Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Follow your routine consistently for 3 weeks to make it a habit. Forgive yourself when you slip up. Keep track of your progress to gauge whether your routine is working. Make changes to your routine as needed.

Answer: It generally takes 21 days for an activity to become an ingrained habit. Make sure you consistently do your routine tasks every day for 3 weeks to get fully accustomed to your new routine.  You will probably still form a habit after 21 days if you miss 1 day somewhere in those 3 weeks. However, if you find that you skip your routine on 2 or more days, consider redesigning your routine to make it easier for you to accomplish every day. Once you start doing the activities in your routine without thinking, then you’ve successfully formed a habit! You’ll probably make a mistake or slip up in implementing your routine at some point. Instead of berating yourself, give yourself some leeway to accomplish only some or even none of your routine for that day, then set out to be successful the next day.  For example, if part of your workout routine involves doing 40 pushups, don’t beat yourself up if you only do 20 during 1 workout. Instead, recognize that you still accomplished part of what you set out to do and try to do better next time. Don’t give up on your routine if you fail early on; it will get easier over time. At the end of each week, check in on your progress towards your goals and see whether your routine is helping you reach those goals. If it isn’t, consider what aspects of your routine might need improvement.  For example, if the purpose of your routine was to make you more productive in the mornings, look back over your week and see how many times you’ve arrived to work earlier or later than usual. If your routine has made you get to work earlier every day, that’s a good sign that it’s making you more productive in the mornings. For more long-term goals (e.g., losing weight), it might be better to check in with your routine at the end of each month. Once you’ve designed your routine and have had time to test out, don’t be afraid to go back and make tweaks over time. Whether you want to add or subtract tasks or recalibrate your activities for a new goal, treat your routine as a fluid and ever-changing list. For example, if you find that your workout routine has gotten too easy, consider going back and adding more difficult exercises into the mix.


Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Be aware of the purpose of a sling psychrometer. Gather your supplies. Wet a double layer of cotton gauze. Attach the thermometers to the plastic bottle. Tie the string to the top of the bottle. Determine the difference between the 2 temperatures.

Answer: This instrument measures how much moisture is in the air or the relative humidity in an environment. It uses the cooling effect of evaporation to determine the relative humidity. Relative humidity is the ratio of water vapor in the air relative to the amount that could possibly be there, at a certain temperature. When you walk through fog, for example, you are experiencing 100% humidity. If you walk through a desert, you are experiencing around 10% humidity. To make your own sling psychrometer at home, you will need:  Cotton gauze, in pads rather than balls A pair of scissors A small rubber band A ½ liter empty plastic soda bottle Clear plastic tape 2 red alcohol Celsius thermometers Water An 18 in (46 cm) piece of string Use the water to moisten the gauze. This will help you capture moisture in your sling psychrometer. Cover 1 bulb of the thermometers with the wet gauze using a rubber band. Take the thermometer covered in gauze and place it on 1 side of the plastic bottle. Then, secure it there with tape. Take the other thermometer and attach it to the other side of the bottle using tape. Make sure you can still see the numbers and the red alcohol in the thermometers. Make sure the string is tied well on the the top of the bottle, as you will be holding it and spinning it to get a reading on your sling psychrometer. Hold tightly to the end of the string and spin the bottle in a circle in an open-air space. Do this for 1 minute. Then, record the temperatures on both thermometers. Record the 2 temperatures and then subtract the lower temperature from the higher temperature to determine the temperature difference. You will likely find that the thermometer with the wet gauze will always have a lower temperature than the thermometer with the dry bulb.  The wet bulb temperature will always be lower than the dry bulb because water evaporates from the wet bulb when you spin the 2 thermometers. The evaporation then cools the wet bulb. The drier the air is, the more water will evaporate from the wet bulb, leading to a higher temperature difference between the wet and dry bulb. For example, you spin the sling psychrometer outside and the dry thermometer has a temperature of 22 degrees Celsius. You get a wet bulb temperature reading of 12 degrees Celsius. If the weather is very humid one day, you may get a dry bulb temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and a wet bulb temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. Because there is very little water evaporation on the wet bulb, this indicates that there is high humidity outside.


Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Pour boiling water over the dug-up area to kill any hidden roots. Smother any new growth with a layer of sheet mulch. Monitor the area during the next few weeks for any new offshoots.

Answer:
Fill the largest pot you have with water and bring it to a boil. While it’s still hot, pour the water over the entire area you dug up. To protect yourself and any other plants closeby, pour slowly and try not to splash the hot water. You may need to repeat the boiling water technique several times to kill all of the roots. After you pull or spray the plants, spread a 1 foot (0.30 m) deep layer of compost, grass clippings, straw, or wood chips. Leave the sheet mulch on for a full season so it can function as a barrier, preventing any new poison ivy plants, while simultaneously rejuvenating the soil.  To add an even stronger barrier, place cardboard underneath the sheet mulch or a layer of  plywood over top of the sheet mulch. For example, you could cover the affected area with several layers of cardboard, then top it with about 1 foot (0.30 m) of mulch. Check around the edges of the mulched area for any new growth. If you spot any offshoots, spray or dig them up immediately. Add more sheet mulch to the area to keep the plants from coming back. You'll know that the area is clear of poison ivy when you stop finding regrowth!