Even when you're extremely busy, you aren't using your time with 100% efficiency. There are gaps in everyone's schedule where they aren't doing anything important. Even if your schedule hasno gaps, there is probably lots of time where you aren't working as fast or as effectively as you possibly could.

    Why aren't you completely efficient? It's because time isn't thelimiting factor. If it were the limiting factor, people could work non-stop without breaks or any unproductive distractions. Instead, people, even those who are highly productive, need to take breaks, occasionally procrastinate(拖延) and slow downon tasks throughout the day.

    The real and most important limiting factor for productivity is your energy levels to pay attention. Energy levels limit your productivity because when you're tired, you can have ample time and still not get everything done. Your attention ability is also limited, because even if there are amillion things that need to be done, you can only focus on one or two at a time.

    You might not be able to insert another 4-5 hours into your schedule without making some sacrifices. But even extremely busy people can addan hour or two into their schedule without can celling anything. The reason it's hard to “find time” isn't a lack of time. It's because you don't have enough energy left to focus on something else that needs to fit into your day.

    I first suspected time wasn't the real problem during an extremely busy period in my life over a year ago. I was insanely busy, but at that time I still exercised regularly. I had daily-to-do lists with over twenty items, and I still found time to exercise. However, after a few weeks off, due to illness, stopped exercising. I was not busy by any standards, in fact, my schedule was incredibly light. Despite this free time, I found it hard to find time to exercise. It seemed to get pushed later and later into my schedule until it was gone. How can I explain this odd experience? I believe you haveknown it.

    The 87^th Academy Award nominations（提名）were announced on Jan 15,and The Grand Budapest Hotel stood out as a favorite with nine nominations, including Best Picture. Check out some other Best Picture nominees to see if you missed any of last year's top Hollywood films.

The Imitation Game

    This historical thriller is about British computer scientist, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the father of artificial intelligence. At the start of World War Ⅱ, Turing was asked to join a select team of mathematical geniuses to decode（解码）the system the Nazis used to send military messages. Besides the actual breaking of the code, Cumberbatch's portrayal（扮演）of Turing's personality, a mixture of decency（正派）and shyness, is also a highlight of the movie.

Birdman

    This dark comedy film is about how Riggan Thomson, a faded star once famous for his superhero roles, struggles to regain fame. American actor Michael Keaton, 63, who has a similar experience to Thomson's, plays the leading role.

Selma

    A stellar cast(主要演员) including talk show queen Oprah Winfrey may be one reason to see Selma. But that the film focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.'s struggle for civil rights also makes it worth viewing. Based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, the film is a chronicle(编年史) of King's(David Oyelowo) campaign for political rights for African-American people.

The Theory of Everything

    We know English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking for his significant scientific discoveries, especially his black hole theories. This biographical film reveals the scientist's (played by Eddie Redmayne) secret romantic relationship with Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones), whom he meets and falls in love with at Cambridge and who later becomes his first wife.

Boyhood

    American Director Richard Linklater did an experiment in this film, using the same cast for l2 years to record a boy's growth. In two and a half hours, we see Mason, a Texas boy from a divorced family, grow from 6-year-old boy to a freshman in college.

    Want to be happy and enjoy your life? Here are four ways to bring you happiness.

● Share appreciation

    Tell someone how much you appreciate（欣赏）them. Thank them sincerely for being part of your life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. When you share with someone your appreciation, they will not forget you.

●{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    One of the best ways to strengthen new ideas in your mind is to share them with others. The more often you share what you've learned, the stronger that information will become in your memory. Sharing knowledge also provides solutions to problems. The more knowledge we share, the more knowledge we receive in return.

● Share friendship

    Let your friends know that you are willing to be there when they need you. Introduce two friends who don't know each other. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}.

● Share experience

    Keep written or photo journals of your life. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. Share a happy memory. Also share the difficult times that have helped you become stronger and wiser. When shared, the value of these experiences multiplies.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

 A. Share knowledge and ideas.

 B. Record successes and failures.

 C. We succeed with the help of others.

 D. Happiness is not so much in having as sharing.

 E. You can spend time with the people that you love.

 F. Feeling appreciated is one of the most important needs that people have.

 G. If you'd like to have many friends, share friendship with others generously.

Choosing the Right Resolution (决定)

     Millions of Americans began 2014 with the same resolution they started 2013 with, a goal of losing weight. However, setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake.

To reach our goal of losing weight — the output, we need to control what we eat — the input ( 输入). That is, we tend to care about the output but not to control the input. This is a bad way to construce goals. The alternative is to focus your resolution on the input. Instead of resolving to lose weight, try an actionable resolution: “I'll stop having desert for lunch,” or “I'll walk every day for 20 minutes.” Creating a goal that focuses on a well-specified input will likely be more effective than concentrating on the outcome.

    Recently a new science behind incentives (激励) , including in education, has been discussed. For example, researcher Roland Fryer wanted to see what works best in motivating children to do better in school. In some cases, he gave students incentives based on input, like reading certain books, while in others, the incentives were based on output, like results on exams. His main finding was that incentives increased achievement when based on input but had no effect on output. Fryer's conclusion was that the intensives for inputs might be more effective because do not know how to do better on exam, aside from general rules like “study harder.” Reading certain books, on the other hand, is a well-set task over which they have much more control.

    As long as you have direct control over your goal, you have a much higher chance of success. And it's easier to start again if you fail, because you know exactly what you need to do.

    If you want to cut down on your spending, a good goal would be making morning coffee at home instead of going to a cafe, for example. This is a well-specified action-based goal for which you can measure your success easily. Spending less money isn't a goal because it's too general. Similarly, if you want to spend more time with your family, don't stop with this general wish. Think about an actionable habit that you could adopt and stick to, like a family movie night every Wednesday.

    In the long run, these new goals could become a habit.

    There are many programs for high school students today that help isolated teenagers cope with loneliness. However, loneliness is not only an issue for teens but also an important and rarely acknowledged one in the elderly.

    In Britain, Tracey Crouch was appointed to be the first Minister of Loneliness in order to address the issues caused by loneliness. This is the first time such a position has been created.

    In Britain, there are around 9 million people who say they are lonely frequently. In Germany, a study conducted by Ruhr University Bochum found that 20 percent of people over the age of 85 felt lonely, and 14 percent of those between age 45 and 65 felt socially isolated. In the United States, more than 25 percent of the population lives alone, more than 50 percent are unmarried.

    Isolation is generally associated with cardiovascular disease, depression, obesity, and anxiety. Additionally, the stress from loneliness can cause your cells to change on a molecular(分子)level that reduces its abilities to defend your body against diseases. In fact, doctors believe having feelings of loneliness is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day in regard to its impact on health!

    In Britain, the new Minister of Loneliness will help establish government policies on the issue and fund charities to devote their efforts towards aiding loneliness. There are charities that link lonely seniors to high school students in order to give them a line of communication whenever they feel lonely!

    The possibilities for the new Minister of Loneliness are endless. For example, she can provide education services to household businesses so that they can identify lonely customers if they see one. Loneliness fits into the category of being a social issue that must be monitored by the entire community in order to help those in need. Hence, government involvement in medical services and care for seniors and others is essential for happy seniors.

Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs. 

AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival （19 Oct. ） cost £ 169. 15 at Booking. com. A week later, the same room cost £ 118. 15.

If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid or you're looking for a big event to pass your time-check out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category. 

STAYAWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you -may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday. 

Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was £ 95. 95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was £ 75. 75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just £ 62. 95.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for £ 420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults. 

GET ON A BIKE London's "Boris bikes' have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you. on public transport or car parking costs. 

Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle （casual members pay around £ 1. 50 for two hours） and Cardiff （free for up to 30 minutes, or £ 5 per day）.