It can be fun to set out on paper everything that’s been rattling around in your brain, and it’s good to do that. But when it comes to actually planning out your hours and days, be realistic. Don’t put too many tasks on one day.  For example, you could estimate how long each task will take, writing the time beside each one. Then do some basic addition to determine how much time all these to-dos will take. If it’s more than an 8-hour work day, move your outcomes and to-dos around so that you don’t get upset when you can’t fit everything into the hours you planned. Once you have set up a realistic time frame for each to-do on your list, stick to these goals. Be determined to stay on time with your goals. If you get off track by running out of time on a day, re-set your plan for the week to accommodate for the time lost. If that means placing a few outcomes in the following week, so be it. Even if you have to re-plan a little, at least you are sticking to your goals. Don’t procrastinate by rationalizing that you can get done tomorrow what is on your list today—unless you really run out of time. Procrastinating, especially at the beginning of forming a new habit like goal setting and task completion, derails your plans. You will have to keep re-starting, getting frustrated, and you might end up quitting. When you are tempted to procrastinate, promise yourself a reward. Since habits form when the pleasure part of the brain is triggered, set up a reward system for yourself to stay motivated.For example, if you have a long day of tasks ahead, promise yourself a food treat on your way home from work, that you won’t take any work calls when you get home, or that you’ll sleep in the next morning. Be consistent until this organization method forms part of your life. Being organized requires practice and energy at first, but once you’re used to a new way of thinking, it becomes easy to do. You will be less stressed and your mind will truly start to feel organized. Habits form gradually as we discipline our bodies to new behaviors. Although the idea that it takes a specific number of days to form a habit (like 21 or 28) is a myth, the truth is that our brains do gradually work less to perform the same task once we’ve been doing it a while.
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One-sentence summary -- Be realistic in your planning. Stick to your weekly goals. Overcome the temptation to be lazy. Form the habit of planning.


Vowels in Quenya are fixed, and their pronunciations do not change based on their location in the word. The diacritic (small mark over a letter) over a vowel indicates that you hold the vowel sound for longer. Memorize the vowel sounds and practice pronouncing them.  “Y” is never a vowel in Quenya. It is always a vowel in Sindarin though. The written form of Quenya is Tengwar. You speak Quenya, but you write Tengwar. Most of the consonants in Quenya are pronounced the same way they would sound in English. There are a few unique rules though which are specific to Quenya though. Learn these rules and practice using them to get used to speaking Elvish.  There is no difference between “c” and “k” in Quenya. It is always pronounced like the hard c in “cup.” This can get confusing because both letters are used in Tengwar even though they’re pronounced the same way. Every “r” is rolled (or trilled), like a Spanish speaker saying “correo.” The sounds “n,” “ny,” and “m” are always soft, like an American English speaker pronouncing “nose” or “month.” These are called nasal constants, since they’re spoken while allowing air to flow through the nose. The letter “y” is always a consonant. Pronounce it with a harder sound, like and American English speaker saying “why.” If the word you’re reading in Quenya starts with a vowel, stress the first syllable by making it a little louder and pronouncing it more thoroughly. Let the other syllables roll of your tongue more softly. The stress patterns in Quenya are universal, so if the word starts with “a,” “e,” “i,” “o,” or “u,” stress the first syllable.  When there are only two syllables, always stress the first syllable even if there isn’t a vowel. So a word like “umin” is pronounced “UHM-en,” not “oo-MIN.” For words that don’t start in a vowel and have more than 2 syllables, always stress the third syllable. This means that elvish words like “hyarmen” would sound like “haram-YN,” with the voice inflecting upwards on the end of the word.  A lot of Middle Eastern languages have a similar pattern. This may sound kind of like Arabic or Aramaic at first. You may notice that there seems to always be a vowel sound in the third syllable of every word in Quenya. This is a pattern that is near-universal in Elvish, and is the main reason that Elvish languages have such elegant flows. In general, you can kind of sound Elvish—even without following the rules of the language—by applying an Italian accent when pronouncing Quenyan words. Native Italian speakers tend to use speech patterns from their native tongues to interpret English words, which can make your Elvish sound practiced even when it isn’t.  For example, if you were using an Italian accent, you would automatically dampen the second syllable in the Elvish words “ando” and “vala,” which would be correct. In Tolkein’s world, Quenya was spoken mainly by the High Elves, academics, and nobles. It is a sort of classical version of Elvish.
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One-sentence summary --
Sound out the Elvish vowels to memorize them. Identify which consonants differ from English and practice them. Stress the beginning of words that start in a vowel. Stress the third syllable in words that don’t start with a vowel. Use an Italian accent to pull off Quenya speech patterns.