Q: Think carefully about the classes you choose for the upcoming year or semester. Many middle schools now offer gifted and honors programs. High schools are increasingly offering Advanced Placement (AP) courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, and addition to honors classes. These sorts of classes all have an increased workload over regular classes. Consider this as you are planning your schedule.  AP or IB classes often have 2 or 3 times the amount of reading and homework as regular courses. Honors classes may have up to double the amount of work required as regular courses. College students need to consider whether they want to take the recommended course load (often 4 classes) or more. More classes might help you finish your degree sooner, but if you are juggling work and extracurricular activities, you might be overwhelmed. You need to decide what classes are most important and where extracurricular activities come into play. Sports and other activities like debate club or newspaper might take up considerable amounts of time. Think about how these time commitments will impact your overall schedule.  Rank your classes and activities in order of importance. Estimate (realistically) how long your academic and extracurricular activities will take. Figure out how much time you have overall. If you’ve over committed, you need to drop your lowest ranked class or activity. Working all the time rather than enjoying family time and having fun with friends can potentially make you a much more stressed out person. You need to create a balance between homework and down-time.  Make sure to reserve mealtimes for family, rather than working. Try to set aside the weekend for family, and work only if you need to catch up or get ahead. Don’t plan on working on holidays, even if you try, your productivity likely won’t be high. At some point, you may find yourself in over your head. If you have so much homework that you are working consistently from after school to bed time every day, you might have too much homework. Similarly, if you have no free time and are losing sleep because of the number of assignments you have to complete, you may need to make a change.  If you’re in middle or high school, talk to your parents and your teachers about the issue and ask them to help you figure out a solution. If you’re a college student, reach out to your professors and advisor for help. If it takes you much longer to finish your homework than it takes other students, it may be due to a learning difference. Ask your parents to schedule a meeting with a learning specialist.
A: Avoid over committing yourself. Decide your priorities. Reserve time for your family and friends. Recognize when your homework becomes unmanageable.

Q: Use a stiff, plain toothbrush (preferably just bristles no gum massagers or other plastic parts) to brush trapped lint out of the fastener. Lay the fastener flat, and apply pressure in short, hard strokes with the bristles from one end of the fastener to the other. Pick any lint that comes to the top of the fastener out with your fingers. Use the edge of the tape dispenser that you'd normally use to cut the tape to scrape the fastener clean. Lay the fastener flat, and use the teeth of the tape dispenser to rake it in short firm strokes from one end to the other. Pick any lint that comes to the top of the fastener out with your fingers. For lint that is deeply embedded in the hooks of the fastener, use a pair of needle-nose tweezers to pick it out. Lay the fastener flat, holding at both ends. Then, use the tips of the tweezers to tease out the debris.
A: Use a stiff toothbrush to brush the hook-and-loop fastener. Scrape the hook-and-loop fastener with the cutter of a tape dispenser. Pick any deep lint out with needle-nose tweezers.

Q: “To” is a preposition. It’s always correct if you are talking about direction. Ex. “I’m going to the store.”  "To" is also used to form the infinitive verb form. Ex. "It is my goal to write one page today." “Too" is always an adverb. It’s correct if you can substitute "also." Ex. “Really? I hate that guy, too!” "Two" is always a number.  You should almost always write out the word "two" rather than using the Arabic number. For mathematical uses, use the Arabic number. Ex. “Please buy two-percent milk this time.”
A: Use "to” as instructed. Use “too” as instructed. Use “two” as instructed.

Q: We usually think of luck as something that's out of our control, expecting something or someone to descend on us from the clouds and improve life for us. But fortune and fame don't come to the passive. Waiting around for luck instead of creating it for yourself can create negativity and resentment, forcing you to see other people's good fortune as the result of good luck rather than good choices. Think of luck as an emotion, more than a certificate or a ticket that gains you access to some exclusive club. Just as you decide to be happy, you can decide to be lucky and become willing to change your behaviors and create opportunities for success yourself, rather than waiting for changes to happen. If you're busy waiting for things to be perfect, you're going to wait a long time. Learn to recognize opportunities when they arise and improve your chances by embracing the opportunities you do have. If you get a big project at work you feel unprepared to tackle, you could either consider that a stroke of bad luck, gripe to your coworkers, and make excuses for yourself, or you could consider it an opportunity to shine in a big way. Think of it less as having to do with luck and more as an opportunity to succeed. As you get older, it becomes easier to become stuck in your ways. Repetition and habit is comfortable, but learning to accept the possibility of making change, even small change, will keep you receptive to opportunities and luck that presents itself.  Learn to take criticism and to use it as an opportunity for improvement. If your boss criticizes something you worked hard on, consider yourself lucky. You know how to do better next time. If you bomb on a date that goes horribly, use the experience as a dress rehearsal for your next date. What seemed to go wrong? What can you do differently next time? " When something goes right for you, embrace it. Keep yourself humble, but learn to enjoy little wins and little successes to keep yourself positive, motivated, and happy.  "Wins" don't even have to be a big deal. Maybe you made the best spaghetti bolognese you've ever made last night for dinner, or maybe you're feeling proud for getting out and going for a run when you didn't really feel like it. Celebrate! Don't compare your success to the success of others. It's easy to get down on yourself by minimizing your successes, saying, "Yeah, so I got a bonus at work. My friend Bill invented the most popular iPhone app of all time." So what's that got to do with you? Over time, we've learned to make automatic decisions and reactions that keep us locked in feedback loops of behavior. We're often not conscious of the decisions we make, and certain status-quo elements of our life that may seem unchangeable are really easy fixes, once you recognize your behavior patterns. Maybe you always turn down after work drinks. Give it a shot next week. If you always feel the need to head out with your coworkers as soon as 5 o'clock rolls around, consider heading to the gym instead and lifting weights for an hour or two. Identify your patterns and shake them up. Lucky people are people we all like to be around, because the wealth seems to benefit everyone. Become the kind of person people want to get a piece of by being more positive and generous with the success you do have.  Make a point of congratulating others when they do a job well, or when something good comes their way. A little note of congrats can go a long way. Volunteer your skills, even with small things. If you're wondering why nobody is clamoring at your door to help you move, try to remember all the moves you've flaked out on over the years. Next time, volunteer your afternoon and your truck and see if your luck doesn't change.
A:
Define luck for yourself. Take advantage of opportunities. Be open to change. Embrace "small wins. Avoid behavior loops. Be positive and generous with your time.