need you to see how far dilated I am,” she instructs as Mulder gives her a confused glance. He’s white as a sheet, in full panic mode.

He must have been like that for some time as Scully’s frustrated voice slices right through his thoughts. “Mulder!”

“Okay,” he says apprehensively.

“When I am fully dilated, it should be the width of about four fingers,” she explains.

Mulder nods as he moves to inspect her lower half. As he does so, Scully lets out another low, primal moan. The contractions are growing closer and closer together at an alarming rate and are growing much longer in duration.

He does his best to hide his panicked expression. Layers of sweat have already formed at his brow.

“You’re at about 3 fingers, Scully.”

Scully curls forward as she pants and between pained breaths, she moans. “Ooooooh!”

“This is happening fast, I thought we had time,” Mulder says frantically before he recalls something he read in one of the books. This was Scully's second pregnancy and it was common for labor to progress quicker with each delivery.

“She’s your baby, Mulder,” she pants out. “Determined. Persistent. Despite the cruel world that awaits.”

Mulder manages to smile. “Ah, but you taught me the world wasn’t such a bad place,” he mused.

Scully shakes her head as she continues to pant. “My mom,” she says suddenly. “Call my mom. I told her I’d let her know when the baby comes,” she breathes.

“But she’s in San Diego for the holiday, right? It’s late--.”

“She won’t mind,” Scully insists before her face scrunches up in preparation for another contraction. “Do it, now !”

“Okay, okay,” Mulder rushes to the landline, his cell phone battery having just enough juice left to pull up his contact list and dial Maggie’s cell phone number. As he looks outside, he hopes and prays that the roads would be paved soon so they could get their electrical back. He curses himself for not thinking to charge his cell ahead of time. But Scully did have hers…

“Hello?” the familiar voice of Margaret Scully sounds through the line, startling Mulder from his thoughts.

“Mrs. Scully,” Mulder blurts out.

“Fox? What’s going on, it’s the middle of the night...did...Dana had the baby, didn’t she?” the older Scully gushes.

“No...not yet,” he fumbles before he continues. “But it’s coming soon,” he explains.

He hears a pause on the other end of the line before Maggie continues. “You’re not calling me on your cell...Fox,” Mulder hears her worrying. “You’re at home. Have you called the ambulance?”

Mulder closes his eyes as he hears Scully cry out. “Yes...we’re, we’re okay. Since Sc...Dana has been through this before, she’s confident we can do this ourselves. The roads are closed due to the snow and the power is out. But, I just wanted to let you know.”

He hears an audible gasp on the other line and Mulder knows Scully’s mother could hear her. He can’t begin to imagine the worry that must be plaguing her features. He is terrified. She must sense this because she continues in a cool, resolved tone of voice.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned about my daughter in these past few years, it’s to trust her judgment,” Maggie says with firm resolve.

“Of course, always,” Mulder replies, hoping he sounds more confident than he feels at the moment. “It’s saved me a thousand times over.”

“Good. Now, go help deliver my grandchild, Fox. I’ll try and get a flight out tomorrow -- permitted there are no delays.”

“ Mulder !!” Mulder startles at the urgency in Scully’s voice.

“OK, safe travels,” Mulder hangs up the phone and rushes back into the living area. Scully has since removed her over-sized shirt and is covered by a single bed sheet from the chest down.

Scully looks up as Mulder is beside her instantly and before she could even say it, he knew.

“It’s time.”

He nods quickly as he places several pillows behind her for additional support. “Tell me, tell me what I need to do, Scully.”

Scully shakes her head violently as she breathes. “We have the towels and swaddling. We don't need that right away. I just need you to catch her. Once she’s out, I need you to clean out her mouth and nose so she can breathe, and put her on my chest so I can keep her warm and regulate her body temperature.”

Mulder nods. He remembers learning some swaddling techniques in Lamaze, though he never got to put the skills to use the first time. There would be a lot of “firsts”, he realizes.

“Catch...yes, of course, I can do that,” he fumbles over his words.

Scully’s face starts to contort as she sits up and spreads her legs wide. “Ooooh, I need to push.”

Mulder rushes to the end of the bed and pulls the sheets back. He gasps at the sight he was robbed of the first time. “Scully...I...I can see her head,” he gushes.

“Ahhhhhhhrgh,” Scully cries out through a contraction while moving to press her hands against her perineum, feeling the warm head of their baby bulging against her palm.

They continue this technique several times along with Mulder’s encouragement. As Mulder does his best to soothe and coach his wife through each push, through each contraction, he takes several calming breaths. The air in the room is thick, accompanied by the roaring flames from the fireplace and he was visibly sweating. Whether from panic or the heat of the room, he wasn’t sure which.

“Come on, Scully. You can do this, we can do this,” he says assuringly, partially to himself as well. “Her head is almost out, we’re almost there.”

After another push, Scully falls back into the pillows stacked behind her, releasing another labored breath. She closes her eyes for a moment to gather herself, but Dr. Scully is all business once again. “I need you to…” she breathes out in a huff. “...Make sure the cord isn’t around her neck,” the words come out in a strained whisper.

Mulder looks down at the head of hair being pushed into the world from the cocoon of her mother’s body. “Okay, I got this, Scully...push!”

As Scully bears down, the head slips out causing Mulder to gasp in complete awe. “Oh my God, Scully, her head is out. She’s almost here,” his voice cracks as he cradles it between his palms.

Scully leans back and takes several steadying breaths against the pillows. The long strands of strawberry hair pulled back into a ponytail have managed to break free, coming glued to her clammy skin.

“Breathe, Scully….you can do this. Each push is bringing you closer to meeting our daughter.”

Scully is crying at the weight of it all, the pain, the fear, the stress and of course the prospect of finally meeting the tiny person she’d carried these past nine months. Once she gathers enough courage, their daughter slips out after a few final pushes.

“We have a daughter,” Mulder gushes as the tiny baby slips into his hands. He glances at his watch. 6:31AM. A Christmas miracle.

Scully panics for a moment at the sound of silence, but it is short lived as a piercing cry breaks through the darkness of the living room. Their unremarkable house becomes remarkable with the miracle of new life.

Mulder’s throat is tight with emotion as he brings the tiny pink being up into his arms for Scully to see. Their eyes meet and suddenly, all three of them are crying as Mulder delivers their tiny miracle onto Scully’s chest. The baby reaches, almost instinctively towards Scully, tiny arms managing to cleave to her neck.

“Oh. My. God. Hi, you’re really here,” Scully’s says, her voice breaking. “Welcome to the world, my sweet girl.”

Scully holds her close as Mulder, ever so gently, towels the squalling being down. He tosses the soiled towels into a bucket and gathers another fresh one, gently placing it over the baby in attempt to help keep her warm. The tiny pink face contorts as she adjusts to the newness of everything around her.

Keeping his hand on the baby, Mulder moves beside Scully, resting his head against her as they observe this second miracle together and he is thankful for every moment. Scully sniffles as she places a gentle kiss to the baby’s head as she settles against her skin.

“She’s perfect, Scully,” Mulder whispers gently against his ear, moving a hand to gently stroke the soft tufts of dark hair on her tiny head. Scully bites her lip as more tears threaten to spill over.

“What are we gonna name her?” he asks, eliciting a sudden deja vu from Scully. She’s filled with a mix of emotions as she replays the memory in her head. They had had this before and not long after, Mulder had to run for his life. ‘ Please God, let us be able to keep her safe .’

“Scully,” Mulder’s voice pulls her back to the present.

She looks from Mulder down to the tiny baby on her chest. “Umm, well. I know we haven’t really be able to settle on anything and we agreed not to name her after anyone this time, but I was thinking about the name Holly. Holly Joy.”

Mulder’s eyes fill with tears as he looks down at their tiny daughter. “Holly. How about that, baby?”

Holly opens her mouth wide in response.

“I think she likes it,” Mulder says as he gently places a kiss to Scully’s temple. A sudden light fills the room, the sun making its descent into the sky. “Perfect for a Christmas baby.”

“Mulder,” she says, once again breaking through his reverie. “I need to deliver the placenta.” Once again, Mulder is white as a sheet and Scully can’t help but smile. “It’s okay, Mulder. Think of it as her life support system. We don’t need to cut the cord just yet, the longer we wait it’s actually better for her, but if I don’t deliver the placenta, I could hemorrhage.”

Mulder nods hurriedly as he awkwardly manages to get to work, his gaze alternating between Scully with the baby to the job at hand. Gently, he begins to palpitate her abdomen and it’s then he begins the feel the tremors from beneath.

He looks up at Scully who is whispering gently to the bundle on her chest and is reminded of the so brief a time when William was still with them when Scully had become a mother. Time seemed to cease in these moments, reminding him of the fragility of life and everything important in it.

“Scully,” he felt himself whisper in a daze.

Scully slowly pulls her attention away from the small being who is now dozing at her chest.

“Ugh...these contractions,” he starts

“Completely normal, Mulder as the placenta expels itself.”

A few minutes later, with the placenta delivered and wrapped off to the side, Mulder moves beside Scully who know has the baby situated at her breast, the tiny mouth instinctively opens as she ever so gently helps her toward the nipple. She latches on and begins to suckle.

Mulder stares in awe and he catches Scully's gaze as she smiles back at him. A smile so wide, something he hasn't seen in years -- seven years, to be exact -- bringing him back to a similar moment in time.

With a tentative hand, Mulder touches the tint head and strokes the downy head.

Scully's face falls for just a moment, undoubtedly recalling the same memory.

“What is it, Scully?”

She stares down at their daughter, sucking contentedly.

“I just hope that wherever William is right now, that he's safe and loved.”

Mulder nods as he remembers his words. “I think our son left us both with an emptiness that can't be filled,” he explains. “But we have to be able to move forward, for her,” he nods towards the bundle in Scully's arms.“And, someday, when the time is right, hold onto the hope that we'll see him again.”

Scully nods as tears spill over her cheeks, her heart thudding in her chest as she experiences every possible emotion at once.

As the sun ascends into the sky, illuminating their living room, the once crackling fire simultaneously turned into crackling embers. The sound of tires against gravel is heard in the distance as Mulder heaves a heavy sigh of relief.

“Merry Christmas, Mulder,” Scully says.

Mulder turns towards her, contentment flooding through his chest at the sight of them both and leans forward as Scully presses her lips against his.

Their second miracle unlatches from Scully's breast and lets out a mewl between them.

Startled, they both pull away at the sound.

Mulder chuckles as Scully smiles and lifts the baby towards him. Taking the small bundle into his arms he starts to rock her gently, knowing the time they had just the three of them was coming closer and closer to an end.

“Hey there,” he croons. “I can’t wait to tell you about Sasquatch and Mothmen. I will drive you just as insane with my theories of genius.”

Scully snorts in response as she watches them both, her heart heavy in her chest.

The tiny baby wrinkles her face, closing her baby blues as she lets out a cry.

“See, she’s ready to attack my bulletproof theories of genius already.”

And although their son left both their hearts with an emptiness, those wounds were finally beginning to heal at the prospect of having again what was once taken from them. They were filled with a new purpose and hope at the chance for happiness and faith that their first child would one day find his way back to them.

END

#xfilesiwtb #mulderandscully #babyscullymulder #christmas

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seriouslyhooked · 5 years

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The Bones

Available on FF Here and AO3 Here.

A/N: This is a future CS oneshot based off of Maren Morris’ song ‘The Bones,’ where Emma is feeling worn down and worn out with all of her responsibilities as both the sheriff and as a Mom. The Black Fairy’s curse has been lifted for a long time, but between the kids and the town there’s a ton to do. This drabble is a little snapshot into Emma and Killian’s continuing love, and because I have taken a step back from my mixtape so long, I’ve made it extra cutesy. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!

Happily ever after...

It was the most incredible dream that anyone could want or strive for. To some more cynical people it may be an overly cliché phrase, one tied up in cheesy romance movies or boring formulaic stories, but the end result of a happily ever after wasn’t the same for everybody. Each one was unique and entirely its own, but at the end of the day, reaching that level of contentment was the universal goal. Who didn’t want to be happy? Who didn’t want to have a life that was worth living and that was filled with joy? No one, that’s who.

But even if Emma had achieved that fairytale state, and even though she’d defeated every villain that stood in her way and had built a truly wonderful life for herself and her family, the reality was that happily ever after wasn’t just this easy, constant thing. It was still something that she worked hard for each and every day. Throughout the years life never really seemed to slow down, and though the Black Fairy’s curse had been overcome what felt like forever ago, Emma always had new tasks to conquer and mountains to climb. With three young kids at home, an adventurous eldest son, two still overly involved parents, and an over-the-top town of nosey neighbors, Emma’s life was constantly moving a hundred miles an hour. Rest and reprieve were few and far between, and some days it felt like she might just cave under the pressure, but she never did and the reason for that was simple. Despite the fact that Emma had so much on her plate, she also had the best partner in all of this, Killian, and there was never a day that went by when Emma didn’t feel just how lucky she was and where she didn’t fall just a little bit more in love with her husband.

Killian’s presence was a constant safe harbor in Emma’s world, and where she was prone to worry and unease, he always seemed to weather every storm without flinching. His faith had never been shaken in all their years together, and though at first he was unsure when new challenges came their way, Killian was always ready to learn and lend a helping hand. In town he was her right hand man, aiding her whenever she needed it and becoming a central anchor for all of Storybrooke, and in their home he was her other half. The kids adored him, but it wasn’t because he was more lax or unassuming as a parent. No, Killian always made sure to compliment Emma. They were a team together, both good cops and bad cops, and no matter what the situation, they were always guided by love. Emma knew her younger children, Hope, Leia, and Liam, could sense that, and she knew Henry, though he may be farther from home, had grown to love Killian too and to see him as a friend and more fatherly figure. For that, and for everything else, Emma was truly grateful. Still some days – days like today – when things were already stressful at the precinct, and when she was dreading the impending scramble to get the kids to everything this afternoon, Emma still felt like it might be nice to have a bit more peace in this perfect little life they led.

“I really wish I had more of this report done,” Emma mused aloud, filling the space between her and her father with a tone of frustration. “I’ve been working on it for days. I feel like it’ll never be finished.”

“Emma, I know you want to get past it, but it’s not due for another month. And even then I think the town will be fine if it’s delayed. It’s time consuming yes, but for an annual report it’s pretty standard. We broke up some dwarf fights, found some wayward animals, and pulled a few of our more reckless neighbors over for speeding. It was hardly a year of crime and punishment.”

Emma chuckled at her Dad’s assessment of their jobs in Storybrooke, and she knew he wasn’t wrong. The things they were tackling these days were almost always small fry, but while there might not be any career criminals lurking around town, this was still a place where everyone seemed capable of getting into at least a little bit of mischief. There was always enough to keep her and her father busy, and when it came time to list out everything and reflect on a full year’s worth of work Emma couldn’t help but feel daunted by the task.

“Do you ever wish you could press the pause button?” Emma asked, sitting back in her chair and avoiding the paperwork that was numbing her brain and draining all of her precious energy.

“Never,” her Dad said, surprising Emma, and then she thought about it and she realized why her Dad might be averse to such thinking. He and the rest of this town had been stuck on pause for more than twenty years once upon a time, so no, he probably wasn’t very eager to subject himself to any more lost time ever again.

“I don’t mean long term. I understand the value of taking in every moment – truly I do. But still, sometimes I think of what a day away would mean. No work, no responsibilities. Just… peace and quiet.”

“And this peace and quiet, is it the solitary kind, or do you get to bring guests?”

Emma laughed, knowing that her Dad wasn’t a big fan of being alone. He loved being surrounded by people, and she was hard pressed to think of a time when either of her parents ever had time apart aside from during the workday. But now that he said it, Emma realized her own fantasy of relaxation wouldn’t involve being totally alone. No, if anything what she really craved was time alone with her husband, and though she’d miss the kids, she secretly wished for a chance to have that when her and Killian’s stolen moments had become all too rare.

“On second thought, don’t tell me. You’ve got that look that tells me you’re thinking of a certain ex-pirate and I don’t need to know.”

Emma laughed again at her Dad’s antics, but just as she was about to respond her radio sounded.

“Sherriff station this is dispatch. We’ve got a call of a disabled vehicle at the town line. Requesting response – over.”

“You got this?” Emma asked, her eyes casting down towards her paper work again, a sigh slipping free as she thought of how much she didn’t want to do this.

“Actually would you mind? I…” her Dad trailed off as he looked at his phone. After a few seconds of trying and failing to come up with an excuse he looked back up to Emma and immediately she could tell he was trying to hide something. That was interesting, and also very unlike him. She felt her brow lift slightly in question, but stayed quiet so as to force him to finish his thought. “I just think it’d be better if you went.”

“Okay,” Emma replied, slowing down the word to show that she was on to him. “I guess I’ve got it.”

Immediately her Dad looked relieved, and Emma’s curiosity only grew. She replied to dispatch saying she was on her way, and with a final goodbye to her Dad, she set off, knowing that when she got back she was absolutely going to investigate what the hell was going on with him. She moved automatically to where the emergency services operator had said the broken down car was, but when she got there she was shocked at who was waiting for her.

“Killian? Mom? Is everything all right? What’s wrong? Are you guys hurt?”

Emma asked the series of questions as she hopped out of the squad car she’d been driving, and for a moment she was truly concerned. Why would dispatch have been alerted if this wasn’t an emergency? Emma looked at two of the people who meant the most to her in the world, and she was seriously perplexed. They seemed, at first glance, to be totally fine, thank God, but after a moment she was even more confused by the look of pure happiness on her Mom’s face and the slight bashfulness coming from her husband.

“Oh Emma, you’re here. We’re fine, honey. Totally okay.”

“The kids?” Emma asked, looking to Killian who assured her as much with the sincere depth of his blue gaze as with his words.

“Safe and sound. Hope and Leia are at school and Liam is at day care. Last I saw he was teetering towards the clay dough.”

“Play dough,” Emma and her mother said at the same time and Emma couldn’t help but smile, both at the fact that her son was getting to play with his favorite toy of the moment and that her husband was completely incapable of remembering it’s name.

“Right. Either way, the little ones are all set.”

“And you guys are evidently okay,” Emma said, sneaking a glance at the mini-van (yes, mini-van) that Killian had adamantly demanded that they buy once he really figured out how to drive a car. “Same with the car. Which begs the question: why the call?”

“Because-,” Killian was evidently planning to say something, but her Mom beat him to the punch as she threw out the words in a hyper-fast jumble.

“Because your husband has planned a romantic weekend just for you two! Isn’t that the sweetest?”

Emma blinked, trying to understand what her mother had said for a moment. She honestly couldn’t believe it. Could this be true? Could they really be taking a trip just the two of them, and so precisely when she’d been craving exactly that. All it took was one more look at Killian to know her mother was telling the truth, and though she could tell that he was a bit miffed at not getting the chance to tell her himself, Emma could also see that he was glad for her Mother’s easy acceptance and affection for the two of them.

“A trip? But I’m working. I’m on until five, and then on call this weekend,” Emma said, her voice giving away her disappointment at the realization that this beautiful gesture might not come true.

“Nonsense,” her mother said, pulling Emma’s bag from the sheriff’s car and then tossing it into the minivan. “Storybrooke is more than capable of surviving one weekend without the savior. Heck, we haven’t needed one in ages. Your father and I will run point here. We’re on grandkid duty and town duty, so all you two have to think about is… well, whatever you want!”

The cheery tone of Snow’s words hardly matched the sneaky move she made to swipe the cruiser keys from Emma, and Emma cried out a bit at the show of petty theft. But it was hard to stay angry when it finally began to sink in that she was getting exactly what she wanted, and that it was all the work of her perfectly thoughtful husband.

“You’re sure it isn’t too much, Mom?” Emma asked, though her heart would be practically crushed if her Mom changed her mind now.

“Of course not. We’ve had this planned for weeks, and Killian’s taken care of everything,” Snow said as she gave Emma a quick hug before heading to the cruiser. “You two have fun, and don’t even think about coming home early. We got this.”

Emma watched as her Mom drove off then, making a 180 before driving into town. She found herself shaking her head as she watched the taillights of the cruiser drive away, but all thoughts of the car were gone when Killian approached, wrapping his arms around her. She immediately relaxed, leaning into him and savoring his warmth and the faint smell of leather and rum that still hung around him all these years even though he had largely changed his old sea captain ways.

“Tell me, love, are you very angry at my temporary deception?”

“No,” Emma said, truly meaning it. “But why the big show?” Before he could even respond, Emma filled in the likely reason. “Let me guess, my mother.”

“Aye, Swan. Though to be fair I did try to keep you home this morning,” he replied, his words a low rumble that washed across her skin, making her shiver and immediately sparking that all too familiar need and want low in her belly.

“You try to keep me home every morning,” Emma replied, her smile unstoppable when Killian’s eyes lit up with heat.

“And yet you resist me, even though I do everything in my power to persuade you.”

Emma swallowed harshly, her mind ablaze with exactly the kind of dirty and delicious things her husband tried each morning before the kids were awake or their day ever began. Her thoughts raced, covering everything from the feel of his hands on her body to the sinful mastery of his mouth. All these years later and Emma was still just as wrapped up in Killian, and honestly she deserved a damn medal for being anything even close to productive when he was around distracting her.

“What did you have to do to get my parents so firmly on board?” she asked, trying to tamp down the gravel in her voice that came every time she let her lust get the best of her.

“Oh that was easy,” Killian said as he ran his hook lightly across her hip, finding a piece of bared skin where her shirt had unknowingly risen up. The cool metal on her skin sent bursts of sensation coursing through her, and Emma was like a moth to a flame, almost missing the giant statement he made next. “I just promised them another grandchild.”

“You what?!” Emma yelled, and the reaction prompted a genuine laugh from Killian that shook not only through him, but her as well.

“Only teasing, Swan,” Killian said, and though Emma shoved at his chest, it was playful and more an attempt to hide that little bit of want in her that thought another baby might be perfect despite all the craziness that already filled their lives. “It wasn’t difficult to get them to help me out. They could see as well as I that you’ve taken on too much. You deserve a break, Emma, and that’s exactly what we’ll have this weekend.”

His determination that she needed to relax made Emma’s heart melt. It was so sweet and impossibly sexy that he always prioritized her like this. There was never any room for doubt about Killian’s drives or motivations. She and the kids meant everything to him, and it was for that reason that Emma knew they’d always have a love for each other that was strong and pure and right. The bones of their lives together – their foundations of love – were strong and resilient. There was no breaking down what they had built, and no matter what storms came or what new trouble would emerge, they always had each other and the love that they shared. Just the thought of how miraculous that was brought happy tears to Emma’s eyes, but she fought them off as she asked him a critical question.

“How did you know?” Emma whispered, her eyes taking in his knowing look and the growing grin that appeared at her admitting that she needed this time away.

“Because I love you with everything I am,” Killian professed easily. “Because my heart beats in time with yours, and because what you want, I want too. I love our life and our family, but it’s been too long since I had my Swan to myself, and I damn well intend to make the most of it.”

“Oh yeah?” Emma asked, angling up so her lips were a breath away from his. “So what are you waiting for, Captain? Take me.”

His lips crashed down to hers as his arms locked tighter around her, pulling her close. Emma arched into him, her thoughts all dancing away as she was consumed by the kiss. It was real and raw and demanding, so much so that Emma forgot herself and where they were. She was moments away from pushing for more, but as per usual, Killian remained the one with a more level head. He pulled back, his eyes filled with passion, but he restrained himself far more than she could, his thumb running across her lips as his hand held her cheek.

“My days of stealing and pillaging are long gone, my love. You know that as well as I do.”

“I do,” Emma replied. “So it’s a good thing I’m yours, totally and completely.”

That was all she needed to say to get her husband moving. One moment her feet were firmly on the ground, the next he’d swept her up and was buckling her into the car as if she were incapable of doing it herself. Emma giggled at the very notion of her being unfit to fasten a seatbelt, but as her laughter quieted, she couldn’t help but reach out to Killian’s jacket, pulling him closer again for another kiss.

“I love you, Killian. Forever and always,” she whispered when they broke apart again. “Now let’s go get to that peace and quiet, okay?”

With one last kiss, and a promise that while they’d find peace they might not find much quiet, Killian got in the driver’s seat and they set forth towards a weekend filled with exactly what they wanted. And the best part of it all was that when they were back, things remained just as wonderful and magical as they had always been. For that’s the way things were when you found a happily ever after, and Emma for one couldn’t be happier about it.

………………

We're in the homestretch of the hard times We took a hard left, but we're alright Yeah, life sure can try to put love through it, but We built this right, so nothing's ever gonna move it When the bones are good, the rest don't matter Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter Let it rain 'cause you and I remain the same When there ain't a crack in the foundation Baby, I know any storm we're facing Will blow right over while we stay put The house don't fall when the bones are good Call it dumb luck, but baby, you and I Can't even mess it up, although we both try No, it don't always go the way we planned it But the wolves came and went and we're still standing When the bones are good, the rest don't matter Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter Let it rain 'cause you and I remain the same When there ain't a crack in the foundation Baby, I know any storm we're facing Will blow right over while we stay put The house don't fall when my bones are good When the bones are good Bones are good, the rest, the rest don't matter (Baby, it don't really matter) Paint could peel, the glass could shatter (Oh, the glass, oh, the glass could shatter) Bones are good, the rest, the rest don't matter (Ooh) Paint could peel, the glass, the glass could shatter (Yeah) When the bones are good, the rest don't matter Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter Let it rain (Let it rain, let it rain) 'Cause you and I remain the same (Woo) When there ain't a crack in the foundation (Woo) Baby, I know any storm we're facing Will blow right over while we stay put The house don't fall when the bones are good Yeah, ooh

Post-Note: Hi all! So it has been such an incredibly long time since I posted a mixtape and I knew it would take a really special song to get my muse to cooperate again. This is that song, and if you haven’t checked it out you absolutely should. It’s lovely and it reminds me so much of CS. I’ve also been missing the show a lot lately, and I find myself wishing we had more moments like this all the time. But in the absence of cannon, I’ll step in and write fluff. Stay tuned for more mixtape coming later this summer, and thanks so much to all of you for reading! Hope you have a great rest of your week!

#captain swan #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #cs fic #cs fluff #cs cuteness #cs ff #emma swan #killian jones #snow and charming #captain swan mixtape #cs mixtape #future cs #cs with kids #the bones

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winstontabak · 3 years

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Why Bother With Breakfast?

They say ignorance is bliss but there are occasions when ignorance of individuals makes me sad. One instance is when people do not think breakfast is essential and chose not to add it within their routine. It is said that certain should eat such as a king for breakfast, queen for lunch and popper for dinner. Unfortunately for many individuals, for reasons of their own, dinner is the greatest meal and breakfast is the first anyone to be skipped. I have always thought that to a sizable degree, you are what you eat so I think food plays an essential part in one's life,Honest Oats especially the quality of life. That's among reasons why I take time and effort never to just prepare good food but in addition to publish a whole lot about it so I spread some awareness in whatever little way I can. Reason I say it makes me sad is basically because the results of skipping breakfast might not be seen immediately. But over time one will have to face the consequences. When some of my friends say they do not have breakfast I'm bad as they are not doing any good because of their body. In this informative article I really hope to summarise what I have read and understood in regards to the importance of breakfast and also some simple yet quick breakfast ideas to make it easier for you.

Let's look at the impact of having or not having breakfast to better understand just why work with breakfast

1. Weight management - many think that skipping breakfast so they really reduce calories would make them lose weight. It cannot be farther from the truth. Once we sleep during the night, our body decreases, so metabolism slows down. Once we have something to consume each day, we're effectively giving the signal to the human body that the afternoon has begun and metabolism should increase. However, individuals who skip breakfast deny their body with this signal so they feel sluggish because they continue until lunch with slow metabolism. When one feels sluggish and tired, one tends to work less, physically and subsequently burns fewer calories. Also, when the human body is deprived of food for a long while, cravings begin, especially sugar cravings. That is when we feel just like snacking on a chocolate bar or even a big fat muffin or cakes etc. This effectively escalates the calorie consumption. In summary, a slow metabolism, tired body burning lesser calories and high calorie/fat snacks effectively contribute to weight gain and not weight loss. We all keep hearing in regards to the numerous health problems that will have being overweight, especially danger of heart diseases and skipping breakfast can potentially cause being overweight.

2. Lowered cognition - studies have said to have shown that children who've breakfast fare better in problem solving than children who skip breakfast.

Remember that it's not merely the remaining portion of the body that gets energy from digested food but in addition the brain. Once the brain is low on energy, one cannot expect it to operate effectively. Some studies also reveal that children who skip breakfast are prone to have problems concentrating and also suffer with memory when compared with children who've breakfast.

3. Type 2 diabetes - skipping breakfast is said to boost the chance of developing type 2 diabetes. If one is diabetic, it is much more important to help keep sugar fluctuations low which means the human body must be fed at regular intervals. Diabetes is a state of the human body that's not particularly easy to handle as the complications of diabetes can be extremely serious from losing eye sight, heart attacks, having to be amputated. If one is overweight, the complications get even worse. The aftereffect of diabetes might not be known immediately but the human body is likely to be deteriorating gradually. Keeping the blood sugar levels in order is absolutely important while coping with diabetes and skipping meals, that too breakfast is likely to be highly counter-productive for diabetes management.

4. Menstrual irregularities - some studies are said to have shown that girls/women who skip breakfast will probably have irregular periods.

5. Poor mood - low glucose is believed to lead to irritability fatigue and tiredness. Some studies show that people who skip breakfast snap at others more easily.

If you ask me the chance of weight gain (and all associated health problems as a result of being overweight) and danger of diabetes alone are enough to make me run for my breakfast. In regards to children, it is essential to create healthy eating habit at an early stage and for that, having breakfast is important. With children getting less and less playtime and exercise nowadays it is much more important for them to eat healthy. There's no point in sending them to school to learn stuff if they can't concentrate and as parents, we need to give them adequate support to enable them to learn. Hopefully, by now you have reached least contemplating having breakfast.

I originate from a tamil Brahmin family and Brahmin meal plan is very well-known because many of them have a huge mid morning meal, later in the afternoon a tiffin or lighter meal is consumed while dinner sometimes is liquid intake or fruits or some cereals, if not curd rice. Reason I mention that's that while some people criticise them for having a heavy meal that early, what current day dieticians are advising is more or less similar - have a huge breakfast. The meal would normally include rice (carbohydrates), dal (protein), vegetables (vitamins and minerals) and ghee (fat) and unless I acquired everything wrong, this is exactly what takes its balanced meal. At today and age, we barely have enough time to make every one of these before we walk from the doors to work and neither would our working hours allow such a schedule. So, what are some quick breakfast solutions you might try.

1. Oats porridge - boil a few tablespoon of oats in water until it is performed (regular oats surpasses quick cooking and honestly does not take much time for you to cook anyway). If you want it sweet, add some milk, sugar or honey or some other sensible sweetener of choice. If you want savory, you can add some buttermilk and little salt and consume. In any event, have a banana or some other fruit of choice.

2. Breakfast shake - milk shake or smoothies make great breakfast. Blend a banana sweetened with date syrup or some other natural sweetener (avoid synthetic sweetners or refined sugar) along with some milk. Top with crushed nuts and drink. Adding oat milk rather than cow's milk can reduce calories and fat and also lend to fibre intake. You may try the exact same with apple too. You might also make use of a spoon of wheat germ as topping.

3. Muffin - having a low sugar, bran loaded muffin is a good method to fill you up for the morning. Top a healthier muffin with berries and eat and also a glass of juice. Lots of healthy muffin recipes are available, try making enough on the weekend itself. I'd say it probably takes about 10 minutes to really make the muffin batter and about 20 minutes baking time and that might be your breakfast sorted for a week!

4. Breakfast sandwich - you will make these with leftovers too. Make use of chapattis or pita breads or wholemeal breads and stuff them with remaining sabjis or any vegetable of choice. Over the weekends I have a tendency to quickly sauté grated courgette, spice it with cumin, chilly and coriander powder and create a grilled wholemeal sandwich. This helps me get among my five a day vegetables as well. You can test the exact same with paneer or grated cauliflower, cabbage etc. Peanut butter sandwich is an excellent option as well.

5. Toast and beans - beans also contribute to one of five a day. This method is okay when you yourself have the time for you to sit down and have your breakfast.

6. Reduced fat flapjacks - I make my own, personal flapjack which really is a bit more chewy than regular ones. I use very little brown sugar but add dry fruits and dates syrup to sweeten instead. Believe it or not small portions of the oats rich very little added fat flapjacks really are a great begin to the day.

7. Multi grain porridge - back home it is common practice for moms to make a multi grain powder. It usually consists or wheat, barley, finger millet, sago, almonds and cardamom for flavouring. One can add handful of heaped spoons with this to water, bring to boil while stirring, add jaggery or sugar and milk.

8. Healthy pancakes - make your own pancake mix by the addition of either the above mentioned porridge powder or wholewheat powder along with some millet powder. Add mashed banana or pureed apple or blueberries, if you want it sweeter, add syrup like dates syrup to make a batter. I have a tendency to skip the baking powder or soda bicarb as it inhibits nutrition absorption. You may add little all purpose flour to ease flipping the pancake. Pour the batter on hot tava and drizzle oil/butter/ghee. Cook both parties, eat.

9. Bread omelet - beat an egg and add salt and required vegetables like tomato, onion, mushroom etc. and make an omelet. Grab handful of toasts and a glass of juice. Having protein earlier in the afternoon is reported to be much better than later.

10. Museli - combine wheat flakes, oat flakes, rye flakes, barley flakes with some dry fruits like raisins, currants, seeds like pumpkin seed. Serve with seasonal fruits and milk.

11. Quick French toast - cut handful of bread slices into four triangles each. Dip them in beaten egg (season it as needed) and cook on hot tava. Drizzle some oil or butter while cooking. Cook both parties and that is clearly a good breakfast on the go.

12. Millet gruel - Millet is generally considered poor man's food but the fact is many individuals who work hard physically have ragi gruel often for breakfast. It keeps them full for long although they are involved with intense work. One way of preparing is comparable to multi grain porridge mentioned previously. Another method is to mix it with some buttermilk and allow it to sit overnight. Next morning add little water if needed and cook while stirring, until it is shiny. Season with salt and drink. Millets are low fat protein sources.

I really hope a minumum of one or two of the above options suit your taste and timing. On weekends it's possible to indulge a bit more by making cooked breakfast and several such recipes are available on my blog as well.

Make healthy choices for your life, remember, prevention surpasses cure. One can skip any meal, although not breakfast regardless of whether one is hungry or not. For another meals you can go according to your system, eat when hungry but breakfast can be an exception. Don't watch for the'right'day to start having breakfast, there is no bad time to do the best thing. Live long, live happy, live healthy!

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mymixofmuses · 4 years

Text

Pen Pals

(A roleplay between my Audrey muse and @red-rad-and-rod .) It had been about a week since Audrey met J.C. and his siblings. It was kind of hard to miss them, given Lola seemingly bee-lined towards them during their stay at the park. She was grateful for her pooch’s detour, however, as the three proved to be good company (as did their father, who they had lunch with.) She wasn’t sure how long she should wait before emailing J.C., but figured a week was a long enough wait to not seem overly eager. She did originally intend to only send pictures of the dogs to show his sisters, but now she wanted to talk to him too. She decided to start slow, with a simple email. This is J.C., right? It’s Audrey, from Michigan. Here are some pictures of Lola in some flowers. She wasn’t supposed to be in them, but I just had to snap a few pictures before I got her out! Let me know how you three like them! She hoped asking for a response would lead the way to them talking about more than dogs.

- Ping! Oh, thank goodness, something to actually respond to! Surfing through a seemingly never ending list of ads for things he didn’t need was starting to get tiresome. A few clicks later, J.C. found himself searching through his e-mail. Hmm…junk. Junk. E-mail from Audrey- wait. E-mail from Audrey? … Ah, right! That was who he met over in Michigan when he and the family were over in Michigan! Man…even though they had only hung out for a little bit, he missed her. Her beautiful smile, her cute giggle…sigh~ Snapping out of his little lovestruck trance, he went ahead and read through the message, snickering a bit as he got a glimpse of Lola being a goofball. A short while later (mainly after Syd and Kat stopped squealing over the little pup), he sent back a reply: Yyyyup, it is! At least, that’s what people have been calling me for 23 years… Ahaha, I kid, I kid. 😋 What a little goofball! She’s such a sweetie. Syd and Kat seem to think so too, given the fact that they’ve been fawning over her for the past fifteen minutes or so. And reignited the whole “Mum, Dad, let’s get a dog!” debate, but that’s to be expected. How have things been over by you? - Audrey wasn’t the type to live on her phone or computer, so it was a good thing she had written a note to herself to check her email later. Upon coming home that evening and checking her notebook of reminders, she brought up her email and took a look. She chuckled at J.C.’s response and promptly began typing a reply, pleased he wanted to chat. (Or was at least acting like he wanted to, in order to be polite.) Ohhh deeaarrr XD I hadn’t intended to start a debate. Could you please tell them I’m sorry? Anyway, things have been pretty ordinary over here. Weather is still pretty nice, so I’ve been taking Lola on longer walks. She got a little over excited today though and ran into someone’s garden, as you saw. I was sure to tell her no… after I stopped laughing and taking pictures! XD So, how have things been on your end? - After hitting send, J.C. had to think…did it sound like he seem interested? Did he sound bored? Should he have added more emojis? …Nah, maybe that would’ve been a bit excessive. Maybe a little immature…who knows, maybe Audrey would have thought that Syd or Kat took hold of his computer. Now came the waiting game. He would’ve done a bit more internet browsing, if he hadn’t have been dragged outside by Syd for a game of football. That was probably a more productive way to spend his time, anyway. No real need to worry. (…) Later on, now relaxing with a cup of tea, he went back on and found a reply. Haha, I will! They’ve been getting that for years, but I’m sure they’d appreciate the regards. Glad to see the weather’s manageable. Kind of makes me wish I was back there; right now, we’ve had a couple of gales come through. Nothing too bad, but having to be stuck inside for most of the day. Plus side, it’s supposed to clear up soon. Oooooh, Lola, what’s your mum going to do with you? 😂 Kind of reminds me of this time when Syd was a toddler…she’d done the same thing with our next-door neighbour’s back garden. I’ll have to send the picture in my next e-mail, but the end result was her being held (gently, of course) by her overall straps by our neighbour’s sheepdog! - Audrey discovered his reply the following morning. While she sent her reply early, it was likely the afternoon over where J.C. was. Wish you were here for the weather? Are you sure you don’t just want to see me? HA! I kid. I kid. We barely know each other. Aaaanywaaaaay… A sheepdog holding a toddler? That sounds both hilarious and adorable! You have GOT to send me that picture! Let’s just hope karma doesn’t come back to bite me. Mom and Dad recorded EVERYTHING when I was a kid. They have soooo many VHS tapes in the basement. Photo albums too. For a non-photogenic child, they sure loved taking pictures of me. - Why did time zones have to be a thing? He could respond at ten in the morning, and it’d only be five A.M. over by her…ah well. Upon reading Audrey’s response, he couldn’t help but blush a little. Okay, yeah, part of it was the weather, but part of it was because he wanted to see her. Weeeeell, that would be a major plus, if I’m being honest. …Does that sound creepy? Jeez, I hope it doesn’t; virtual communication’s tricky that way. 😓. If it did sound that way, I do apologize! Guess, ah…guess I should get on with the rest of this reply. Heheh… Don’t worry, little me wasn’t exactly the poster child for being photogenic, either. Guess it must be a parent thing…mine were the same way. I’ve made sure to bury one of the albums that has the MOST embarrassing ones as deeply as I can in storage, but somehow they keep finding it. Speaking of ‘embarrassing’ photos… Ask and ye shall receive~ Not going to lie, her face still cracks me up; sort of like she’s saying “Curses! Foiled again!”

- Audrey was pleasantly surprised to see that J.C. seemed to enjoy her company as well. Aw, really? You’re sweet~ <3 Don’t worry; no creepiness detected! Well, you know parents and their magic able-to-find-stuff powers. You could search for something for hours and they’ll point to it right in front of your face! That photo is somehow more adorable and hilarious than I thought it would be! She really was a scamp from the very beginning, wasn’t she? Anyway, if you’re interested, maybe I could tell you a bit about myself and vice-versa? Make sure I’m someone you want to see again? - Oh, good! This was off to a great start~ Phew! Good, good. Just want to make sure, y’know? True, true. Heck, you could try to send something that you don’t want seen to…I don’t know, Antarctica…and they’d still manage to find it. Haha, yeeeeah; once she started crawling, it was all downhill from there! Sure, why not? I think it’s better one-on-one as opposed to doing it in front of a group, like on the first day of school. That whole “what’s your name, what’s your major, one fun fact about yourself” spiel. How should we do this? Do you want to go first or should I? - Well, I suggested it, so I guess I’ll go first. Now let’s see… My full name is Audrey Anne Davis. I’m currently 24 years old and my birthday is March 27th. I’m a college graduate and I work as a personal trainer at a local gym. My hobbies include working out, cooking, listening to music, and dancing. Not sure what else to put so, uh, your turn! (P.S. Feel free to ask me anything!) - My turn it is, then. Soooo, let’s see…mine is Jean-Claude Henri Malone (née Bellerose), currently 23, aaaand my birthday’s August 23rd. Right now, I’m working on my bachelor’s (almost done, though!)…started in gen. studies, decided to do something with humanities. I do a bit of work at the student bookstore, aaaand my hobbies include listening to music, playing videogames, reading…aaaand I would say I enjoy a bit of footy every now and again. Aha, dancing, eh? Any specific training (e.g. ballet, hip hop, anything of that sort) or is it more like “put on some tunes and see where the music takes you”? (P.S. Likewise!) - I have to admit, I had to Google née and footy. XD Anyway, I learned to dance from my dad. He took some classes when he was a kid, but is mostly self taught. (He’s REALLY good!) I pretty much just go with the music. I know some specific dance moves, but I don’t really know how to do those fancy dances you’d do at a ball. What kind of books do you like to read? I’m not much of a reader myself, but I do listen to audio books on occasion. I’m not exactly the brightest bulb, so I try to stick to books that don’t have seven layers of meanings you have to analyze in order to understand and enjoy them. - Ah, yes, the “English to English” thing. If I find one of those sorts of dictionary, I’ll be sure to send it your way. XD Interesting! That’s how I tend to dance as well…I’ve been meaning to take one of those “ballroom dancing” classes, just for the heck of it, buuuut…dunno, haven’t had the time as of late. (Or a partner for that matter, but that was a different story.) Just kind of want it as some random skill to have under my belt. I’m not super picky- if something looks interesting, I’ll pick it up, read the first couple of chapters, see where it goes. Though I will say, audio books are a godsend…always good for plane or car rides, if you’re not the one driving. I totally feel you on that whole “analysis” thing; that used to throw me in secondary school so much. “The blue door is supposed to represent the main character’s feelings of sadness”…mmmmaaaaybe the author just really likes the colour blue? 🤔 Personally, I always like to recommend “Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (don’t worry, there is an English translation…and about 298 others, haha). There’s some analysis like that that could come with it, but not a ton. It’s one of those stories that doubles as a “children’s” story and one for adults, as well. - You never know when you’ll have to break into a waltz! I jotted down that title in my handy dandy notebook, so I should remember to look into it. (The act of writing things down helps me to remember. You should see how many notebooks I go through in a year! LOL) Speaking of children’s stories, have you ever read any Goosebumps books? I only read one as a kid and it really scared me, so I never read any more. I wonder if I could handle them now. The problem is my fight or flight response is just a fight response. If I get nervous, I might hit things out of reflex. I once accidentally broke my dad’s nose as a kid because he snuck up on me. I felt SO BAD. My mom couldn’t stop laughing though. She was actually recording when it happened, so that infamous family moment is on tape. - True, very true! 🤣 I have, actually! Read a few when I was a bit younger- my favourite had to be the ‘Night of the Living Dummy’ stories. They were pretty creepy, I have to admit…although I stumbled upon another series around the same time that, I argue, is quite creepier. I’m not sure if a series known as “Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids” made its way over to the states, but hoooo boy. It was made into a TV series as well…not much better in terms of toning down the creepiness. I used to say it makes Goosebumps look like Mother Goose! 😮 (Granted, I don’t think Goosebumps is supposed to be a series that scares you into good behaviour whereas G.T.F.G.K. sort of is, buuuut…still kind of has you going “WHAT did I just read?!”) Okay, just reading that made me cringe, ouch! Remind me to never spook you…or if there’s ever a time we’re over in the states for Halloween, remind me to not take you to a haunted house/scary movie. If it’s any consolation, there’s quite a bit of embarrassing footage of small me as well, haha. “Cowboy J.C.”, “Super J.C.”, tiny siblings/cousins spitting up on me, you name it. 😅 - It doesn’t sound familiar to me, but I was never on the lookout for such things. Scaring kids into behaving? Ick. I’m of the belief that you should influence a child with positivity. I don’t mean in a spoiling kind of way. I just think finding the cause of a problem is more important than punishing the child. And when it does come to punishments, never do something that can damage them in the long run. Don’t be too lenient though. It is important to learn that actions have consequences. There has to be a balance. Sorry for the ramble there. It’s just that the way children are treated is important to me and I do not censor myself with such things. I’ll be sure to remind you. I’m not a fan of scary things. Unless they’re a fun type of scary, like paper bats or those fuzzy spider decorations. We’ve only ever had really silly looking spider decorations at our house during Halloween because my mom’s arachnophobic. If they’re too realistic, she gets the heebie-jeebies. Speaking of embarrassing, I feel it only fair to you and Syd that I share a photo of my own.

Guess who. - Hey, that’s fair! And makes sense, too. My thing is just…kind of let them do their thing (to an extent) and experience the world, just guide them along the way, you know? If they’re being a little butt (or rather, standard kid who’s still learning) about something, tell them why they shouldn’t be in a way that they understand; cause and effect. Like yes, you may want to eat six ice lollies in a row, but if you do, you’ll get a stomachache. Kiddo knows from experience that stomachaches suck, so a compromise of one or two ice lollies is made. As you said, balance is key. Aaaah, arachnophobia. Guess I’ll have to tell Syd that if she wants to show your mum a cool spider she found to…well, not to. XD; Awww-ha-ha-ha-haaaw, caught red-handed! I guess since I’ve put Syd and you through it, I figure one of mine wouldn’t hurt, either:

Apparently, small me did not like the idea of a fork, haha. - I’m glad we have similar views on children. I think we’re going to get along juuuuuust fiiiiiiiine. (Don’t get me wrong. I won’t hold it against anyone if they aren’t good with kids. Just don’t be mean to them.) Awww, you’re adorable~ Hmm… This email is a little short. I’ll just add some random stuff about me here. I love plush animals and have a LOT of them. My favorite fruit is either strawberries or raspberries. I hate pickles, but I like cucumbers. I can do the splits. … I’m out of stuff to say. - Right? I mean, they’re people, too. Just…y’know, tiny. XD As long as you try, then that’s what counts. Eheheheh, I mean…kiiinda? 😅 This was one of the ones I could find that wasn’t completely embarrassing. I think Dad’s in possession of one of the ones that would made me melt into a puddle of shame. Hm, so’s this one. Guess I’ll follow suit? My favoruite fruits are probably apples and watermelon. I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue. I like those indoor trampoline parks, buuuut the last place you’ll catch me is in the foam block pit (of course, guess who loves to go in those). If I had to pick my top three favourite animals, I’d have to say either cats (big or small), dogs (same), ooooor elephants. - I can’t really think of much to say this time around, but I’ll leave you with this. Given your favorite animals, I’d say I can always rely on you to address the elephant in the room! - LOL! 🤣🤣🤣 Haha, that’s alright. Guess that means we’ll have more to talk about the next time around. I think?I hope? XD; - It was a few days later that Audrey took the time to really sit down and think of something to write. Sorry for the wait on this one. I wanted to actually have something to say this time. Before I forget though, did you guys remember to try Blue Moon ice cream while you were here? Anyway, I find it so odd to think about how, if it wasn’t for Lola, we might have never met. Well, maybe not never, given our dads work for the same company. We might not have met until much later, if not for Lola. How neat and silly is it that my dog found me a pen pal? Also, I was able to think up some more questions for you! What are some of your favorite animated movies? What about songs? Desserts? Oh! By the way, here’s a video of Daisy my mom took the other day. It’s amazing how high that little dog can jump when treats are involved. - Now, logically, J.C. knew that taking a few days to respond was no real issue. Perhaps Audrey had gotten preoccupied with other tasks. That was typical for a twenty-something nowadays (he should know, he was one). A small part of him, though, couldn’t help but feel as though she had lost interest in him. If he had, he wasn’t the kind of person to be bitter about it…maybe a bit upset, but…Audrey was her own person, she had the right to make her own decisions. When he got a reply a few days later, that fear had melted away…then again, a video of a little dog getting some serious air in the name of treats always helps. Hey, no worries! We did, actually. Interesting flavour! Kind of like cotton candy, but also kind of not. If “blue” itself can qualify as a flavour, I guess, that’s what I’d call it. Kind of bites that wer don’t have it over here. Guess that gives me a reason to go back to the States, LOL. Ooo, okay, let’s see…I’d have to say one of the more recent ones is Ernest & Celestine. When I was little, apparently, I used to watch My Neighbor Totoro at least once or twice a week. I don’t remember, though, if I had watched it in English or in Japanese with the subtitles on. Might have been the latter, I only know the song in Japanese (and that’s….probably the extent of my Japanese XD. I can’t translate it, but I can sing it, so there’s that!). Songs, I’m all over the place, so I can’t exactly list a specific one. Mum and Dad like the Beatles, and they grew on me, sooo I guess there’s them? Will have to get back to you on that one, haha. Dessert-wise…can’t go wrong with creme brulee, that’s for sure~ Hot fudge sundaes are a close second. To be honest, I’ll take any offerings when it comes to sweets. 😋 Ha! Man, she’s got some power there…imagine her trying to make slam dunks! …Granted…that’s….kind of hard to do without thumbs, but…you get what I mean. I think? I know, right? I’m not entirely sure what dogs think about, but can you imagine if she was actively/knowingly playing matchmaker? ‘yes, hello there other human, meet mine’. 🤣 Guess that makes it my turn for questions? Mine are kind of weird, but: What outdoor activity haven’t you tried, but would like to? What was the last song you sung along to? What’s your favorite type of day? (weather, temp, etc.) - Blue really is the best way to describe that flavor! Hard to imagine that ice cream as any other color. Then again, it might work in another color as long as it’s pastel. I think it’s pastel flavor. LOL Ernest & Celestine looks adorable! As for the other one… Honestly, it would probably have scared me as a kid. I think it’s the art style. Something about how big their mouths get, maybe. I don’t know… Nothing against the movie though! Just not my preference in style, you know?I’d say a few of my favorite animated movies are The Lion King, Lilo and Stitch, and the Emperor’s New Groove. I like to think New Groove is safe for any audience because no one dies; not even the villain.I like the Beatles as well! My music taste is varied. If something sounds good, I like it. Genre doesn’t really matter. Creme brulee? I’ve never had that. I do like custard though, so I imagine I would like it. And who doesn’t like hot fudge sundaes?! I love sweets as well! Yeah, I get it! Maybe we could get her a little basketball and hoop? She could carry the ball in her mouth! Her dribbling will be drool! XD I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what dogs are thinking. As for your questions, rock climbing might be fun? I’ve climbed indoor rock walls, but never the real thing. I honestly can’t remember the last song I sung along to. I kind of sing bits and pieces or hum when I listen to music, as opposed to full on singing along. Maybe I can go with the most recent song on my iPod? It was Fortune Teller by Maroon 5. I tend to find good things in any type of day, really. If I had to choose though, I’d say a sunny mid-spring day. The temperature would be right in the middle, not too hot, not too cold. Maybe the occasional cool breeze to help you feel alive, but enough sun that you don’t need a light jacket, but can wear one without burning up. Woof! That was a lot of typing! Maybe we could do an audio chat or something, one of these days? She hoped she wasn’t being too forward, but, seeing as they’ve spoken in person, she reasoned it wasn’t a big deal. - 😂😂😂 Eh, blue, pastel…close enough. Still tasty, regardless! 😋 Totally understandable! To each their own, right? Ooo, I might have to recommend New Groove to Kat. I’ve seen it a couple of times, but she hasn’t. I think anytime we’ve tried to settle down and watch it, something comes up (i.e., she’s going to a friend’s house, I had plans with a few of my friends, etc.). Lilo and Stitch is a pretty good one (def. one of Syd’s faves), and who DOESN’T like The Lion King? Can’t help but sing along with it, haha. Remind me to send you a recipe for some. It can be a little tricky, but it’s not like you have to have four or five things going at once. J.C. stopped typing for a couple minutes, trying to move his wrists around and get some of the building carpal tunnel aches to calm down a bit. Maybe Audrey had the right idea, switching over to audio calls… As for audio chat, I’m perfectly fine with that! Just want to let you know that I am about four to five hours ahead of your time zone (I believe that’s what it is? Daylight Savings is a weird concept…I guess for part of the year, it’s four and then the other part is five.). Whenever you’re feeling up to it. :) - Oh, right. Forgot about the time difference. Oops. LOL I tend to wake up at six in the morning and head to bed around ten at night. My work schedule isn’t a typical nine to five deal, being a personal trainer and all. I generally work when the client isn’t; so it’s usually in the mornings and evenings. I suppose the best time to catch me is early in the morning and midday, my time. Or on my days off, of course. Do you have an account on Discord? I figured we could do our chatting there. - Time-zones, mon amie; Une vraie douleur dans le cul…😩 Early morning, midday, and days off…duly noted! So that’d be afternoon to early evening here, I believe. Works out, though- my available times tend to be later in the day my time. I do- Name on there is OuiOuiJC#0714. If you see a profile picture that has a ferret in a beret, and they’re holding a baguette and glass of wine, that’s me. - Audrey couldn’t help but giggle at his username and profile picture. Rather than email him again, Audrey sent him a friend request from her Discord; AudreySugarSpice#1734. Her profile picture was a pink teddy bear. Guess who~ - Pink bear? Hm, unless one of his sisters had secretly made a Discord account (”Not until you’re older”, as per Mum and Dad’s rules), theeeeen this had to be Audrey. Looking at the username, that definitely confirmed it. Friend request accepted~ Guess who, eh? Hmmm….the Queen of England? 🤣 - Feeling a bit bold, Audrey initiated an audio call with him, planning to greet him with, “How’d you know?” followed by giggles. - …Well, she did say that she wanted to try out audio calls, so why not? Picking up, he answered with a comically dramatic gasp. “Your majesty~! I am not worthy!” - Audrey giggled more. “I’d have followed up by pretending to be a queen, but, I don’t know how one acts and I can’t do an English accent to save my life,” she laughed. “Anyway, how are you doing? Can you hear me alright?” - “Incredibly proper, supposedly.” he chuckled. “Doin’ alright! Can hear you juuust fine. How about on your end? Hearing me and how things are going, I mean.” - “Same here! Glad I caught ya at a good time… I did catch you at a good time, right? It should be evening over there. Oh, I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything…” - “Haha, naaah, you’re fine! Been with the family for most of the day, so I’ve secluded myself in my room for a bit of ‘me’ time. It’s all good.” - “So I guess your me time is us time now,” she chuckled. “You live with your parents still or are you just visiting? It’s fine either way!” she added in a hurry. “The only reason I have my own place is because of Spike. He’s a workout friend of mine who works in construction and knows a few people in real estate.” - “Guess so; not that I’m complaining.” he responded. “ I spend most of my time here during the summer holiday…and, well, regular holidays.. During school, I live a bit closer to the campus. Soooo…I guess you could say both? Once I get my degree, I’m moving into my own. Haven’t settled on a location yet, really. Depends on if I want to be adventurous or not.” - “Ahhh. I see,” she nodded to herself. “What are some locations you’re thinking of moving to? Just curious.” - “Back to France is always an option…but knowing my family, either they’d be coming here at least once every couple of weeks or vice versa. Aaaaand that back and forth travel can be kind of pricey. I could always head up to and stay in Blackpool- where my university is. Or just take a total leap of faith and try somewhere else. The few times we’ve been over to the U.S. have been kind of nice- maybe I could live there. Might consider multiple citizenship, who knows. Eleven months there, one month here…” - “That does sound pricey… Though I’m sure you know that, if you’re considering the United States, I have to recommend Michigan. I’m biased, yes, but I have at least visited other states, so I’m not blindly swearing allegiance or anything. Fun fact, Michigan is one of the leading fruit growers in the States~ Cherries, especially,” she chirped. - J.C. laughed, “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea; being surrounded by fruit. I also wouldn’t mind living somewhere that gets actual snow in the winter. I mean, sometimes we’ll spend the holidays up in Northern Scotland, but not having to travel to see and play in the snow would be nice.” - “Oh, snow is definitely something we get up here,” she laughed. “Multiple feet of it, in fact. You should see Daisy during the winter; it’s hilarious! You just toss her outside and fwump; she disappears into the snow!“ - “Pffff! You might just have to tie a balloon to her collar or something and just track her that way. Or do you think she would float away?” - “Ha! Enough balloons probably would make her fly away! She’s so tiny! Truthfully, we just look for where the snow is moving. It also helps that she wears little sweaters when it’s cold out. Mom’s tried putting booties on her, but she just kicks them off.” - “Awwwhawhawhaw~ I’d hope she’d have at least a little something to wear. If I’m not mistaken, Michigan and a lot of those northern states can get pretty cold…like ‘stuck inside for days’ or ‘wearing five layers of clothing just to get the shopping done’ cold.” He thought for a minute. “Of…course, that’s all from word of mouth as opposed to personal experience, but…” - “I can confirm that it can get that cold. Ever see A Christmas Story where the little brother has so many layers of clothing he can’t put his arms down? It’s kind of like that.” - J.C. laughed, picturing the scene. “Oh, mon dieu. If we’re ever visiting during that time of the year, remind me to keep Syd away from metal poles!” - “Oh goodness… Yeah, that’s really a thing that happens here. Why do so many people think that’s a myth? Have they never gotten their tongue stuck to a popsicle before?” - “Apparently not. But hey, doing stupid stuff’s a part of life,I suppose. Maybe gain some status or fame in your friend group or among your class/workmates.” Sounded as if he was speaking from experience. - “Why do you sound like you’re speaking from experience?” she teased. - There was a brief moment of silence. “…Beeeee….caaaaaause I mmmmmmaaaaaay have done a few things that…could be qualified as such.” he responded, chuckling sheepishly. “N-nothing major, though.” - “Ooooooo~” she said, trying to sound like a studio audience. “What’d you do?” - The sheepish laughter intensified. “Aaaah…hm. You know those really, really hot peppers that are on the market? Short and skinny of it is ‘Guys Night In’ and a game of ‘Truth or Dare’. It wasn’t a…Reaper? I think that’s what one of those are called? Only reason I know that is because I probably would’ve ended up in hospital, haha. I think it was aaaa….habenaro? One was, the other’s called ‘Naga Jolokia’. Ate the habenaro with little issue, didn’t even get a full two bites into the other one before I was gulping down water like no tomorrow.” - “Oh noooo,” she laughed. “Oh nooo-ho-ho! That’s- That’s a ghost pepper, isn’t it?! Ah-ha-ha-ha!” She broke into a laughing fit. - His laughter became less sheepish and a bit more joyful. “Eeeeeeeyup, it is. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time, but hey. I will say, it did go better than when we played that one game with the Jelly Beans. …What’s it called? ‘Bean-Boozled’?” - “Yeah, it’s Bean-Boozled. Basically Bertie-Bott’s Every Flavor Beans but Jelly Belly brand. Dare I ask what could have happened when playing Bean-Boozled?” - “Weeeeell, plus side, I wasn’t the one who ended up with their face in a wastebasket.” he snickered. “The last few times we’d played, I kept getting the really gross flavours, and there was this joke that I was cursed. With our most recent game, the ‘curse’, I suppose, had reversed and the person who got all the good flavours last time got all the bad ones. He was fine up until…ugh, dead fish.” - “Ew-hew-hew!” she laughed. “Though, technically, all fish we eat is dead. It’d be pretty messy if we ate them alive… and gross… Say, that reminds me, you like scary movies, right? I have a question about zombies.” - “I doooooo. What’s your question?” - “How fast does a zombie need to eat before its victim becomes a zombie too and they don’t want to eat it? Like, zombies don’t eat other zombies, right? If you’re killed by a zombie, you become a zombie, right? How does that work?” - J.C. blinked, initially unsure how to answer. “That’s….actually a really good question. I like to think that it depends on the initial method of zombification. If it’s done via a curse, you’ve got a bit more time, whereas if it’s because of a virus, that time shortens, since you’ve got all this zombie saliva coming into contact with your blood. Blood takes about one minute to circulate through your entire body, so…you’d probably have to go all ‘pie-eating contest’ speed if your zombification is viral.” He stopped and thought for a minute. “Granted, you get bit regardless of the initial turning mechanism and still come into contact with their saliva…maybe one method is more virulent and fast-acting than the other? Kind of like how it can take something like food poisoning to show up in as little as half an hour to as long as four weeks, depending on what’s responsible for causing it.” - There was a long pause before Audrey replied with, “Huh… I don’t know what to do with this information… I’d write a story or something, but I don’t have the creativity for that. Hm… Maybe I should mention this to Adelyn… She’s good with this sort of thing.” - “Nor am I.” he chuckled, “Ah, Adelyn, eh? Friend of yours or a relative?” - “Relative,” she informed. “She’s my youngest cousin. She’s on the autism spectrum and is, like, really smart and creative.” - “Ah! Maybe she can tell me if the logic on my answer to your question seems sound.” All of a sudden, he heard a small sneeze outside the door, along with a small ‘THUD!’ and a young-sounding ‘Dangit!”. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Hold on just a sec…” Getting up and walking towards his door, J.C. spoke to who he suspected was on the other side. “I know that’s you, petit singe. Are you eavesdropping?” “Noooooooo…a person can’t just chill against the wall in their own home?” “The wall that has their brother’s room on the other side?” “…All the other walls were taken?” - Though the voice was a bit faint, Audrey figured the little eavesdropper was Syd. “Tell her I said hi,” she called loudly, hoping J.C. could hear her from however far away from the computer he was. - “Can do!” he called back, before turning his voice back towards Syd. “Audrey says ‘hi’, by the way.” Syd gasped, “You’re talkin’ to her?!” She took a deep breath and shouted: “HI AAAAAAAUUUUDREEEEEEEY!!!” J.C., having been up against the door cringed and rubbed his ear a bit. Probably should have seen that coming… - “Oh wow, she’s got a set of lungs on her, huh?” she laughed. - “Tell me about it.” the older brother groaned slightly. “ ‘Kay! Soooo I’m gonna let yooooou twooooo get back to your conversation! Maybe we can do a chat later on; I don’t want to interrupt you two lovebirds~” the ten year old responded, laughing as she skipped away. Once she was gone, J.C. sat back down on his bed, rubbing his temple a bit. “Eheh…sorry about that. Siblings…” - “Never a dull moment, huh?” she chuckled. - “Never.” he laughed. - “Sooo… What were we talking about? … Oh, right; zombies. That reminds me; I punched a zombie once… Well, someone in a zombie costume… Did I tell you about that?” - “Pffffff! I don’t think you have…how’d that come about, anyway?” - “There was this haunted house a few years back. It was pretty intense, so children were required to have an adult with them. Well, these kids really wanted to go and every other adult they asked were either busy or flat out said no… So I wound up being that adult… Well, the haunted house did its job. I was on edge the whole time and, when one of the actors put his hand on my shoulder, I whirled around and punched out of reflex. I felt so bad! I kept apologizing and I even gave him a twenty dollar bill! I know they aren’t paid to be hit, but I had to do something!” - J.C. wheezed before collapsing into a fit of giggles. “Oooooh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho my lord! That’s aw-haw-haw-haw-haw-haw-ful! Hilarious, as well, but still! But hey, at least you apologized.” - “The kids thought it was funny too,” she chuckled a bit. “Shame I got us kicked out.” - “Aw, that bites,” the giggles started dying down a bit. “If it’s any consolation, I can be the designated adult if you and I are ever dragged to a place like that. I may let out a high pitch screech if I’m spooked, but I don’t think I’ll karate chop someone. At least, I haven’t yet…” - Audrey chuckled. “I’d appreciate that. I’m afraid my fight or flight response is just a fight response. Not a good scaring subject.” - J.C. snickered, “On the plus side, you at least know that. Better than running into a situation blindly and all confident, then end up running away.” - “As opposed to walking in scared and beating someone up? Not sure if I agree with that… If the person is innocent, anyway… I do wonder how I’d do, should I face a genuine threat… A non human threat, I mean. I know I can take humans.” - “Oh yeah, no; punching innocent people’s never a good idea. I’d imagine if you can pack that much of an unintentional punch on someone, intentionally punching can provide quite a…pack.” He chuckled sheepishly, “I was going somewhere with that. Sounded better in my head.” - Audrey snickered. “I think I get what you’re trying to say. I do imagine I’d do more damage from an intentional hit than I would a startled reflex.” - “D-D-D-D-D-Double comboooooo!” J.C. joked, mimicking a videogame announcer, “Nice hit!” - She laughed at that, having supervised enough sleepovers to recognize a video game reference when she heard one. “Which fighting game is that?” - “Aha, I’m not entirely sure if it is one? I was trying to go something ‘Mortal Kombat’ or ‘Punch-Out!!’-esque, but other than that…” - “Mortal Kombat’s the one with the ‘Finish him!’ line and the catchy theme song, right?” - “Indeed it is. I know there are a few newer versions out, but I prefer the older, less…aaah, gory ones.” - “You mean to tell me they get even gorier?! I saw some as a teenager and they were pretty dang gory.” - “I meeean….maybe more so in the way of being more realistic with the blood and guts and everything, but if you would qualify that as ‘gorier’, then yes.” - “Ahhh, I get it. I suppose that is gorier. It doesn’t matter how much red you add to a stick figure, I’m not really going to be affected by it.” - “To each their own. I suppose.” - “Hm? What do you mean? I thought we were agreeing,” she asked, confused. - “O-oh! I’m pretty sure we still are? I-I meant that in a…different context than what the original meaning of the phrase is? You’d said something about adding as much red as you can to a stick figure and it won’t affect you. I, ah, imagine it can be different for some? That…something like that would? “ J.C. chuckled sheepishly. “I was going somewhere with that, guess my train of thought got derailed…” - “…I think I was in the train when it got derailed because I have no idea where we are,” she laughed. - J.C. snickered before breaking into a short, impromptu song, “We’re goin’ off the rails with our trains of thooooooought…~!” - Audrey’s laughter increased with the song. “Oh my gosh! You are so silly!” - Her laughter had him laughing as well…aaaaand perhaps blushing just a bit. Good to see his dorkiness came in handy outside of cheering up a grumpy sibling or a bummed out friend. “I try, my dear, I try. Just how I am, I guess!” - She giggled softly at being called ‘dear,’ finding it both silly and charming. “Well, you succeed!” she chuckled. “What were we talking about? Fighting games? Something about fighting?” - “Something like that, yeah…come to think of it, how did we even get on that topic, anyway? What were we even talking about before that?” - “I have no idea. I don’t even really play video games. See, this is why I write things down; can’t remember a thing otherwise… Well, aside from the fact that Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. That’s about all that stuck with me from school.” - “I wouldn’t call myself a gamer, really. Kind of in the ‘I know just enough to keep myself from getting my butt completely kicked whenever one of the munchkins wants me to do a Pokemon battle with them’ camp. Maybe the occasional party game like those dancing ones, but otherwise…” J.C. chuckled, “What about ‘Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally’ for maths, or ‘Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492?’. Granted, that’s probably going back a looooong time, but hey.” - “I can play a bit of those Mario Party games, but that’s about it. I mostly button mash everything else. It’s amazing how often I win doing that…” she trailed off. “I know those too! It’s just the cotton gin thing stuck with me, for some reason. When will I ever need that information? Elementary school Jeopardy?” - “Haha, Iiiii’d imagine so. I remember when I was still in primary school, we had this ‘Bring-Your-Parent-To-School Day’ thing, and we did have something like that at one point. Kids vs. the parents. Sort of like…what’s the name of that one show? ‘Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?’. Pretty sure that show wasn’t around when I was that young, so your description’s probably more accurate.” - “I suppose you have a point there. I guess I can use it in a competition with my future kids,” she laughed. “Assuming I one day marry and have them or adopt them or what have you.” - “Same, honestly. I like to think I’ve gotten enough practice with ‘Thing 1′ and ‘Thing 2′, and having a kid of my own would be nice. It’s….different from having siblings, you actually have something that you had a hand in creating, and it’s like a little you.” He paused. “I mean…they’re obviously they’re own person, but half of their DNA is yours.” Cue a small sigh, “I dunno, having a tiny person thinking you’re the coolest thing ever for a time is a nice feeling. Kind of want to experience it on a different level than ‘older sibling-younger sibling’.” Cue another pause, then a somewhat sheepish chuckle, “That…aaaah, I didn’t mean to dump all that on you at once. Had an idea and ran with it. I hope that made at least some sense.” - Audrey giggled, pleased with his ramble. She liked the way this man thought. “Oh, no worries. I like listening to people talk about things that make them happy, especially when it’s about kids. And I know what you mean. I can’t help but wonder what a biological child of mine might look like. What traits of mine might they inherit? That sort of thing.” - “Basically a game of ‘roll the genetic dice and see what happens’, I guess. Sometimes it can be a little scary if you’ve got some potentially harmful stuff in your history, but otherwise it’s kind of cool.” A thought occurred to J.C., evidenced by the sudden change in expression on his face. “…I wonder if anyone’s ever had a child that’s exactly half of one parent and half of the other. Like one side of their head has curly hair and the other side is straight? I guess that could happen with multiples, but I don’t know about a singular child…” - “I don’t think that’s possible,” she scratched her head as she thought. “I know eyes can be two different colors, but I don’t think you can have two types of hair on the same head… Not naturally, anyway. I mean, my hair is kind of in-between Mom’s waves and Dad’s curls… Probably closer to Dad in that respect. Can’t style it very well… It’s not both though.” - “Mm.” He nodded as he listened to Audrey’s thought process. “Guess it all depends on what exactly the DNA wants to do when, for lack of a better term, building someone from scratch happens. ‘You get your mom’s eyes, your dad’s hair, the dimples of some relative a few generations back…’. Genetics are weird.” - “Tell me about it. Dad has no freckles, Mom has a few, I have a ton. Apparently, there’s some hidden super freckle gene somewhere in my family.” - J.C. chuckled, “Guess so. I don’t know a whole lot about what ran in mine, other than brown hair from my mother and…” he paused, “I know there was something on my father’s side, though what it is is escaping me at the moment…” - Audrey figured he must be having difficulty remembering as it’s been so long since his biological family was alive. Deciding it better to change the subject before he delves too deep into such a topic, Audrey thought up a distraction. “Do you remember that thing in school where you draw a square consisting of four smaller squares to figure out possible gene combinations or whatever? I forget what it’s called…” - J.C. thought for a minute; that sounded really familiar… “The thing where you put, like…uppercase ‘B’ for brown eyes and lowercase ‘b’ for blue eyes? I believe it’s a Punnett Square?” - “Yeah! That’s it! You’d think figuring out the odds of certain traits would be more complicated than drawing a few squares, but, there it is.” - He chuckled, “I know, right? Apparently, you can use them in…I believe it’s algebra, as well, but it’s a little more complicated there. ‘Square this number, multiply these two’…” - “Oh, gosh; not algebra!” she yelped in faux terror before chuckling. The two went on talking for a good while after that, but ultimately had to end the call. Finding such a thing quite enjoyable, Audrey made sure to call J.C. again… and again… and again. They’d even gotten to the point where they did video calls. It practically became a routine, but there were still interesting moments to be had. “Check it out! I got a wireless headphone microphone thingy!” Audrey chirped excitedly, waving her hand around her head to show there were no wires. “Now I can still talk to you, even if I step away from the computer a little!” - J.C. let out a playful, dramatic gasp at the reveal. “Ah, fantastique! You’re not confined to having to be close to the computer like I am.” he joked, pulling at his headphone cord a bit, “I have one of those microphones that are built into the computer, but I’m definitely planning on upgrading to a more ‘external’ one soon…seven to ten business days to be exact, should the delivery go without a hitch. Merci, online shopping~” - “Tell me about it! Present shopping has never been so convenient~ Also,” Audrey clapped, summoning Lola to jump onto the couch with her. “No more nearly knocking down the computer whenever Lola wants attention!” - J.C. chuckled at the little pup, “Ah, bonjour, Lola!” “Did you say Lola!?” came a voice from outside his door. “Can I see ‘er? Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaase?” The older brother playfully rolled his eyes, “Oh lord, sounds like I said the magic word. You don’t mind Kat popping in for a bit, do you?” - Audrey chuckled and shook her head. “Not at all~ Let me just turn the speakers on so Lola can hear her. You like the attention, don’t you, girl~?” she cooed as she pet her head. - J.C. gave the two a small smile before turning towards his door. “Entrez!” With a small creak, in came Kat, bounding towards her brother’s bed. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about as much damage being done once she flopped onto it, as Kat was a good deal smaller than Syd. No real worries about his laptop flying off of the bed and onto the floor or the screen getting kicked in. Once she was on the bed, Kat crawled towards the webcam and made herself comfortable, smiling widely and cooing at the dog. “Hiiiiya, Lola! Hiya, Audrey!” - “Hiya, Kat!” Audrey returned the greeting as Lola stood up and wagged her tail at the excited voice. “Who’s that?” she asked playfully, getting a bark from her dog. “Yes! It’s Kat! Such a good girl~” she gave Lola a generous petting - The eight year old giggled at the dog’s response. “Kinda bites that you guys are so far away, an’ that I can’t reach through the screen an’ give her some pets…but seeing you two’s okay enough! How’ve you been?” - “I’m giving her plenty of pets for you,” she giggled, petting the dog. “Work’s been a little overwhelming here and there, but Lola and your brother have been doing a good job of helping me wind down. What about you? School treating you okay?” - “Uh-huh!”, the little girl nodded, “Right now we’re doing our sevens times tables in maths and we’re reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School. We’re supposed to be starting this really cool science experiment next week, but I dunno what exactly it is, ‘cos our teacher’s keeping it a secret.” “Maybe you’re doing the ‘butterfly life cycle observation’ thing.” J.C. commented, “I remember doing that a few times in primary school.” - “Oooo, that sounds fun~ Glad that you’re enjoying yourself. School takes up a lot of time, so, best enjoy it, if you can. Maybe you can give Syd some pointers on that.” Syd struck her as someone who didn’t enjoy school much. - “I meeeean, I dunno what exactly it is they do in Year 6, but I can try? She likes when they do more ‘science-y’ stuff and reading more action-packed stories, than having to learn history or maths….buuuut I can try!” J.C. smirked at his sister’s confidence. “Well, you know the saying: ‘Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it’.” - “Well… there’s a lot of action in history?” she shrugged. “Though that’s rarely a good thing in real life… And you need to know math in order to properly do science. Lots of equations and all that.” - “Yeeeeah, true. But I guess you gotta explain stuff in a way that’ll make it sound interesting with ‘er. Not totally sure how you could make maths interesting.” The older brother snickered, “Maybe if the question’s something like…’If there are 96 pieces of chewing gum in a candy machine and there are 8 friends, how many pieces does each friend get?’. Something that she can kind of relate to. Or at the very least, reword the question, but keep the same numbers.” - “I’d imagine she’d say something along the lines of, ‘Depends on who has to figure it out. They’ll get more than the rest.’ Gotta be careful with how you word these things,” she wagged a finger. - J.C. laughed, “She would. Or ‘Why would they be sharing, that’s 96 whole pieces of gum right there!’.” “I do know she likes when her class gets to do creative assignments, too.” Kat piped up, “Like when they have a spelling list, but get to write a story that uses the words in it. Or when they make a scene from something or a model in a shoe box.” “…A diorama?” “Yeah, that! She tends to make a big mess when she’s making it, but the end product’s pretty good…and she has fun doin’ it too.” - “That’s good! See, you’ve gotta focus on the good with these things. Focus on the bad and you’ll make yourself miserable. I mean, there are difficult aspects to my job, but I try to focus on the fact I’m helping people get healthy and/or stay healthy. Just remind her something good will come soon enough, you know?” - Kat gave Audrey a salute, “Can do!” “It takes a bit of patience, too.” J.C. added, “I know she wants to do some of the experiments that I did in secondary school and uni, but…well, you need to learn to crawl before you can walk, and know how to walk before you can run.” “It’s hard, though, when you’re little.” Kat piped up. “Trust me, I know. And I’m pretty sure Audrey knows too; we were both your age once.” - “Exactly,” Audrey nodded. “I used to get frustrated with what I wasn’t allowed to do, but, looking back, I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t go baking a cake without learning to crack an egg first.” - “…Ssssoooo she can’t exactly go sledding down the stairs without knowing how to steer the sled first?” J.C. snickered, “I mean, in theory, yeah, but you shouldn’t be doing that anyway because you could get seriously hurt. And that’s regardless of how many pillows you’ve tied to yourself, how many you’ve put at the bottom of the stairs, and with wearing knee and elbow pads and a helmet.” - “Even if you somehow managed not to get hurt, I can’t imagine it would be much fun. I mean, it’d probably be a really bumpy ride. I’d much rather sled in the snow.” - “But then we’d have to go waaaaaaay up north if we wanted snow. It almost never comes this far south.” Kat pouted. “If you want some deep snow, yes, but I think if we a tad bit as opposed to- as you put it- ‘waaaaaaaay’, it’d be fine. Maybe even go a bit west, as well.” J.C. looked to Audrey, “How much snow would you say you get over by you?” - “How much snow?” Audrey proceeded to cackle for a good long time before holding up a finger, asking for a moment to compose herself. “Sorry,” she cleared her throat. “We just get so much snow! I mean it. A lot. A little snow for us would be two feet deep. There’s a reason we have snowplows over here.” - Kat gasped excitedly. “We gotta go to Michigan for sledding!!” J.C. sputtered, laughing a little, “So you’d be willing to take a half-a-day flight just to go sledding? Not one that’d be maybe an hour, hour and a half at most?” “Yeah! ‘Sides, you’d be able to go an’ see Audrey! Us too, obviously, but still!” - “Oh, come now, it wouldn’t just be sledding… There’s making snowmen too,” she giggled. “Not to mention the feeling of coming inside from the cold and warming up with some hot chocolate.” - “And snow angels and snowball fights!” the little girl bounced excitedly. - Audrey chuckled. “Now, now, don’t get too excited. We don’t even know if this winter visit will happen.” - “Can it, thooooough?” Kat asked, giving the two the “puppy dog pout/puppy dog eyes” combo. As much as the older brother would love that, doing so was dependent on a lot of factors. “Iiiiiit’s a bit too early to say yes or no, sooooo…I guess we can chalk it up as a ‘we’ll see’?” - “It’s not up to me, kiddo,” she gave the child a shrug. “I’d certainly welcome you, but I can’t exactly fly you over here.” - “Awww…” “Hey, it’s not a ‘no’.” J.C. pointed out, trying to make the situation a bit more positive. - “There’s still plenty of time to figure it out,” Audrey offered. “I mean, school only started a few weeks ago over here. It’s still pretty warm out.” - “Yeah. You’re telling me you want to skip out on your birthday and Halloween and just go straight to winter?” J.C joked. Kat let out a small gasp and shook her head ‘no’. “Theeeeeeeeen you have to wait, kiddo.” - Audrey chuckled. "I’m looking forward to pumpkin spice season, myself.” - “I love fall.” J.C. sighed, thoroughly content. “Part of it being the pumpkin spice, part of it the cooler weather…” “Part of it being that you can toss me into leaf piles.” Kat added, grinning. The brother snorted, “That’s something that you love, goofball…buuuuut I do get a good laugh out of it. Next time we get a deep enough pile, you’re getting launched.” Kat responded with her arms joyously shooting upwards, and a happy “Yay!” - Audrey let out a small giggled, one of joy more than humor. She really liked seeing this man get along so well with children. This man was destined to be a father, she thought to herself as she smiled dreamily. - “Maybe if you and Syd team up, you can launch me.” he joked. Kat scoffed before laughing, “Yeeeeah, maybe not? Now, Audrey probably could! Either with us or by herself!” - The laughter snapped her out of her dreamy state and she laughed too. “I can’t guarantee a soft landing if I do.” - “He’s had worse!” Kat snickered, imagine Audrey doing just as she stated. J.C. smiled and rolled his eyes at the blonde and ruffled her hair a bit, “Alright, alriiiight…hey, did you finish your homework yet?” Kat shook her head no. “I was takin’ a break. Guess I should get back to it?” J.C. nodded, “Then when you’re done, we’ll go over it….maybe practice some of your multiplication flash cards?” “ ‘Kay….but you promised we would have a tea party after that and dinner, remember?” “Of course I do. You, me, and Mr. Bunnysworth are going over the details of the deed to your dollhouse.” The way he said it sounded so matter-of-fact. Kat giggled at her goofball brother before turning to Audrey and Lola, “Sounds like I gotta get goin’. I’ll talk you guys later!” - Audrey giggled again. These two were adorable! “Talk to you later,” she smiled and waved goodbye. Once Kat was gone, Audrey turned the sound back to her headphones. “Tea party, huh? Since you’re in England, do you have actual tea at those?” - J.C. smiled and blew a bit of air out of his nose, “Occasionally, yeah. Kind of a toss up between that or some juice. In the winter, she’ll use hot cocoa.” - Audrey chuckled. “That’s basically what we do over here. That or we just sip on air. It’s usually air, unless we’re using real cups. Those play tea cups are so tiny.” - “I know, right? You have to take teeeeeeny tiny sips if you want it to last the whole party. Like a little mouse or something.” - “Imagine if you were trying to actually hydrate with one of those,” she snickered. - “Oh jeez. If you drink out of them like a normal human being, it’s almost like doing shots.” He paused for a second. “…Oooor at least, how I imagine one would do them. Never done them myself. The occasional glass of wine on special occasions or on vacation, but otherwise…” - Audrey snorted. “I just imagined someone doing shots of tea, but instead of getting drunk, they just get more and more English!” - “Ha! I could start out sounding like this.…” He mimicked downing a few cups of tea before speaking again in a “fancier” accent: “…to something like this. And as the day goes on, it just….waters itself down.” - Audrey couldn’t help but cackle at the demonstration. Once she calmed down, she glanced at the clock and spoke again. “Oh goodness; is that the time? I need to let Lola out before she messes on the floor. Be right back!” She darted off camera to let Lola outside. While outside, her headphones were out of range of her computer, so neither of them could hear each other. With the silence, Audrey managed to forget she was wearing the headphones at all. Making her way back inside (and back in range of her computer), she sang softly to herself as she went about getting Lola a treat. - “Can’t be having that now! You two go do your thing, I’ll be over here.” As the two went off, J.C. took the time to readjust a few things with his computer, answer an e-mail, comment on a friend’s photo. His ears perked up a bit when he picked up the sound of Audrey’s voice again. Was she…? She was. He’d heard her sing once already (he had joined in, after all~), but regardless of that, she sounded lovely. Cue a bit of pink coloring his cheeks. - As she made her way back to the computer, she stopped singing and went about taking the headphones from around her neck and putting them back over her ears. “Sorry about that,” she sat back down with a smile, oblivious to the fact he’d heard her. - “Huh? Oh! Oh, it’s no big deal.” He chuckled sheepishly, “When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.” Cue the blush getting a bit more noticeable. Seemed to be that she was unaware that he could hear her… - Audrey raised her brow at this and cocked her head slightly to the side. “You feeling alright?” - Ah, crud, he’d been caught. “You, ah….” he gestured to where her headset had been. “You had forgotten to take your headset off, and I caught a bit of you singing when you came back in. N-not that that’s a bad thing! I thought i-i-i-i-it sounded lovely…” - “Oh? Oh!” she brought her fingertips to her mouth for a moment, then brought them back down with an embarrassed smile. “Ah-ha… Oops… Thank you?” - “Eheh…heh…aaaah, no problem…” Well, this was awkward. - “What were we talking about?” she twirled some hair around her fingers as she tried to distract from what had just happened. - “Tea parties and fancy accents, I believe?” J.C. answered, going back to said “fancy” accent as a joke. - Audrey tittered and the two went back to talking. As time went by, the leaves turned color, the temperature got colder, and their online chats became more frequent. “Since Halloween is right around the corner, I have an idea I want to toss out there, if you’re interested.” - J.C., currently in a rather “spooky” sweater, looked up from his hot cocoa, curious. “Shoot. What’cha got rattlin’ around in that brain of yours?” - “You know how I don’t watch horror movies because I don’t want to hurt someone on accident or watch it alone? Well, I can’t really hurt anyone if they aren’t physically in the room with me,” she grinned a bit slyly. “Could be something a bit different, you know?” - “Oooo-hoo-hoo, I like~ So! How should we start out with this? Something super tame like….well, I mean Hotel Transylvania isn’t a horror movie, but it has monsters in it…or do we go for the big guns like The Grudge?” - “I was thinking an actual horror movie. My cousin Chloe got me a nice mountain of horror movie files to choose from. She may have been a bit over zealous though,” she chuckled. “I doubt I’ll ever watch them all. Anyway, I can send the files your way and we can watch it on that Let’s Gaze website we tested out before.” - J.C. laughed as well, “Fine by me! Anything in said mountain that’s catching your eye? I’m not super picky with what we watch.” - “Chloe did mention that some of them can have a bit of humor or ridiculousness to them. What were some of them? Child’s Play… Scream… The Cabin in the Woods… Any of those sound good?” - Taking a sip of his drink as Audrey listed off a few titles, he perked up at the last one. “Oooo, Cabin in the Woods, let’s go with that.” - “I take it you like that one?” she smiled as she went about sending him a link to download the file. - “It’s actually one I haven’t seen,” he clarified, “Child’s Play and Scream, I have seen, albeit a few years ago. Figured I’d start with something ‘new’ before going towards more familiar, y’know?” - “Sounds good. When do you think you’ll have time to sit and watch a whole movie with me?” - “Mmmmm, probably sometime a little later this week? Have a few ‘autumnal’ things that are going on with the family, so I might not be able to find some free time before then. I can keep you posted, though!” - “Is it apple picking?” Audrey asked enthusiastically. “Or throwing your sisters into leaf piles? Pumpkin picking?” - “All 3~” he smiled, “Maybe some preliminary costume searching as well.” - “Ooooooo~ Sounds like you’ve got some busy days ahead of you! My mom, dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all going apple picking with me next week! We’re all gonna get some fresh air, pick some apples, make some apple treats… that sort of thing~” - “Ooo, sounds fun! Maybe I can suggest that to Mum and Dad; apple-flavoured stuff- rather, stuff made from apples- sounds really good right now. Plus, it can give Syd a chance to put some of her energy towards climbing some trees.” - “I can send you some recipes, if you need any,” she offered. - “Ooo, that’d be lovely, actually. Spice things up a bit in terms of autumnal snacks, you know?” - Audrey’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the concept of sharing recipes. “Oh! Oh! I have lots of recipes! What do you think you might want; pies, crisps, cobblers, muffins, cakes, cider, applesauce, fritters, breads?!” - Dang, she really DID have a lot of recipes! And they all sounded really nummy~ “Man, you weren’t kidding!” he laughed, “Hm, where do I even start? Maybe we can start with fritters and muffins and go from there.” - “Good choice~ I’ll be sure to send those your way.” She reached for her notebook off camera and jotted down a reminder. “Maybe I could add a nice apple drink recipe in there. Gotta wash those treats down with something~” - “Oo, even better. Kind of like a little bonus treat.“ - Audrey giggled at that. “A treat for your treats~” - J.C. let out a giggle as well…with an unintentional snort. Upon realizing that he had done so, his face went a bit pink. He was still smiling, though, so that was a good sign. - She didn’t comment on the snort. She didn’t want to embarrass him, especially when she did the same thing. “It’s a shame you live so far away. It’d be fun to bake together, I bet!” - He stopped for a second, a thought occurring to him. If they could talk to each other while being in two different parts of the world, what was to stop them from baking? “Unless…we do the baking, but like how we’re doing now. Find some sort of set up to where we can place our computers or phones or whatever out of the ingredient ‘splash zone’, and check on each other’s progress along the way. Baking together, but not physically together, if that makes any sense.” - “We should totally do that,” she exclaimed. “I wonder what we should make. I’d suggest an apple dish, but I don’t go apple picking until next week. Heh. Maybe we should try something simple, just to test it out?” She put a finger to her mouth in thought. “Perhaps a no-bake pumpkin pie? Still autumn themed. Do you guys have boxes of instant pudding over in England? Maybe we should make something with more common ingredients. Hmm… Oh! Pumpkin bread!” - “Oh definitely; do a test run, see how that goes, and then go from there!” J.C. agreed. “Do we have instant pu…I actually might have to check the next time I go out for groceries. Pumpkin bread might be a better option to start with, at least. I know for a fact that we have the stuff to make it here.” - “I’ll have to Google this sort of thing later,” she mused aloud. “I know you guys don’t have graham crackers over there. I’m guessing you’d use shortbread crust for pies in place of graham cracker ones…” - “Usually, yeah, or we use digestive biscuits in place of them. They may have them in the ‘’American’‘ section of a grocery store, but it depends on the store.” - Audrey nodded. “It really is wild how similar, yet different, our foods can be. I’ll try to look through my recipes for ones that are more basic. Here in the states, we tend to use shortcuts that you may not have; like instant pudding.” - “Right? And it can mean something completely different too. The kind that you’re talking about is usually called ‘custard’. If you look up ‘Yorkshire pudding’, that’s usually what we mean. Haggis is technically considered one. …English is weird.” - “Haggis?!” she asked with a weird face. “You’re right. English is weird.” She scrunched her nose. “I’m not going to lie here; if I asked for chocolate pudding and got haggis, I would be very disappointed.” - J.C. laughed, “Same, honestly. I mean, the food itself actually isn’t all that bad; it’s just the way it’s made that makes it sound gross…and…maybe some of what’s in it. To each their own, I suppose.” He shrugged, “I’ve only had it a few times that I can remember; usually when we’ve gone to visit one of my aunts up in Scotland.” - “I’ve never had it myself, but I know it doesn’t taste like chocolate pudding. Hence why I would be disappointed. I’m generally down to try anything at least once.” She thought a moment. “Scotland, huh? Is it as pretty as the pictures?” - “Always a plus.” he smiled. “I’d say so, yeah. One of my favourite places that we sometimes stop over in is Edinburgh, it’s kind of got a fairy tale-esque feel to it. Where my aunt lives is a bit further south, over in Dumfries; more of a riverside kind of town. If you go north enough in the winter, you’re able to see the northern lights, apparently. Haven’t had a chance to myself, unfortunately. I mean, we’ve been pretty far north there that time of year, but never at a point where we can catch ‘em.” - “Oh, that sounds lovely,” she smiled. “Maybe you could ask your relatives to send you pictures, since you haven’t been able to catch them yourself. Oh! Another name for the northern lights is the aurora borealis, right? Sounds all scientific that way,” she chuckled. - He laughed, “Indeed it does. …Y’know, that actually sounds like a good idea. Knowing my luck, if you and I got together just for that, there’d be a wicked snowstorm that moves in on the night we’d be seeing them.” Of course, the alternative of being all snuggled up indoors by a fireplace with some hot cocoa with her wasn’t bad. - She cocked her head slightly, a bit curious, but kept her smile all the same. How exactly did he feel about her if one of his first thoughts about the northern lights would be seeing them with her? “Well, I’m sure we’d find other things to do. Maybe hot cocoa and a crackling fire? I love those~” Seemed she had a similar mindset. - “Maybe in some comfy pyjamas, under one of those weighted blankets.” he added, goofy grin starting to sprawl across his face“…Ooooor a lightweight but super fluffy one. Either or.” - “Oooo~ Both are good! Might depend on how warm the fire makes everything.” She chuckled. “Here we go; talking about a fictional snowstorm. Our conversations sure are something, aren’t they? I was supposed to remember something…” Audrey opened her notebook. “Oh, yeah! I’m supposed to get you some recipes and find one we can both cook together!” Looking off screen, she spotted Lola. “Looks like Lola wants O-U-T and I need to look for some recipes, so I’ll talk to you later, okay?” - “Right, right! That should be fun; here’s hoping that when we do do that, the internet says running smoothly the entire time. Nothing worse that trying to get an exact amount of something from someone, and the connection starts to glitch.” At the mention of Lola, J.C. blew a bit of air out of his nose, smiling. “Haha, silly pup. You go on ahead; I’ll catch up with you later!” -End-

#Pen Pals #roleplay #compiled roleplay #redradandrod #muse: Audrey Davis

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joie-university-rp · 4 years

Photo

Dear RACHEL BERRY,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

Congratulations, EMILY! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklist and send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias; pronouns: Emily, she/hers

Age, Timezone: 27, EST

Activity, short explanation: 7-8/10 – my job situation is currently on the rocks, but when it gets back to normal, I usually work about 4 days a week. My activity can be constant, though, usually in the afternoon and in the evening! If I need time off for certain things, I can always give a heads up.

Ships: Rachel/Chemistry

Anti-Ships: Rachel/Forced

Triggers: RFP

Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): LINK HERE

Anything else: Thank you so much in advance for reading this over!

IC INFORMATION:

Full Name (First, Middle, Last): Rachel Barbra Berry ★

FC: Lea Michele

Age/Year at University (Freshman [1st Year], Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student): 21, Junior

Birth date (MONTH DAY, YEAR): December 18th, 1999

Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Evanston, Chicago

Gender/Pronouns: She/Hers

Sexuality: Pansexual

Major(s): Theatre

Minor(s) [optional]: Music

Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Pillsbury Dormitory

Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!): Drama Club, Glee Club, LGBT+ Alliance

Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush): N/A.

CHARACTER PROFILE:

The second Rachel’s Dads found out about how talented she was, they spared no expense. Tap lessons, ballet lessons, voice lessons – Rachel received any sort of class and enrichment that would further her chances at success. She was very musically capable from a young age, and the more Rachel grew, the stronger that talent grew. Despite the fact that their town wasn’t much for fostering young people’s passion for the arts, the city was just a train ride away. There, in the depths of Chicago, was where Rachel got her first taste of local theatre. National tours came through, community productions lit up the stage, and Rachel wanted to be apart of it every chance she got. In fact, she nearly got a taste of professional stardom when casting calls went live for a National tour. However, her Dads decided she was too young to give up her education, and despite the fact that she knows they had her best interests in mind, part of her always resents them for holding her back from achieving her dreams.

The innate stress that Rachel was put under since the beginning of her life has given her anxiety in a variety of ways. The amount of attention she was given in terms of fostering and growing her talent makes her think that if she’s not constantly striving for the very best, she’s slacking and wasting not only her time, but the time of those around her. Without any real roadblock to tell her to slow down, Rachel can and will run herself into the ground with work. She never truly means to torpedo into a stress induced work cyclone, but her lack of interpersonal connections in grade school never enabled her to friendship. Therefore, her career will always come first, and her work ethic is the most important thing in her professional life. Other than her actual talent, of course.

When she was younger, Rachel sought the identity of her birth mother. Though her Dads discouraged any further research beyond what they wanted her to know, Rachel always felt like part of her life was missing. It’s past the time of what people think a traditional family can look like, but that didn’t pull away from the yearning that Rachel felt for her mother. However, her results didn’t lead to much of anything on her own, and Rachel was quick to dismiss the idea of ever finding out who her Mom was. Because of her lack of research, and because of her low self esteem, Rachel often makes up fantastical lies about the mysterious identity of her mother. She’ll never name drop anyone exclusively, but she’ll certainly hint and poke at specific people, hoping that the allure of possibly being related to someone who could be famous and successful will earn her favor with people higher up on the social hierarchy than herself.

Rachel’s constant boundary pushing is the result of being told she wasn’t good enough over and over again. Her family was loving, and fostered an amazing environment for her to succeed in. However, her peers weren’t always as kind. Her looks didn’t lend her to popularity in high school – in fact, any softness she had was cancelled out by her larger than life attitude. With the constant need to announce herself, and her talent, every time she entered a new room, Rachel kept people at an arm’s length away. Truthfully, she didn’t have many – or any – friends. A penchant for animals sweaters topped off with a brass attitude that most people didn’t give a second chance to has led to a very reclusive life. Maybe she’s over eager when she meets people she think could stand the Rachel Berry Friendship Test, but that eagerness can rub people the wrong way. And if those people can be a threat to Rachel, or her talent? They don’t last very long in her world.

As a budding Broadway starlet, Rachel’s eyes were set on New York City in a post-high school world. Though Julliard seemed the most practical, NYADA fell into her lap from the hands of her doe eyed guidance counselor. Months and months of planning went into her application – as the reigning president of over 16 school clubs, Rachel’s resume spoke for itself. Her talent, however, was another thing, and when her audition came, she knew she could finally, finally prove to someone that she was better than what everyone else said she was. However, when the moment came to actually show her stuff, she choked. The words got caught in her mouth – words to a song she’d been singing since she was three years old – and Rachel saw her future slip through her fingers. Weeks of phone calls and text messages and impromptu visits didn’t win her any favors with the admissions staff, and Rachel resigned herself to a place closer to home – a place that her Dads suggested.

While Joie isn’t exactly what she had in mind, Joie is something that she needed before attempting to take on the big city. Joie is about making connections, about developing your sense of self before you rush out into the real world head first. Rachel’s hoping to use their motto to enhance her own life before regrouping for a second chance at stardom. Along the way, she’s hoping to find new friends, to make connections and hopefully bring those connections with her. She’s never been one to stop and think about her actions, or think about the consequences that come with acting so suddenly and rashly. However, with a strong, supportive group of people around her who can understand the kind of attention she needs, Rachel knows (she has to know) that she can become more than what people expect her to be.

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY:

(Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!)

1. What made you want to attend Joie University?:

If I have to answer honestly and truthfully, my Dads are the entire reason why I’m at this school to begin with. At first, I have to admit that Joie wasn’t even on my radar. As someone who hails from the Midwest, my sights have been set on the East Coast since I was little. However, upon the… unfortunate way my past attempts at college have been, I can’t say I entirely regret the choice that was made for me. The way this school focuses so much of its energy onto creating deep, interpersonal relationships shows that there’s a place for me, somewhere, in this never ending landscape.

2. What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess?

Positivity is something I believe I have in spades. Though it may not seem like I’ve got much to spare, I would certainly say my confidence speaks for itself. I don’t have traditional confidence in the sense that I believe in my looks, or I believe in my physical attraction. Neither of those things are ever going to be true about someone like me. However, what I have is confidence about my talent, and confidence in what I know I’m going to do one way. I can and will be gracing Broadway stages in just a matter of time, and no one else truly has to believe it other than myself. Additionally, my story is one of inspiration, and I truly think that I’m inspiring to those around me. Even through the trials and tribulations that most people face during their high school career, I’ve managed to rise above and seek out success. This includes the rarely talked about incident involving my NYADA audition. People don’t often talk about their failures, and when you’ve suffered a loss the way that I have, you have to come out the other side stronger, and more inspired than ever to do your very best. For me, that comes in the form of not giving up, and striving towards my destiny in New York City. The way that I think, and the way that I have to process things, makes me something of a dreamer. Truth be told, it’s not actually dreaming if you know those dreams are bound to come true. However, my work ethic and my strive to achieve greatness with everything that I do enables me to dream so big. It’s something my Dads have always admired about me, and their love and support of everything I want to do has truly enabled me to become the adult that I am today.

I don’t truly believe in negative traits being the things that derail us as humans. However, if I had to choose something that people don’t exactly admire about me – based on nothing more than personal experience – I suppose my ambition is something of a threat. As someone who’s only strength is the talent I was born with, I’m willing to go to absolute lengths in order to find the success I know I’m entitled to. Some people might find that off putting, and – in the midst of my strong passions – be inclined to call me selfish. While I can admit that I’ve made a few rash decisions based solely on my own needs and wants, I’m not entirely sure that being selfish is an inherently bad thing. Everyone is slightly selfish, correct? Therefore, it’s not just me who suffers from the stigma surrounding it. Because of this, and due to the way I’ve been treated my whole life by peers who are merely jealous of the things I’ve achieved, I’ve also been called defensive. However, I must remind you that my defensive nature is something that I’ve cultivated due to a lifetime of bullying and harassment from the public. They don’t like the way I look, I walk, I talk, I sound. The only thing I truly have going for me is my voice, and my talent. I cannot and will not be made to feel awful for believing so strongly in myself.

3. Which of your traits do you value most?

Though it may be naive to say it, my ambition is my strongest suit. I’ve worked incredibly hard my entire life to perfect and hone my craft. I’ve taken dance lessons, I’ve taken voice lessons, I’ve studied nearly every songbook that exists in the world. Broadway, Top 40, classics, jazz standards – I’ve got them all memorized. Being the best at what you do means putting in the work to make sure you are the best, regardless of what happens. My ambition, and my drive to constantly strive for nothing less than the best is what makes me the best. This is the kind of work ethic you need in order to survive in a cutthroat world of talent. The only difference between me being a girl that can sing very well and me being a star is the pure fact that I will do anything to earn my place on the Great White Way. Not many talented people can say that and have the proof to back it up. I can assure you that Rachel Berry does.

4. How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole?

I think everyone can thrive from watching someone succeed at something they’re very good at. It doesn’t need to be repeated just how hard I’ve worked for everything that I’ve achieved. For some people, someone like me can be a little.. frightening to talk to head on. I’m aware that I’m a lot to handle, and I know for certain that I’m not always the best person in the entire world. However, spending time with someone like me could certainly inspire someone else to dream as big as I can. There’s truly no limit when you free your mind of these preconceived notions that you’re simply not good enough. Being excellent at something is the sole reason that I’ve gotten out of my hometown, and will continue to be the reason that I find success when I make my way to New York City. Teaching other people how to do the very same can certainly raise morale, and increase the chances of success throughout the student body.

5. What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU?

There’s a multitude of things I wish I could explain, and with only a certain amount of time to say it, I suppose I’ll have to keep things brief. First and foremost, the one thing I truly wish to seek more than anything else in the world is friendship. It might sound cliche for someone like me to crave one of the most basic things in a human’s life. However, I don’t think it needs explaining that someone like me didn’t have too many close and personal friends in high school. In fact, I don’t think I could ever truly call someone a good friend, outside of my choir director, my Dads, and the barista at the local coffee shop. Which is sad to say, when you’re nearly 21 years old. However, this school seems to thrive with the idea that building connections is the key to the future. Seeking out like minded people who have the same drives and passions that I do can surely help me achieve something as basic as friendship before I’m shipped off to the big city. Chicago is a big, lonely place when you don’t have any familiar faces to set your sights on. In a smaller pond, perhaps there’s a chance that someone won’t flee at the sight of me.

6. What is a quote or song lyric that describes you?

Though most people would expect me to say something from a Broadway classic, or even a Barbra Streisand standard, I have to admit that the song that tends to bring me comfort is from a songbook most people wouldn’t expect someone like me to enjoy. Though rock doesn’t always suit my needs the same way that show tunes do, Coldplay crafted an exceptionally wonderful song that encapsulates what it means to be stuck in a world that makes you wish you were somewhere else. When I was sad, I’d get a cup of water, and my Dads would play this at a very soft volume to soothe me back to sleep. In the trying times of my adulthood, I find it still gives me the same sense of comfort that it did when I was a child.

When she was just a girl she expected the world But it flew away from her reach So she ran away in her sleep and dreamed of Para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise Every time she closed her eyes

#Accepted

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adamcairnsorg-blog · 7 years

Text

How To Crush It With The World's Ultimate Productivity Tips

The Ultimate Productivity Tips Roundup

What happens when you type "Productivity Tips" into google?

You get masses of hits containing hundreds of results. The problem is how to find the grains of gold?

You could start ploughing through each result one by one and see what they say (don't do that!).

Here's what you do instead.

I've been through hundreds of the best productivity tips from experts around the world. I've sorted them, chucked out the stuff that doesn't cut it, deleted duplicates and organised it into a single uber-list.

It turns out that the advice from productivity experts can be categorised and that's what I've done to make searching for exactly the kind of advice you're looking for easy to do.

So whatever kind of productivity advice you're looking for, there's going to be a tip here for you.

The headings below are broad categories. Click on the title and it will take you to that section. Then you can scroll down until you find something that interests you.

1. Focus On What's In Front Of You And Avoid Multitasking

2. Batch Your Jobs and Tasks

3. Build Consistency In The System And Methods You Use

4. Set Things Up A Day Ahead

5. Delegate It

6. Deal With Distractions

7. Eat That Frog

8. Look After Your Health

9. Manage Meetings Better

10. Organise Your Workspace

11. Outsource It

12. Develop A Positive Mindset

13. Use Rituals To Create New Habits

14. Say No

15. Build Your Self Awareness

16. Simplify It

17. Step Back From It

18. Manage Your Time

19. Use Travel Wisely

20. Use Technology

21. Write It Down

1. Focus On What's In Front Of You

Prioritise Your Most Important Tasks

What The Science Says

Our brains are actually not evolved to multitask. When we were first walking about on the savannah, it didn't pay to be distracted. You generally got eaten.

Task Switching as it is known has a quantifiable impact on the time taken to complete tasks. The general rule is that lost time increases with the complexity of the task involved. The cost involves the brain undertaking two switches. First the task of changing subject, from one task to another. Then the second task of finding your place in the task you are switching to.

Although these costs are quite small, they do add up.

One tactic to minimise task switching which experts suggest is to prioritise your most important tasks. By focusing your attention on your most important tasks, you will reduce the likelihood that your attention will waver.

Nicole Fallon Taylor takes up the suggestion that "goals are the most effective way to prioritize what’s important so you can delegate or eliminate the most unnecessary tasks that slow you down". In her article published on Business News Daily she shares some advice from Kathleen Kobe, founder of Smart Business Mom who states categorically that we should avoid multi-tasking. says, don't do it and I agree. You can read the rest of Fallon's article here.

We Just Aren't Evolved To Multitask

Robin Sharma makes the point that multitasking can also reduce our cognitive capacity. He cites research which "confirms that all the distractions invading our lives are rewiring the way our brains work (and drop our IQ by 5 points!)." The Daily Muse puts it this way:

"Stop trying to multitask! We're really not built for it, and while it may feel like you're getting more done, everything will ultimately take you longer."

Brandon Turner, reflecting on a past year of improved personal productivity writes:

"This past year, I made a commitment to multitask less and focus more on the task at hand"

The Take Away

Check to make sure you're spending time focused on your most important goals. To increase your effectiveness, create opportunities to zero in on one thing at a time and avoid the temptation to try to focus on more than one activity at a time.

References:

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html

http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/09/become-the-most-productive-person-you-know/

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254432

http://www.apa.org/research/action/multitask.aspx

2. Batch Your Jobs And Tasks

Use Time Slots

One way to deal with the damaging effects of multitasking is to chunk your jobs or tasks into time slots. I call this batching. Brandon Turner explains what he does. "Simply take your to-do list and give each item a place on your calendar. it doesn't matter if you use a physical calendar or an online one; simply block out time to work through each item on your list".

Graham Allcott speaking on ITV News suggest we should undertake a 5-minute re-boot whenever our attention or energy level is waning.

"Do you find yourself staring at the screen, feeling a bit jaded? The average attention span is typically 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the person and the time of day. So every half an hour, take a five minute re-boot – get up, grab a drink, focus your eyes on something else - even a couple of minutes away from the screen will help stop your attention from waning and keep you fresh through the day".

Match Your Work With Attention Span And Energy Levels

Organising your work so that it matches our natural attention span seems like a sensible manoeuvre. The Daily Muse even suggests allocating a time slot for you favourite distractions:

"Budget limited time for your favorite distractions".

"Knowing that you'll get to spend 10 minutes on Pinterest after you work for a couple hours can help you avoid wasting time on it now. Plus, using that as a reward for getting through hard work can help you stay motivated."

The advice to allocate time to tasks doesn't just apply to your daily activities. As The Daily Muse suggests, allocating periodic time to administrative tasks can have a big pay off too.

"Once a quarter, do a massive inbox clean and archive all messages older than 2-3 months. (Seriously, answering them at this point would just be embarrassing.) As emails you're subscribed to roll into your inbox, make a snap decision about whether you actually read them or if you should unsubscribe".

The Daily Muse continues:

"If email's really getting you down, try Time Management Ninja's system for only checking it twice a day…Only check email at specific times during the day, and try to limit it to only 4-5 times a day. If you don't have nearly this much self control, use a tool like Inbox Pause to keep emails from showing up in your inbox until you're ready for them".

Robin Sharma batches his email activities to match his energy levels.

"Check email in the afternoon so you protect the peak energy hours of your mornings for your best work"

You can have a look at my own advice on email management here.

Put Time In Your Schedule

Stacia Pierce has a different take on batching. Her advice is not just to make a list – something a lot of us do. She goes further, recommending:

"Give yourself an allotted time to get things done. When I am planning for events, I often block of chunks of time weeks in advance so that I can research, plan and write my presentations. I often use my morning hours to get it done…Blocking time allows you to get into a zone. You can use the Rescue Time app to eliminate distractions from your computer and devices so that while you’re in the zone you are completely focused".

Laura McClellan argues that this principle applies to lots of things we do each day.

"If the demands of your day include routine tasks, try to group similar tasks and schedule certain times during the day to knock them out. Answering emails? Returning phone calls? Entering expenses into a spreadsheet? Instead of interrupting your other tasks to do these things piecemeal, batch them".

Use Tools To Help You

Stacia has some advice for us about dealing with the incoming tide of information hitting our inboxes and other kinds of content we come across while on-line.

"Create organized reading lists with the Pocket app and Instapaper. As you browse the internet these apps allow you to put articles, videos and other information in a virtual pocket for you to read at your own leisure. Facebook allows you to save videos and Instagram allows you to save posts that you want to reference later as well".

I'm a big fan of Instapaper personally. I use it not only to save items I'd like to read later, but I can also clip internet pages I might want to refer to again. Once I've reviewed them later, if I want to keep them I send them into Evernote.

Of course, we also need to manage our social media feeds. Here's Stacia again:

"Save time with Social Media. Let’s face it, social media is here to stay and it plays a major role in business marketing. To stay on top of it all, use Hootsuite, my tried and true app for years, to automate social media posts to Twitter, Facebook and more. The app has gotten more sophisticated over the years and offers many more social media management tools as well. Hootsuite has never let me down. I love that it organizes your time lines, direct messages and mentions so that you can review them easily".

Hootsuite is a great app, but today I use Sprout Social. I prefer the way it organises my feeds and I find the scheduling capability suits my way of working better.

Go On The Offensive

Rounding up this section on batching, The Harvard Business Review in a collection of articles from top leaders shares the approach Tom Rath takes. He makes sure that he can:

"Block out time to work away from email, programming your phone to only ring for select colleagues, and resisting emails first thing in the morning until you’ve achieved at least one important task."

Control Interruptions

Finally in this section, Bruna Martinuzzi suggests taking a leaf out of the restauranteur Danny Meyer's approach to managing people:

"He has his assistant group all questions that come up during the day in one list so she doesn't have to interrupt him repeatedly during office hours. Take a cue from this and see how you can ask others on your team to group questions, requests and other non-urgent inquiries so you're not distracted by interruptions that don't add value".

So that concludes the round up of top advice about batching jobs and tasks. Avoiding multitasking and batching activities can make a huge difference to our personal productivity.

The Take Away

If you're already implementing the advice to avoid multi-tasking it makes sense to create time slots in your day. Use these time slots to match work to your energy levels and attention span and allocate time in your calendar to tackle similar tasks in groups. You'll find this easier to accomplish if you deploy tools to help you. Remember to control distractions that could throw you off course.

References

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254432

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-28/top-10-tips-for-a-productive-workplace/

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

https://timemanagementninja.com/2017/02/7-tips-to-increase-your-email-speed/

http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/09/become-the-most-productive-person-you-know/

http://healthyleaderblog.com/blog/how-to-beat-email-and-quadruple-your-best-time

http://lifecoach2women.com/main/ten-productivity-tips-for-business-owners/

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/top-10-tips-for-productivity.html

https://hbr.org/2015/12/9-productivity-tips-from-people-who-write-about-productivity

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/productivity-tips-from-incredibly-busy-entrepreneurs/

3. Build Consistency In The System And Methods You Use

Build A System

With so much complexity around us and with so many ways of receiving information it is inevitable that without some kind of system we are going to get overwhelmed. This is one of the most critical steps any of us can take to become better organised and so more productive.

I've written a series of posts about my own approach to these issues. You can read my note taking method here.

Create A Schedule Of Activities

At its most basic a system has a schedule of activities that you follow in a pre-defined way. Brian Tracy puts it like this.

"Scheduling your time reduces stress and releases energy. The very act of using your organizational skills to plan your day, week, and month gives you a greater feeling of control and will help increase productivity throughout your day. You’ll feel in charge of your life. It actually increases your self-esteem and improves your sense of personal power".

There is a psychological aspect to developing a system – it creates a sense of order around you and that helps to reduce stress. When we are stressed our creativity and productivity drops exponentially.

Manage Your Diary

Scot Farquhar has this recommendation for diary management:

"Review your diary at the end of each week. Literally print it out and review it. Ask yourself three questions: (1) did we achieve what we wanted to (2) did I personally need to be there (3) could it have been achieved in a shorter time frame. It will transform how you spend your time."

This regular discipline can pay you back many times over.

Manage Your To Do's

April Underwood, Vice President at Slack reminds us of how important it is to have a system for managing all of your to-do's.

"Have a clear system for to-dos: whether it’s 'Getting Things Done' or the 'Checklist Manifesto,' just have a system and stick to it. I have a very specific method I use in Slack and in email that works for me, and knowing I have that system keeps me from feeling overwhelmed even when I’m behind or the to-dos pile up."

Big, Brave Goals Release Energy

Here's Robin Sharma again:

"Remember that big, brave goals release energy. So set them clearly and then revisit them every morning for 5 minutes".

Be Realistic

Regular and consistent seems to be the way. Larry Kim is dismissive of To-Do lists as they are not actually a system but actually in Eric Barker's words, a 'pipe dream'.

"Have you ever had that to-do item that simply wouldn't disappear? It hovers at the bottom of the list or scratched in the corner, petulantly scowling at you for days, weeks, even months! As more time passes, you feel even less inclined to give it attention. We've all been there--it's just one of the reasons I'm saying out with the to-do list and in with scheduling".

This means you have to be realistic about what is possible. Eric Barker suggests we should:

"Seriously sit down and consider your available time and what specific slots you can designate to completing certain tasks in a given day. To-dos are pipe dreams. Scheduling is a game plan. Studies show that even scheduling free time can be rewarding and can result in better quality of time spent – even if that time spent is playing PS4 or reading a Stephen King novel".

Always Have Back Up Tasks

The Daily Muse reckons we could all do with having a list of things we can turn our attention to when we are blocked from working on what he have planned to do.

"Always have backup tasks. There are times when life will try to derail your productivity: A person you need to talk to is unavailable, the internet is down, or you just can’t focus on the task at hand. Always have other options so that you’re able to get something done even when you can’t finish your primary task."

This method ensure there's always something we can move forward, even when our planned activity can't be worked on.

Clarify Your Three Most Important Goals

Many of the experts included in this round up recommend adopting a 'top three things' approach. J D Meier has written extensively about this method in his brilliant "Getting Things Done The Agile Way."

Writing about this Stacia Pierce suggests:

"Streamline your focus. Instead of trying to get a million things done in a day, write your list then choose the top three things to accomplish each day. These three things should be of the highest priority and once accomplished will leave you feeling satisfied with your productivity. Use the Streaks app to be reminded to accomplish your top 3 daily goals. You can also turn your most important daily tasks into new habits with this app’s features".

The trick is to ruthlessly prioritise. Kathleen Kobel, founder of Smart Business Mom makes this clear:

"If you can, set aside the low-priority items and come up with a plan to delegate or outsource them so that you can spend more time on the things that add more value to your position and the company."

Have A Great Filing System

There's so much information we now have available to us, that the premium on great organisational systems for storing and retrieving that information has never been higher. Brian Tracy suggests:

"Resolve to improve your organizational skills and use a filing system both at home and at work. …There are few activities so frustrating as spending your valuable time looking for misplaced materials because no thought was given to a filing and retrieval system".

He suggests that the best systems are probably the simplest. He recommends using an alphabetical system and then creating a master list which enables you to understand very quickly where everything is.

Never Procrastinate

Having a good system is one thing, but it is crucial that you develop some self-discipline too. Not only will this help make the system stick, it will also stop things piling up, particularly if you follow Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of Grab's advice:

"Just get it done right away. I don't wait until I get home, I take calls wherever I am. I execute on any feedback I get right away. That way the work never piles up."

The Take Away

To be a more productive person, build a system that you can trust. Manage your time, your to-do's, and major goals. Have a plan for when you get side tracked. Avoid procrastination.

References

http://fortune.com/2016/09/26/productivity-tips-40/

http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/09/become-the-most-productive-person-you-know/

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://theweek.com/articles/444385/how-most-productive-person-office--still-home-by-530-pm

http://www.30daysofgettingresults.com/

http://lifecoach2women.com/main/ten-productivity-tips-for-business-owners/

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html

http://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/6-time-management-tips-to-increase-productivity-organizational-skills/

http://fortune.com/2016/09/26/productivity-tips-40/

4. Set Things Up A Day Ahead

Prepare The Night Before

There are only 24-hours in each day. There's obviously a limit to how much time you have and what you can get done in a single day. Some productivity experts recommend getting a jump on each day by preparing the day before. Bharath Kumar writes:

"The family is asleep. They think the weekend is over. Monday morning is yet to come. Work through Sunday night, or at least till 3AM. You get at least 4 hours of extremely productive, thoughtful, non-interrupted time with no expectations. When you get work done on a Sunday night, your Monday is awesome. You meet colleagues with confidence, and can do meetings to plan the next week - all armed by a productive night."

The Rationale For Preparing A Day Ahead

Brian Tracy is another who uses this practice to increase his productivity. He explains the rationale for doing so like this:

"A major benefit of preparing your daily list the night before is that this exercise lets you sleep more soundly. A major reason for insomnia is your lying awake trying not to forget to remember everything that you have to do the following day. Once you have written down everything you have to do on your list, it clears your mind and enables you to sleep deeply. This will help you increase productivity throughout the next work day."

In a later section on looking after your health there are some further suggestions about how getting a good night's sleep can have a positive impact on your personal effectiveness. Thorin Klosowski discusses Barack Obama's approach to preparation:

"By the end of the day, most of us want to relax with some cable TV and zone out for a while before our next stressful day. Barack Obama reminds us that a better approach is to spend a little bit of time preparing for the next day".

He suggests that Obama would often stay up late into the night flicking through documents to help him get his thoughts organised. Klosowski suggests:

"The president’s job is much more stressful than yours, so implementing this as a daily routine makes sense. The rest of us can utilize this tip before big meetings, presentations, or deadlines".

Beat Monday Mania

Larry Kim uses this practice to avoid what he calls Monday mania. He suggests that it's not necessary to spend a lot of time working. It's more a matter of switching your brain on ahead of time.

"You don't need to make calls or even answer emails – simply assess what your Monday game plan will be, and you'll sleep a little more soundly".

It seems that priming the brain a day ahead creates some advantages. It enables the mind to start processing ahead of time and it means you feel more prepared and ready for the day ahead. Even a simple review of what lies ahead can help. Laura McClellan writes:

"The best way to hit the ground running is to start the night before. Before leaving your workspace, or before going to bed, take ten minutes to look over the next day’s commitments".

The Take Away

A stitch in time saves nine. Get a jump start on your day by preparing the night before. Just a quick review of what lies ahead will be enough to get your unconscious churning away so that when your day starts you'll have the benefit of that predigested thinking.

References

http://www.inc.com/ss/13-productivity-hacks-help-you-get-more-done

http://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/6-time-management-tips-to-increase-productivity-organizational-skills/

http://lifehacker.com/top-10-productivity-tips-from-former-presidents-1792454530

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/top-10-tips-for-productivity.html

5. Delegate It

You Are Not Alone – Use The People Round You

Mastering the ability to delegate is a crucial productivity competency it seems. It stands to reason that if we are faced with multiple demands on our time we need to maximise our ability to engage others in completing the tasks we have to complete. Laura McClellan offers some very practical advice. We can ask these questions she suggests:

"What tasks could someone else do, thereby freeing you up to focus on the things only you can do? Look around you: who is available to do some of those tasks? A secretary? A colleague? A family member? A paid helper? An important key to productivity is doing only those things that only you can do, and giving somebody else the opportunity to contribute by doing those other tasks".

Daniel Tan, a web entrepreneur is very clear about the benefits of delegation.

"Delegation is the most important fuel for productivity. Having more staffs should double, triple, quadruple, etc., your time."

Get The Most Out Of Delegation

To get the most from delegation he argues that staff should be set free, and not micro-managed.

"Let them fly with their wings. You hired them, they are surely good. Otherwise, why keep them? Since they are good, there is really no need to check on them all the time. Cultivate a sense of ownership and let them work like they are the boss. Things will go so well when everyone think they are the owners of the company and act in it's best interest".

The Take Away

Make the most of the team you lead. Empower them and increase not only your own productivity, but make their lives better too.

References

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/top-10-tips-for-productivity.html

http://www.inc.com/ss/13-productivity-hacks-help-you-get-more-done

6. Deal With Distractions

Switch Off

Laura McClellan hits the nail on the head when she says:

"One of the major productivity killers is the distraction of constant interruptions. Emails, phone calls, people appearing at your door… The technology that can (and should) make our lives easier and better also can make it virtually impossible to maintain the kind of focused attention that’s necessary to work efficiently and effectively".

There is a huge problem which is inadvertently created by the very technology which was supposed to make a work easier to accomplish and amplify our productivity efforts. The question is what can we do about it?

Bryan Guido Hassin makes a radical suggestion:

"After noticing that he got some of his best work done on long intercontinental flights, Guido established "Airplane Days" to help him get things done".

"On "Airplane Days," Guido restricts his Internet access, removes distractions, and churns through his high priority to-do items."

He offers some advice based on his implementation of this strategy which he claims creates the most productive time of the week by far.

"At the beginning of each week, I carefully look at my schedule and declare one day (or two half days) to be Airplane Time. I block it out on my shared calendar and treat it as if I were in the air: working out of the office, disabling my phone, and shutting off network connections on my laptop."

Dealing With Social Media

Social media can be a huge distraction, with it's constantly updating streams which can litter our screens and cause big reductions in our effectiveness. Roman Grigorjev has a clever hack for Facebook:

"He partially quit Facebook by moving all his friends to acquaintances."

He explains: "You can move everyone from 'friends' to 'acquaintances.' You will still get updates, but instead of 'check out what I ate for breakfast,' you will only be shown the most important posts, i.e. 2-5 new posts max a day from hundreds of your friends. That would save you lots of time and make you 5-10x more productive."

The Daily Muse recommends an app which can turn off our social media streams completely while we are at work.

"Try an app like SelfControl to block your access during the workday".

Larry Kim recommends turning off notifications – something which I totally recommend. I've written a post about my app set up which discusses how to do this this at some length.

It's not just social media that jostles for our attention. News feeds can also create unwanted distractions. Larry Kim offers this advice:

"The idea that we need to keep up to date on the news is largely outdated. Most of what passes as news today is prettily packaged garbage – it's trivial, depressing, and unreliable. If something major happens, you'll find out one way or another. Instead, focus your attention on what's useful and actionable in your life".

The Take Away

Learn how to control distraction and you'll already be ahead of most people. Try some of the methods suggested here and regain control of your time and what you seen it on.

References

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/top-10-tips-for-productivity.html

http://www.inc.com/ss/13-productivity-hacks-help-you-get-more-done

https://selfcontrolapp.com/

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://healthyleaderblog.com/blog/mobile-device-hero

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

7. Eat That Frog

Tackle The Worst One First

Brian Tracy's best selling book, Eat That Frog!: Get More of the Important Things Done - Today! is based on the idea that quite often the thing that weighs on our mind is the thing we tend to put off.

I've explored previously how this is a problem for us, these 'open loops' will continue to deplete our mind's mental energy store and make us less likely to make good quality decisions. Brian's advice is that we should deal with the most unpleasant task first. It's really surprising how doing this releases a ton of energy and some endorphins too as you realise you've actually dealt with that problem. He calls them Frogs because the idea of eating of frog to most of us is – well fairly grim. Anything we eat afterwards will seem much more palatable as a result.

Murray Newlands takes this philosophy and uses it to:

"Schedule the most vital activities first. If you first deal with your most critical tasks first, it'll be easier to discover time for less important tasks. If you permit yourself to become sidetracked on busywork or unimportant tasks, odds are you never will get to the things that really matter"

Alok Bhardwaj says that this is the way he starts every morning.

"Do the least desirable tasks first thing in the morning. Try to work 2-3 hours straight on getting stuff done first thing in thing in the morning, before email or anything else".

You'll Feel Much Better When It's Done

People develop their own rationale for eating frogs. Nicole Fallon Taylor tells us what her's is:

"Instead of waiting until the last minute to finish a task, get it off your plate as soon as possible. Your other tasks will seem less daunting by comparison, and you'll stop stressing about that one task all day, making you more productive overall".

Graham Allcott doesn't use the term "frog" but it's clear that he has his own method for dealing with the difficult or the unpleasant tasks we all have waiting. He has what he calls a "Power Hour" approach.

"So the Power Hour is a single hour each day, where you schedule in an obligation to tackle the difficult, or unclear, or scary, or tedious. Power through those things in an hour, and then you don’t have to think about them for the rest of the day."

Jason Kanigan adopts a similar strategy, terming it the "Golden Hour." These are times when you are functioning at peak performance.

"Figure out when your 'golden hours' are, and protect them at all costs. Permit no distractions during those times. Then 'Eat That Frog'– pick the biggest, hairiest, most difficult goal that stands between you and the next giant step towards success ... and Do It Now. "A small number of decisions makes up the majority of your life experience (the 80/20 rule strikes again!). Therefore, a small number of activity choices make up the large majority of your achievements ... or lack thereof."

Wrapping up this section, Brandon Turner has the simplest advice which captures the essence of frog eating. He puts things like this:

"This year, I made a change. I decided to tackle my biggest task first, before anything else."

The Take Away

Stop avoiding that job you have kept pushing away. You'll be amazed at how liberating it is not to have the anxiety these postponed 'frogs' create swept from your mind.

References

Eat That Frog!: Get More of the Important Things Done - Today!

http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/11-awesome-productivity-tips-that-will-radically-improve-your-life.html

http://www.inc.com/ss/13-productivity-hacks-help-you-get-more-donehttp://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254432

8. Look After Your Health

Mental And Physical Well Being Matter

It’s important not to overlook the role that your physical and mental well being play in maintaining peak performance. There’s little point in designing systems and building workflows if the engine that drives them (that’ll be you) is faltering.

Eat Breakfast

Larry Kim’s advice is to start each day by re-fuelling, priming your mind and body for another day of peak productivity. He says:

“Eat Breakfast! Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day--it's not a ruse put on by Dunkin' Donuts. A morning meal gives you the fuel you need to be present and productive at work, so don't skip it”.

Laura McClellan confirms this noting that there is a lot of evidence which confirms the importance of beginning each day with a good breakfast.

"Healthy people are more productive. No matter how busy you are, eat a decent breakfast. It’ll fuel you for a terrific start to your day".

Stay Well Hydrated

It’s not just breakfast however, it’s also vital to make sure that you are properly hydrated. Robin Sharma makes the point:

Drink more water. When you’re dehydrated, you’ll have far less energy. And get less done.

Thorin Klosowski takes a look at what US Presidents have done to maintain their personal health. Here’s a quick summary:

“A large number of presidents have made it a point to add exercise into their daily routine. Obama planned for an hour of exercise a day, Clinton was an avid jogger, Teddy Roosevelt loved tennis, jogging, and boxing. George W. Bush was also an avid tennis player and jogger, while Jimmy Carter was a cross-country runner. John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan were all swimmers. Time and time again we’ve seen that exercise is as important for physical health as it is mental health, and in the stressful position of president, that seems to hold true”.

Benefits Of Exercise

The benefits of exercise on your mood can change how you feel. Your mood can be given a quick positive injection of productivity enhancing hormones that will help you power through the tasks in front of you. Larry Kim writes:

“It's been shown that exercising in the morning can greatly improve your productivity. Exercise energizes rather than exhausts you, contrary to what the couch potatoes might tell you. (Not that I'm judging. I can be very spud-tacular myself at times.) Exercising also promotes good health (quick, alert the press!), and some studies have shown that exercise can improve your mood for up to 12 hours following your workout. Less stress, more efficiency – it's definitely worth setting that alarm 30 minutes earlier”.

Why Exercise Makes Sense

If you want a quick summary of the reasons why you should start an exercise programme today, take a look at this article by Whitson Gordon. He lists 10 reasons to exercise regularly.

You’ll just be happier.

You’ll live longer.

You’ll get sick less often.

You’ll have better sex.

You’ll get sick less often.

You’ll sleep better.

You’ll de-stress.

You’ll boost your confidence.

You’ll improve your posture.

You’ll improve your memory.

The Take Away

There is a simple truth in the maxim: a healthy body, a healthy mind. Take action to improve your physical and mental well being and not only will you become more productive, you might leave longer and more healthily too.

References

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/top-10-tips-for-productivity.html

http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/09/become-the-most-productive-person-you-know/

http://lifehacker.com/top-10-productivity-tips-from-former-presidents-1792454530

http://lifehacker.com/top-10-reasons-to-exercise-regularly-besides-losing-we-1473616982

9. Manage Meetings Better

We Spend Way Too Much Time In Meetings

According to Scott Dockweiller if you’re a middle manager you’re likely to be spending 35% of your time in meetings. This figure climbs to 50% as you enter the C-Suite.

Given the huge time commitment that meetings require, it’s critical that you maximise the productivity you obtain from meetings.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, is strict on the timing allotted for single-topic, non-operational meetings: He allows a maximum of one hour and 30 minutes. Fifty percent of the time is for the presentation, and 50 percent is for discussion”. Source: The Daily Muse

Adjust The Default Times In Your Calendar

One way to start is to adjust the default settings in Outlook or whichever calendar app you use to manage your time. Jeff Haden suggests:

"Whoever invented the one-hour default in calendar software wasted millions of people-hours."

Most of the time a meeting doesn’t need more than half and hour – often fifteen minutes will suffice. Parkinson’s Law will operate if you don’t do this. Re-set expectations and change the default. You can free up a huge amount of time by tweaking this one setting.

Plan Your Meetings

If you’re responsible for organising a meeting, there are some simple rules that just have to be implemented. The Daily Muse hass a super formula for conducting highly productive meetings. Start with a plan for the meeting, facilitate for focus – organising a distraction free environment if possible and keeping everyone on track, and then closing out effectively with a clear series of next steps.

As The Daily Muse puts it:

“Be incredibly proactive about keeping meetings on track. Send everyone an agenda for each meeting, and, if the conversation goes off topic, don't be afraid to rein it in . A simple, “Let��s schedule time to discuss that later if it’s helpful, since we only have 10 minutes left,” works perfectly”.

Avoid Pointless Meetings

Finally, remember that you always have a choice. Avoid pointless meetings at all costs. Graham Allcott makes this suggestion:

“Avoid pointless meetings Meetings can be a massive time-suck. Never take part in a meeting that doesn’t have a clear purpose, a clear agenda and clear start and finish times. But even well-organised meetings can be a time suck! The occasional sending of your apologies can all be good ways to reclaim some vital hours to put your attention to better use than sat in a boring meeting”.

The Take Away

Many of us spend a lot of time in meetings. These are therefore very important opportunities for us to maximise productivity. Avoid the pointless ones and plan the one's you lead.

References

https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-much-time-do-we-spend-in-meetings-hint-its-scary

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/productivity-tips-from-incredibly-busy-entrepreneurs/

https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-simple-steps-to-exceptional-daily-productivity.html

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-28/top-10-tips-for-a-productive-workplace/

10. Organise Your Workspace

Clutter Creates Distractions

It’s surprising how an untidy and cluttered working environment impacts on productivity. There are the obvious reasons to do with inefficiency. It’s much harder to find what you need in a disorganised workspace. It can be hard to lay out your work and make it easy to understand what you have to do.

The signal an untidy or disorganised workspace sends to our brains is more insidious. We know the place is a mess, so our mind wild it’s best to keep track of where things are. This is an unconscious process that will be stealing energy from the processing power you’ll need to perform at you best.

These are more of the mental “open loops” which will quickly drain your mind’s battery. It makes a lot of sense to create a well organised and uncluttered environment to work in.

The Daily Muse emphasises the impact clutter can have on your ability to focus:

"Just like multitasking, clutter overloads your senses and makes it harder for you to get stuff done. So if you find yourself having trouble focusing, look around at your desk (and your computer desktop) to see if any of them need a little tidying."

Organise Your Workspace

What do the experts suggest?

Nicolle Fallon, quoting Kristoph Matthews suggests a remedy:

“Before you do anything else, take a few moments at the start of each day to organize and de-clutter your workspace. Having a clutter-free environment helps you think more clearly and produce better results, said Kristoph Matthews, founder of on-demand storage company Boxbee. By cleaning up and organizing your space, you will greatly increase your productivity and limit the time you spend searching for items.”

The Take Away

A disorganised and cluttered workspace will leave you prone to distractions. Not being able to finds what you need, coupled with the 'open loops' such environments trigger in your brain will drain your mental reserves dramatically.

References

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html#sthash.tvZsA0SW.dpu

11. Outsource It

Value Your Own Time

Not everything that’s on your plate has to be dealt with by you personally. If you are lucky enough to have a team, you can empower them and delegate tasks to them.

Sometimes you need to go further. Two good questions to ask are:

Does anyone need to do this task? If no, then stop doing it.

Do we absolutely have to do this ourselves? If no, then consider outsourcing it.

There’s no doubt that highly productive people are very picky about how they spend their energy and time. Bruna Martinuzzi offers this advice:

“Do a cost/benefit analysis of how you spend your time and see if it's worth offloading some repetitive tasks so you can focus on what will bring value to your company”.

Some Outsourcing Options

Marissa Brassfield suggests there are some areas of your life which could be potential candidates for out-sourcing. These are:

Appointments, Reservations, and Logistics Coordination

Fancy Hands

TaskRabbit

Task Bullet

MyTasker

Zirtual

TimeSvr

For Call Handling

AppleTree Answers

Ruby Receptionist

MyReceptionist

VoiceCloud

Research

Fiverr

Freelancer.com

Elance

Graphic Design and Freelance

Fiverr

Elance

99 Designs

Guru

DesignCrowd

Putting Together Furniture, Dry Cleaning Drop-Off, and Other In-Person Tasks

Zaarly

TaskRabbit

Shopping for Fresh ProduceShopping for Fresh Produce

There will be many suppliers that can tailor an offer to your needs based on your specific geography. Marissa is very clear about the advantages she finds in out-sourcing:

“…the truth is, you can outsource more than you might think—for less than you’d imagine—using the tons of online virtual assistant and delivery services out there”.

The Take Away

You really don't need to do everything yourself. Leverage these resources to free your time up for the tasks that you and you alone can do.

References

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/productivity-tips-from-incredibly-busy-entrepreneurs/

https://www.themuse.com/advice/7-tasks-you-should-outsourceimmediately

https://www.fancyhands.com/

https://www.taskrabbit.com/

https://www.taskbullet.com/

https://mytasker.com/

https://www.zirtual.com/

https://www.timesvr.com/

http://www.appletreeanswers.com/

https://www.callruby.com/

http://myreceptionist.com/

https://www.voicecloud.com/

https://www.fiverr.com/

https://www.freelancer.com/

https://www.elance.com/

http://www.99designs.com/

http://www.guru.com/

http://www.designcrowd.com/‎

https://zaarly.com/

12. Develop A Positive Mindset

The Happiness Advantage

I’ve written a summary of the best books out there on how the mind works. One of the books which made it to the list was Shawn Achor’s The Happiness Advantage. This books reinforces the principle that happiness drives success, not the other way round.

It’s no wonder that productivity experts emphasis the importance of cultivating a positive mindset as part of your strategy to become more productive. President John F Kennedy once said:

“Of course, while it’s important to learn from past mistakes, nostalgia for the past can be a boring, manipulative emotion that blinds you to the needs of the future”.

Having a growth mindset means that you will be on the look out for learning and will assume that even when things haven’t worked out, it will be possible to learn from them. They key is not to wallow in the mistakes and spend time recriminating.

Monitor Our Internal Conversation

We can also prime ourselves for improved future performance by being careful with the language we use in our internal conversations. Graham Allcott suggests you should:

“Use language to change your motivation. If you’re dreading doing a particularly boring task, don’t say “I have to…”, say “I get to…”. The language we use with ourselves is a key component of productivity psychology”.

The Take Away

The new field of positive psychology creates some powerful new insights for people interested in improving productivity. Maximise your personal effeorts by building an appreciation of positive psychology – reading the Happiness Advantage is a good place to start.

References

http://lifehacker.com/top-10-productivity-tips-from-former-presidents-1792454530

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-28/top-10-tips-for-a-productive-workplace/

http://amzn.to/2q1ydke

https://healthyleaderblog.com/blog/5-best-books-mind

13. Use Rituals To Create New Habits

Build New Habits

No-one can operate at 100% of their ability constantly. Optimising the periods of time when we are at our best is one of the principles behind improved productivity. You are looking for a way to organise your routines into some kind of consistent pattern which you know helps you work at your best.

Brigid Schulte puts it like this:

“…we have been seduced into thinking that if only we try harder and work longer, we can achieve anything. Top performers take a different approach. They recognize and honor their physical limitations by getting plenty of exercise and sleep, cycling between 90-minute bursts of focused work and short restorative breaks, and taking time to disconnect from email for some portion of their off-hours”.

Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project suggest four ways of setting up rituals to automate behaviours that will make you more productive. One of them is to define one task each day which you will prioritise – then start the day focused on that task.

"Force yourself to prioritize so that you know that you will finish at least that one critical task during the period of the day when you have the most energy and the fewest distractions," Schwartz says.

Building rituals is something that successful people have done over time as Robin Sharma describes:

“When I studied the creative lives of massively productive people like Stephen King, John Grisham and Thomas Edison, I discovered they follow strict daily routines. (i.e., when they would get up, when they would start work, when they would exercise and when they would relax).”

Meditation Helps Ideas Develop

Stacia Pierce has a meditation practice she uses to start each day:

“Every day, I spend time meditating before I start my day. Meditation for at least 15 minutes can get you focused and help to improve productivity. Insight comes early; if you sit quietly in the morning and meditate and then listen within, you will discover brilliant ideas are ready to burst out of you”.

Tackle Habits You Want To Change

The flip side of positive behaviours you want to encourage is those bad habits you’d like to change. Here’s one piece of practical advice from Larry Kim:

“Sometimes the best way to break a bad habit is to make things incredibly difficult for yourself. If you hate that you watch too much TV, keep the remote control in the upstairs closet”.

The Take Away

To be productive you need to master your own behaviour. Lots of our behaviour is driven unconsciously which is why habits and rituals play such an important role in driving improved productivity.

References

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/productivity-tips-from-incredibly-busy-entrepreneurs/

https://hbr.org/2015/12/9-productivity-tips-from-people-who-write-about-productivity

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

14. Say No

You Always Have A Choice

No is a very powerful word which you can use to regulate how much you have to do. It is sometimes difficult to say no, but developing a confident ability to recognise when you are already shipping water is a strategy many experts recommend.

Adam Grant’s book Give and Take reveals the findings from his his research into strategies for giving and receiving help. While his study demonstrates that successful people tend to be people who are prepared to help others without expecting something in return, he noticed something else too. The Harvard Business Review puts it like this:

"While giving can certainly help you succeed, Grant’s data also reveals that helping everyone with everything is a recipe for failure. So how do you do it right? Top performers, Grant argues, avoid saying yes to every helping opportunity. Instead, they specialize in one or two forms of helping that they genuinely enjoy and excel at uniquely”.

Learn How To Discriminate

Larry Kim offers a clear rationale for cultivating the ability to discriminate – to be clear what you can take on and what you really shouldn’t.

"Remember, it's not simply a matter of being agreeable – when you take on too much, all your work suffers. You may end up missing deadlines, and despite good intentions, you could end up disappointing others when you are unable to meet the extraordinary expectations you've created for yourself”.

The Take Away

Remember whenever you say yes to something, you're also saying no to something else. There are only so many things which it is possible to do in any allotted time. Learning how to say no, to discriminate between the important and the not so important can have major benefits to your productivity.

References

https://hbr.org/2015/12/9-productivity-tips-from-people-who-write-about-productivity

15. Build Your Self Awareness

Increase Productivity With Prime Time

Brain Tracy has made a career from providing advice to business leaders. His conclusions are based on thousands of hours of observation and conversations with some of the world's top business leaders. He suggests you should:

"Organize your life so that you are doing creative work during your internal ‘‘prime time.’’ Your internal prime time is the time of day, according to your body clock, when you are the most alert and productive."

By identifying when you are at your most productive, you will maximise your ability to work at your optimal level of productivity. This appears to be one of the characteristics of some of the most successful business leaders. Here's Ryan Smith, CEO of Qualtrics:

"The key for me is you have to understand how your brain works and when you are most productive. For me, I’m most productive and creative in the morning through early afternoon, so I’ve gotten rid of lunch meetings to keep my productive time going as long as I can. I make sure the tasks I have at the beginning of the day are the tasks that require the most creativity or, in other words, tasks I have never done before."

Think About Your Thinking

Henry Ford once said:

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probably reason so few engage in it.”

There are huge benefits you can obtain from spending time considering carefully about what you have to do.

"But quality thinking time is vital not only to our productivity, but to our sense of control and well-being at work. Regularly reviewing what we’re working on, what’s on our schedule and what’s coming up can help us spot efficiencies, empower us to be realistic and say no to requests, and get the clarity we need to create momentum and remove procrastination from our working week".

Psychologist Ivan Staroversky, a counselor, psychotherapist, NLP trainer, and Lifehacker, uses the knowledge he has acquired about how our minds work to help him be more productive. He says that he listens to his Ultradian rhythms which are natural body cycles that rise and fall throughout the day every 90-120 minutes. He explains:

"Approximately every 90-120 minutes, the mind and body give us clues signaling the need for rest and change in physical and mental activity. Ignoring these signals may lead to fatigue, stress, and ultimately physical (psychosomatic) illness. These rhythms suggest that its time to take a break and can help increase your productivity. Basically you have to: - recognize the signals - listen to yourself - make time for rejuvenation and awakening".

You can find out more about his work on his blog.

Cool Off Before Responding

If you're provoked, it's all too easy to snap back. Similarly, following our instinctive response can lead us to places we didn't ever intend. While there's nothing wrong with encouraging a creative exploration of other possibilities, sudden, reactive changes in direction can be a serious problem.

President Thomas Jefferson gave himself some rules to counteract these tendencies:

"When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred".

Allowing a pause between the stimulus and your reaction to it make a lot of sense. Bear in mind that if you can't always control what happens, you can always control how you respond to it.

Switch Locations

We are all made differently and one of our points of differentiation is how we respond to the environments we are in. For some people, changing your location can lead to a big boost in productivity. Meghan Khaitan, founder of seat belt buckle device MyBuckleMate said that a change of scenery can be a big help in boosting productivity.

"Head to the library or a local park (weather permitting), or find a place that's quiet and full of natural light. This can help spur new ideas or shed new light on an old problem."

Silence Your Inner Perfectionist

If you wait for everything to be in perfect alignment, for the absolutely perfect set of conditions, you might have a longer wait than necessary. This is a twist on the paralysis bu analysis maxim – which argues that enough information is enough information. Robin Sharma argues we should quit waiting for perfection:

"Stop waiting for perfect conditions to launch a great project. Immediate action fuels a positive feedback loop that drives even more action".

It's not just when we wait for the perfect situation to begin our tasks that we lose potential productivity opportunities. It's also when we try to perfect what we're doing. Larry Kim sums it up:

"Yes, a single piece of work can always be better, but what are you sacrificing by laboring over slight improvements? Do the best you can do in a reasonable amount of time, and then stop. Your inner perfectionist can be helpful, but it also needs to be kept in check".

Make A Verbal Commitment

If you're the kind of person who finds it tough to honour promises made to yourself – and let's face it many of us are, why not follow Larry's advice to make those same commitments to another person?

"It's easy to break a promise to yourself, but it's much harder to break a commitment you've made to another person. Words have weight and power--make vows to friends (and ask them to hold you accountable), and you may find it easier to keep commitments you wouldn't necessarily hold yourself to".

The Take Away

Build a better understanding of how you work at your best will pay you back handsomely. You will then be better placed to choose the times when you'll be at peak performance. You can choose more than when you work, you can also influence how productive you are by choosing where you work. Controlling your reactions to adversity and maintaining your focus are all skills which you can cultivate.

References

http://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/6-time-management-tips-to-increase-productivity-organizational-skills/

http://fortune.com/2016/09/26/productivity-tips-40/ http://lifehacker.com/top-10-productivity-tips-from-former-presidents-1792454530

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html

http://www.inc.com/ss/13-productivity-hacks-help-you-get-more-done

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/09/become-the-most-productive-person-you-know/

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-28/top-10-tips-for-a-productive-workplace/

http://lifehacker.com/top-10-productivity-tips-from-former-presidents-1792454530

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html#sthash.tvZsA0SW.dpuf

https://staroversky.com/

16. Simplify It

It's Simple, Stupid – Focus On What Matters

Winston Churchill once gave a speech, which he began by apologising that it was going to be a long one. He hadn't time he said to write a short one.

President Woodrow Wilson said much the same thing:

"If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now."

One way to achieve a measure of simplicity is to narrow your focus.

Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman, says,

"I keep things focused. The speech I give every day is: 'This is what we do. Is what we are doing consistent with that, and can it change the world?'"

Jason Goldberg, CEO of Fab.com, has an alternative message:

Pick one thing and do that one thing—and only that one thing—better than anyone else ever could.

He argues:

"We can derive a great deal of power from developing a laser focus on our top business priorities. It's one of the attributes that sets apart the average businessperson from the more successful one.

The Take Away

When you commit to use your time, make sure that it is focused on your most important goals. That way you will make more progress. If you've got an important presentation to make, ensure you make enough time to deliver a short, simple message.

References

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/productivity-tips-from-incredibly-busy-entrepreneurs/

http://lifehacker.com/top-10-productivity-tips-from-former-presidents-1792454530

17. Step Back From It

Maintain Perspective

This article is about implementing productivity hacks that will help you get more done. Jeff Lawson reminds how important it is to keep a perspective on what you're doing. For example, many people advocate clearing your emails to zero each day – something which I do recommend. Jeff has his own take on this:

"Inbox zero is a fool’s errand. I don’t try to keep up. I feel perfectly fine picking and choosing what I want to engage in."

This is an an example of an important caution about following anyone else's advice. In the end, you have to make the choice about what'll work for you. No-one else can do that.

Step Away From The Daily Grind Too

As a Harvard Business Review makes clear, "in a knowledge economy, productivity requires more than perseverance — it requires insight and problem-solving".

HBR presents a strong case for allowing a space to open between the hurly-burly of the daily business hustle and gain some perspective.

"Research indicates quite clearly that we are more likely to find breakthrough ideas when we temporarily remove ourselves from the daily grind. This is why the best solutions reveal themselves when we step into the shower, go for a run, or take a vacation".

"Top performers view time off not as stalled productivity but as an investment in their future performance".

Larry Kim puts it succinctly, arguing that we you shouldn't drown in the shallow end of the pool.

"When a hundred little tasks are nibbling at your brain, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and lost at sea. However, a little perspective can do you good--remember to not sweat the small stuff. If you're going to worry, worry about the big things, not the little ones".

The Take Away

It pays to remember there's always a bigger picture available. Find ways to ensure you've got the ability to climb out of the detail from time to time and check to make sure your goal still makes sense. Finding time to regain a focus on your larger goals can help you recognise when it's time to reevaluate.

References

http://fortune.com/2016/09/26/productivity-tips-40/

https://hbr.org/2015/12/9-productivity-tips-from-people-who-write-about-productivity

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

18. Manage Your Time

Expect The Unexpected

There's always something you didn't think of, and the chances are that it will make itself known to you when it's least convenient. Murray Newlands believes the problem is caused by over-tight schedules.

"If your schedule is so tight that you do not allow for the unexpected, you drastically increase your odds of feeling chaotic throughout the day. If you must be somewhere and you're able to make it in 15 minutes, permit 25".

"Leave tiny, unscheduled time blocks all through your day in order for you to have a buffer against the unexpected."

Use Deadlines And Time Constraints As A Positive

My father used to say: "if you want to get something done, ask a busy person". Busy people don't have time to procrastinate and often keep things moving as a result. However, there's also a false busyness where we feel like we're busy when actually we are caught up in distractions. Then it's too easy to let time just slip between our fingers, particularly when the world is full of so many interesting alternatives to the task in hand. The Daily Muse offers this advice:

"Even if you don't technically have a deadline on a task, set one for yourself. Knowing that you only have two hours to get something done will help ensure you don't waste an hour of it on the internet."

The fact is that Parkinson's Law does operate. The tasks we have have a habit of expanding to fill the available space. Of course the opposite can also be true as The ITV reported:

" The work we do in the two or three hours when our attention is at its strongest, are really what defines our productivity – not the hours we spend looking busy until the boss goes home".

Manage Meeting Time

As we've already seen, there are lots of things we can do to make sure the time we spend in meetings can be as productive as possible. Here's a further tip from The Daily Muse:

"Do not schedule more time than you need. Most meetings are scheduled for a full hour, when they should be 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or 45 minutes max".

Take Time For A Break

It's true that: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In this context, "dull" means less sharp, weary and more liable to make mistakes or take longer to complete a task. Larry Kim suggest we should be kind to ourselves:

"Give Yourself a Break, Man! You work hard--you deserve a break! Maybe with a Kit Kat, maybe with a cup of tea, maybe with a walk in the park. It's easy to burn yourself out if you try to work at full throttle all day long. The truth is that our minds just aren't designed to work that way. For optimal productivity, try the popular and praised Pomodoro technique--work for 25 minutes, then give yourself a five-minute break".

Business News Daily took up this theme when discussing how to enhance personal productivity. It cites Kathleen Kobel, the woman behind Smart Business Mom:

"Take short breaks. Whether it's a walk around the block, a run to the nearby coffee shop, reading a magazine or visiting with a colleague, taking short breaks that are unrelated to your work can make a huge difference in your performance. Your productivity diminishes the longer you go without a break, Kobel told Business News Daily. Kobel explained that this is why it's recommended that people don't work more than 8 to 10 hours per day — at a certain point, your body and mind simply cannot produce anymore, she said".

The Daily Muse recommends you schedule plenty of breaks throughout your day. Building this into your daily schedule can be tricky, so they offer this tip for hard pressed and busy people whip struggle to male this happen:

"Try using an online timer to remind yourself to get up from your desk, grab a snack or some water, or chat with a co-worker for a few minutes before getting back to the grindstone".

For a more formulaic approach, here's Murray Newlands again, describing how he ensure that he makes time for breaks during his day:

"I utilize applied focus sessions where I do 45 minutes of focused effort, followed up by 15 minutes of something else. After 45 minutes, our ability to focus starts to taper off and we no longer optimally perform. I utilize those 15 minutes for strolling around, getting something to drink, answering calls, or anything else that distracts me from the activity at hand".

"Oftentimes, that's when my best ideas come to mind, and I wind up feeling invigorated and prepared to make things work."

Keep A Track On Your Time

There's always a possibility that time will pass without you noticing. This can be a big problem, particularly when we are concentrating hard on something. Over time these can lead to large amounts of time that we are unconsciously using. Bear in mind that time is a non-renewable commodity, it only moves in one direction. That's why so many people recommend we track our time:

"To figure out where your time is heading, attempt to keep a time log for one or two weeks. How much time is actually being lost on unimportant tasks? Where will the majority of your interruptions come from? Will they happen within specific periods of time or on certain days of the week? Once you have this data, it'll be simpler to eliminate time-wasting tasks, along with interruptions and distractions".

There are tools out there that can help you do this. They work in the background, keeping track of what you're up to. Here are are two that I've used:

Rescue Time

Toggl

If you use these tools you'll have a much better idea about how your time is being spent.

Over the course of a week or two, you'll start to get a sense of what the time-sucking culprits are—and be able to plan your attack for how you'll get rid of them.

The Take Away

Time is a non-renewable resource. To make the most of the time we are given is one of the more important productivity skills you need to master. It's also one of the productivity areas that spills over into the rest of your life. Find some ways to manage your time and you'll feel the benefits far beyond improved personal productivity.

References

http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/11-awesome-productivity-tips-that-will-radically-improve-your-life.html

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-28/top-10-tips-for-a-productive-workplace/

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html

http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/11-awesome-productivity-tips-that-will-radically-improve-your-life.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

http://www.smartbusinessmom.com/

https://cirillocompany.de/pages/pomodoro-technique

https://www.rescuetime.com/

https://toggl.com/

19. Use Travel Wisely

Leverage Travel Time

Lots of us travel to work each day. Time spent commuting can feel like time that's lost. However there's lots of way we can leverage this time to become more productive. When driving I often listen to podcasts or Audible. Larry Kim makes the point:

"Those hours don't have to be wasted--consider scheduling calls in the morning that you can take during your drive to work".

Advice For Flyers

Flying is a whole other story. A few years back, Hughes Air West an airline that used to serve the western U.S. Made a study of the comparison between working when flying economy, first class and working in a normal office.

What they found was that one hour of uninterrupted work time in an airplane yielded the equivalent of three hours of work in a normal work environment.

As Brain Tracy explains

"The keyword was ‘‘uninterrupted.’’ If you plan ahead and organize your work before you leave for the airport, you can increase productivity by accomplishing an enormous amount while you are in the air."

See Travel As An Opportunity

Rather than thinking of travel as down time, Murray Newlands suggests we ask ourselves these questions instead:

"Can you find a method of listening to crucial data that you normally would need to read later?"

As he explains there's really no excuse for travel to reduce pour productivity.

"Have something around that you're able to do whenever you're stuck waiting around. Making use of time that normally would be wasted is an easy way to create more time for those things you have a desire to accomplish".

The Benefits Of No Distractions

As we've already discussed, the fact the airplanes enforce a restriction on connectivity on many flights, can produce a huge productivity boost.

The Take Away

Like a lot of the best productivity advice, travel is as much about our state of mind as it is about the situation we are in. If you can see your travel time as a productivity benefit you'll already be half there to improved productivity while travelling.

References

http://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/6-time-management-tips-to-increase-productivity-organizational-skills/

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/11-awesome-productivity-tips-that-will-radically-improve-your-life.html

20. Use Technology

Unlock Your Full Potential

Today's digital technology is amazing. In fact there's so much of it that it can sometimes be difficult to work out what to use and how to link things together. That's why I've written up the way I use my laptop and iPad. People where I work keep asking me how it all works so I thought I'd just write it down and share it.

If you'd like to see what I do you can read about it here.

The truth is that technology can be a big help in our efforts to become more productive – to spend more of our time, our energy and out attention on our most important goals. Adam Grant, a respected Professor of Psychology at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania writes:

"Most people type much, much slower than they think. Work on increasing your typing speed—or invest in voice recognition software. And then stop wasting time reading productivity tips."

Stop Repeating Yourself

On of my favourite tricks is to use keyboard short cuts to trigger large or small blocks of text to appear. It's one of the things that people have noticed when the see me working and it's probably the most commonly asked question I get. The Muse sums it up pretty well:

"Use canned responses to avoid typing the same things over and over again. For any email that you send regularly—or even just part of an email, like the wrap-up paragraph—create a canned response that you can pop in whenever you need it.

My favourite tool and in my opinion the best one out there is TextExpander.

Use The Cloud

There's no excuse for not having your documents, files and reference materials with you wherever you are and whatever device you're working on. There are many different cloud providers available. Some of the ones I use are:

Dropbox

Evernote

iCloud

Take a look at my setup here.

Stacia Pierce summarises the benefits:

"Take your important docs with you everywhere by using the cloud. Apps like Box.com and Dropbox enables you to access important docs, photos and music and more from any device and anywhere on the go. You can sync the files with your desktop so that you always have the latest version. Team members can comment on files, make revisions and more".

Help With Your Email Monster

Most of us have struggled with email occasionally (make that constantly - Ed.). I've written a piece about how I tamed my own beast which you can read here.

The Daily Muse has a recommendation of it's own.

"Use Boomerang to pull emails out of your inbox until you're ready to deal with them. This is useful for two reasons: First, it gets the message out of sight and out of mind, giving you space to think about other things. Second, it automatically reminds you about the email later on, giving you one less task to worry about tracking on your own".

Set up automatic filters to immediately pull emails out of your inbox and into the right folder. (This is a great option for things like newsletters that you want to come back to on your own time.) Daily Muse

Here's a great summary from Larry Kim detailing the technology he uses:

For tracking your time management, try Toggl or Yast.

Are you a savvy social manager? Go with Hootsuite, which offers a central dashboard for managing all your social media accounts. Also consider Buffer, which makes it super easy to share found articles across various social sites.

For saving articles to read at your leisure, go with Feedly, Pocket, or Evernote. These apps are compatible across devices; you can earmark a blog post on your laptop and read it later on the train via smartphone.

Sick of forgetting passwords (then resetting them, getting an email, and choosing a new password, which you'll forget again next time)? Try LastPass, which keeps tabs and secures all your various passwords for you. If you use numerous accounts in one day (and who doesn't?), this one can be a serious timesaver.

Personally, I prefer to use 1Password for keeping my passwords safe and Sprout Social for social media but this is a great summary nevertheless.

Have A Good Second Brain

Our brains evolved to think not to hold things in their short term memory.

Have a good second brain The human brain is incredible - but our brains are close to useless when it comes to short-term memory.

On average we are unable to hold more than five to seven things in this short term memory. But even this comes at a price – it takes a lot of memory power to accomplish even this meagre feat. That's why it makes sense to think of technology as a second brain – designed to be far more efficient at these sort of jobs.

ITV News reported:

"Keeping a good “second brain” – that is, a list of all the tasks we have to do, and a list of all the projects they relate to – allows us to free up our brain for the stuff it’s brilliant at, and not rely on our brain for the things it’s lousy at".

Don't Forget Your Browser Has Secret Powers Too

Bloggers have always used browser extensions to speed up their workflows. There's no reason why you shouldn't deploy the same tools to produce amazing productivity benefits during your day. Many of us spend lots of our time inside browsers, so each little moment that we save by using these tools can add up to significance numbers across the week.

Harsh Agrawal, a successful blogger offers this advice:

"Use Browser extensions Extensions or addons are great productivity tools for bloggers. Firefox is serving addons since long time. Recently Google Chrome also introduced extension. These extensions are very helpful for getting work done easily. You can use SEO tools to check website’s stats, YouTube extension to watch videos and also take notes without leaving your browser".

In my browser I have extensions for the following apps:

Instapaper

Evernote

Dropbox

1Password

The Take Away

It makes sense to deploy technology to do the jobs our brains aren't well suited to. My strong advice is to find a system and stick to it. There's plenty of good places to look for advice about how to do this. Start by looking at these websites and then make your choice.

The Sweet SetUp

Asian Efficiency

Healthy Leader Blog

References

http://fortune.com/2016/09/26/productivity-tips-40/

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://lifecoach2women.com/main/ten-productivity-tips-for-business-owners/

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/23-best-productivity-hacks-of-the-year.html

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-28/top-10-tips-for-a-productive-workplace/

https://www.shoutmeloud.com/top-10-productivity-tips-for-bloggers.html

https://toggl.com/

https://www.yast.com/

http:/hootsuite.com

https://buffer.com/

https://feedly.com/i/welcome

https://getpocket.com/

https://evernote.com/

https://www.lastpass.com/

1Password

http://sproutsocial.com/

https://www.shoutmeloud.com/top-10-productivity-tips-for-bloggers.html

https://www.instapaper.com/

https://1password.com/

https://www.dropbox.com/

http://www.asianefficiency.com/

The Sweet SetUp

21. Write It Down

Understand Your Goals

There's something particularly committing about writing things down. It's not the same as tapping the same words into an electronic device. If you really want to build a productive day then why not follow the advice given from CEO Rachel Haurwitz?

"Know what significant goals you want to work towards every day. Many days, I start the day by writing, 'How I will build the company today' on a blank sheet of paper, and then I list a small number of high value tasks or goals for the day."

Clarify Priorities

Sometimes you can feel there after just too many issues jostling for attention. If you're leading a team one of your most important responsibilities is to provide direction, making sense of competing priorities and ordering priorities. Joe Zadeh tackles this dilemma head on.

"At the start of each week I write an email to my team to share what I’m focused on and what’s inspiring me outside of work. It not only forces me to prioritize my week, but the act of writing helps organize my thoughts clearly. It also means each week I’m making deposits into the 'context bank'; my team gets early transparency into what issues I’m thinking about. I find that all of these benefits accelerate me for the week by reducing confusion and need for 1-off meetings."

Fidji Simo, Director of Product at Facebook uses this weekly practice to stay focused.

"Write down your priorities on Monday morning, and rearrange your agenda for the week to make sure it will allow you to address these priorities. If I don’t do this, I find myself reacting to what’s most urgent during the week, instead of focusing on what’s most important."

Build Your World One Day At A Time

Sam McIntire believes that it is vital to stay on track and uses his daily goals to help him do that. If you can consistently spend time on your most important goals, then you will eventually achieve them. By writing down your daily goals you are making a clear commitment to spending some of you limited time and energy on them.

"Write down your daily goals. It's not always easy to keep track of everything you need to do, so start each morning by writing down your goals for the day. When your focus is broken or you find yourself procrastinating, you can use this list to keep you on track…"

Sam McIntire told Business News Daily.

"Write your list down on a Post-it or something that's clearly visible from your desk, then return to it when you need a reminder of what you should be working on."

Inspire Yourself: Make A Note Of What You've Done

Most things in life, if they are worth having, are not easy to achieve. That's why hard won achievements feel so good when finally we can say we got them done. You can build momentum for your self, as well as get a good old endorphin rush by building a practice of noting this successes down. Here's how Michael Peggs describes it:

"If I've already finished something, I write it down and check it off the list. It always feels good to see something get done."

Break Down Complex Projects Into Smaller Steps

When you want to accomplish something complex it's important to understand that even the most complex of undertakings is really only a series of steps which have to be taken. These steps are sometimes in sequence, sometimes running parallel to the main thread of what you're doing.

Before beginning any major project, spend some time working through all the elements that must be accomplished to deliver the end result. It's much easier to do this free form on a piece of paper.

The world renowned scientist Dr. Linus Pauling once said,

"The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."

Most leaders and entrepreneurs are visionaries who generally don't lack good ideas; however, capturing all these ideas is often a challenge for busy people. Evernote is a popular, free program for collecting ideas.

There are also a lot of digital tools that can help you. There's a great list prof resources here. Some of my favourite ones are:

Evernote

MindNode

OmniFocus

You can read my advice about how to set up your mobile device here.

It's often easier to scribble while you're thinking. When you're blocked and unable to see what you have to do to get round a problem, Murray Newlands suggests:

"Think on paper. If you feel stuck, jot the issue down. Defining the issue on paper is going to assist you in sorting it out. Create a list of as many solutions as possible. Odds are, you have just solved your issue".

It's like this article from www.lifehack.org recommends:

"Every task, every commitment should be written down. This frees your mind from the energy- and attention-sucking job of trying to remember".

The Take Away

It can be easy to overlook the simple utility of paper and pen. As these experts can testify, there are many benefits to be gained from picking up your pen. Next time you are struggling to clarify your objectives, develop a plan for your big project, or problem solve, why not clear you desk, close your laptop and start writing?

References

http://fortune.com/2016/09/26/productivity-tips-40/ http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5658-easy-productivity-tips.html#sthash.tvZsA0SW.dpuf

https://www.themuse.com/advice/45-productivity-tips-for-extremely-busy-people

http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/11-awesome-productivity-tips-that-will-radically-improve-your-life.html

https://lifedev.net/2008/08/14/idea-capture-tools/

https://healthyleaderblog.com/blog/mobile-device-hero

#Productivity Tips

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