Some surprising experimental work has confirmed what we suspected all along — Don’t underestimate the presence of living plants within your home or work space. Even while you battle with spilled soil from the pots or mini floods from over-enthusiastic watering, be aware that those plants can lift your mood, increase your concentration and boost your creativity. 1. Lifting your mood: A plant-based initiative to alleviate anxiety and loneliness

March Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Movement” — The Caped Crusader joins the challenge. Our current weather forecast predicts snow. The dark banks of clouds have that worrying tinge of blue that means an umbrella won’t be enough. However, yesterday brought a welcome burst of sunshine. It wasn’t warm, but it was bright and had the Caped Crusader acting half her age. Although usually…

March Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Movement” — After exercising, don’t forget to stretch. Stretching has all manner of benefits both physical and mental. It can increase flexibility and reduce stress. The time to stretch is after exercise, not before. Guidance has changed on this as we’ve learned more about the body. The advice these days is not to stretch before exercise. It used…

You think you’ve read an article on Medium, but what does the algorithm think? Michele Maize describes how the stats often show fewer readers than people interacting. I first read about this in 2021 and wondered if I was marked out as an offender. I can read at supersonic speed…

February Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Love & Hearts” — More does not always mean better. I don’t know if it was Valentine’s Day that sparked the request, but the 5-year-old drew a small heart on my whiteboard and asked me to draw a large one next to it. She asked originally for a pink marker, but I don’t have pink in my whiteboard palette, so…

February Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Love & Hearts” — Abundance of flowers lift the mood. Our local garden centre has prepared for Valentine’s Day with a dazzling collection of flowers that greets customers as they enter. …

Our nearest coastline is famously fast eroding, though we’re not in any danger of inundation as long as the climate scientists are heeded. Up until relatively recently, it was a given that they would be; the issue was whether or not they had workable solutions. …

Reeling Them In Isn’t Enough — As hard as it is (in a hugely crowded market) to capture your reader’s attention at the start of a novel … 5 Ways To Grab Your Reader At The Start Of A Novel The opening to your novel is gold dust — don’t squander itmedium.com … that on its own is not enough. A great opening hook can draw any of us into a book and keep us reading for a few pages…

An article from Tony Stubblebine popped up in my feed (I expect it was in everyone’s). I read the headline as “Medium Embraces Martyrdom”…