When it's five o'clock, people leave their office. The length of the workday,for many workers,is defined by time. They leave when the clock tells them they're done.

    These days, the time is everywhere: not just on clocks or watches,but on cell-phones and computers.That may be a bad thing,particularly at work.New research shows on that clock-based work schedules hinder morale and creativity.

    Clock-timers organize their day by blocks of minutes and hours.For example: a meeting from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., research from 10 a.m.to noon,etc.On the other hand,task-timers have a list of things they want to accomplish.They work down the list,each task starts when the previous task is completed.It is said that all of us employ a mix of both these types of planning.

    What,then,are the effects of thinking about time in these different ways? Does one make us more productive? Better at the tasks at hand? Happier? In experiments conducted by Tamar Avnet and Anne-Laure Sellier,they had participints organize different activities-from project planning,holiday shopping,to yoga-by time or to-do list to measure how they performed under "clock time" vs "task time".They found clock timers to be more efficient but less happy because they felt little control over their lives.Task timers are happier and more creative,but less productive. They tend to enjoy the moment when something good is happening,and seize opportunities that come up.

    The researchers argue that task-based organizing tends to be undervalued and under-supported in the business culture.Smart companies,they believe,will try to bake more task-based planning into their strategies.

    This might be a small change to the way we view work and the office,but the researchers argue that it challenges a widespread characteristic of the economy: work organized by clock time.While most people will still probably need,and be,to some extent,clock-timers,task-based timing should be used when performing a job that requires more creativity.It'll make those tasks easier,and the task-doers will be happier.

    Goodreads recommends the following books you want to read for the event to come.

    1).The Lyrics: 1961-2012

    By Bob Dylan

    Simon & Schuster,$60

    What it's about: This heavy,well-timed publication contains lyrics by the songwriter who just won the Nobel Prize in Literature,from his first album,Bob Dylan,through Tempest.

    What's to love: The times may be changing,but Dylan's fans are a constant,traditional devotees who will want this epic collection for their shelves,to sit beside those beloved old large papers.

    2).Taylor Swift: This Is Our Song

    By Tyler Conroy

    Simon & Schuster,$28

    What it's about: An elegant fanzine celebrating all things about Taylor Swift,especially the pop star's countless fans. What's to love: Mom and/or Dad,the fan of Taylor Swift,will think you're pretty cool if he or she discovers this temple to Taylor under the Christmas tree (even if it is a book).

    3).Misty Copeland

    By Gregg Delman

    Rizzoli,$39.95

    What it's about: Star-figure female ballet dancer Misty Copeland strikes a pose(95,to be exact) in photos taken between 2011 and 2014,in the casual setting of dance studios.

    What's to love: Since becoming the first African American woman to be named a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre,Copeland has become a cultural phenomenon,and Delman's arresting pictures capture（捕捉）her muscular power and elegance.

    4).@ NatGeo: The Most Popular Instagram Photos

    By National Geographic

    National Geographic,$19.95

    What it's about: National Geographic's popular Instagram account(nearly 63 million followers) comes to book form in this title filled with eye-popping images from around the world.

    What's to love: Here's proof that NatGeo's talented photographers have conquered social media while maintaining the usual quality of their work.And for fans of more traditional coffee-table-size books,check out National Geographic's Wild,Beautiful Places:Picture-Perfect Journeys Around the Globe ($40).

    Tears ran down from my eyes as I saw the essay my high school English teacher had just handed back. A big F was written on top. I was hopeless. I was stupid !My face burned with shame when my classmates called me stupid.

    “I'm the only one who doesn't know my ABCs!” I sobbed to Mom.

    “I'll help,” she promised.

    Everyday I sat with her, but to me, cat looked like cta and red was reb. Frustrated, I would return to my bedroom and draw, filling the paper with houses, restaurants and offices.

    “When I grow up, I want my own store,” I told Mom , pointing to my drawings.

    “That's great!” she said, “ but first you have to learn to read.”

Later, I was diagnosed with dyslexia (失读症). So Mom took me to a learning centre, where I was given reading exercises. But I still had a hard time. Finally, I graduated, but I was afraid of my reading skills.

    “I'll never get a job !”  I cried to Mom later again.

    “Don't focus on what you can't do,” she comforted, “ Concentrate on what you really can.”

    But what can I do? I wondered. Suddenly, I thought of the drawings I'd made as a child and my dream of having my own store. I enjoyed sales so much that over the next few years, I tried my hand at other businesses. Today, I watch over seven branches. We have 187 employees and $15 million in sales.

    While I'll never be what my teachers might have wanted, I am a success--on my own terms. The other day a student sent me a card, reading: You gave me so much confidence. I hope to be like you when I am big. Tears of joy filled my eyes. This was my A, and I smiled.

    A few weeks ago, I called an Uber to take me to the Boston airport for a flight home for the holidays. As I slid into the back seat of the car, the warm intonations（语调）of the driver's accent washed over me in a familiar way.

    I learned that he was a recent West African immigrant with a few young children, working hard to provide for his family. I could relate: I am the daughter of two Ethiopian immigrants who made their share of sacrifices to ensure my success. I told him I was on a college break and headed home to visit my parents. That's how he found out I go to Harvard. An approving eye glinted（闪烁）at me in the rearview window, and quickly, we crossed the boundaries of rider and driver. I became his daughter, all grown up – the product of his sacrifice.

And then came the fateful question: "What do you study?" I answered "history and literature" and the pride in his voice faded, as I knew it might. I didn't even get to add "and African-American studies" before he cut in, his voice thick with disappointment. "All that work to get into Harvard, and you study history?"

    Here I was, his daughter, squandering the biggest opportunity of her life. He went on to deliver the age-old lecture that all immigrant kids know. We are to become doctors (or lawyers, if our parents are being generous) – to make money and send money back home. The unspoken demand, made across generations, which my Uber driver laid out plainly, is simple: Fulfill your role in the narrative（故事）of upward mobility so your children can do the same.

I used to feel anxious and backed into a corner by the questioning, but now as a junior in college, I'm grateful for their support more than anything. This holiday season, I've promised myself I won't get annoyed at their inquiries. I won't defensively respond with "but I plan to go to law school!" when I get unrequested advice. I'll just smile and nod, and enjoy the warmth of the occasion.

    Director James Cameron went to new depths for his film-making on Sunday by setting the world record for the deepest ocean dive by a single person.

    This type of extreme research is nothing new to the director. Cameron, 57, is most famous for directing Titanic (1997) and Avantar (2009). During the several years of research for Titanic, he famously traveled to the bottom of the ocean to visit the sunken ship. He also visited the deep sea as research for his fictional 1989 film. The Abyss, which is about a submarine that comes across an alien species. "Most people know me as a film-maker," Cameron said. "But the idea of exploring the ocean has always been the stronger drive in my life."

    Cameron and his team had been preparing for the trip for seven years. On Sunday, Cameron took more than two and a half hours to make the dangerous 6.8-mile journey down to the Trench, an area with near-freezing temperatures, no sunlight, and heavy water pressure. Cameron traveled in a 24-foot-long mini-submarine he helped design, equipped with lights and 3D cameras for filming the adventure. It also had a mechanical arm for collecting samples of soil and deep-sea creatures. Humans had not visited the Mariana Trench since two divers first reached the deep-sea spot in 1960. The divers Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard spent 20 minutes there but could hardly see anything. They took no pictures.

    In his well-equipped submarine, Cameron was able to spend three hours in the Trench, exploring and filming. He plans to use his recordings in a 3D film production for movie theaters and for a National Geographic TV special. "I see this as the beginning," Cameron said. "It's not a one-time deal. This is just the beginning of opening up this new frontier."

    Failure is an unavoidable part of life. Though science has named some life skills that promise success, we're told over and over again that no great success was ever achieved without failure -- or many failed attempts. One of life's most important lessons, therefore, has to be how to handle failure best. But what is the message?

    For starters, ignore advice from anyone that tells you, "Don't beat yourself up about it," no matter how well-meaning they are. According to the new research from the University of Kansas, we absolutely should be beating ourselves up when we fail. Marketing professor Noelle Nelson and her team found that the more emotional a person's response is to failure, the more likely they are to achieve better results the next time they deal with a related task.

    The researchers carried out two experiments in which undergraduate students were required to perform specific tasks. In one experiment, they were asked to search online for a squeezer and report the lowest price they could find with the possibility of winning a $50 cash prize. However, the task was controlled, and all participants were told (by a computer) that the lowest price was $3.27 less than their reported price. Consequently, no participant won the cash prize. When the results were announced, some participants were asked to focus on their emotional response, and others on their cognitive (认知的) response. During the next similar task, participants who focused on their emotional response to failure made more effort than those who focused on a cognitive response.

    Everybody has their own unique challenges, responsibilities, duties, and projects, but these findings are related to all of us. Your personal failure may be a cake that fails to rise, a presentation that goes wrong, or a deadline that gets missed—it doesn't matter. What matters is how you react to it. Instead of thinking about the failure, let yourself feel bad about it. Then follow this advice on how to bounce back after your failure.