productivity

Lesson plans

seen from behind woman using text to image AI generator

Productivity and AI tools

Reading: Productivity techniques
Vocabulary: productivity and time management (optimize your workflow, effective task prioritization, overcome procrastination, a state of flow)
Idioms: a game-changer, to do the heavy-lifting, to save the day, at your fingertips

B1 / B2

Business, Technology

3:11

a perfectionist measuring pencils and paper clips with a calipers

Perfectionism vs progress

Vocabulary: to strive for excellence, to beat yourself up, to sweat over the small stuff, trial and error, to get caught up in minor details
Speaking: conversation questions, survey, discussing situations
Video: The Perfectionist Trap: How to set high standards without being a perfectionist

B2 / C1

Business

2:58

a person closing his laptop when the clock shows 5 o'clock

Quiet quitting and quiet firing

Idioms: recipe for disaster, bend over backwards, go above and beyond
Word formation: prefixes over-, under- and mis-
Speaking: conversation questions, brainstorming, role-play

B2 / C1

Business

5:10

an angry boss reprimanding an employee sitting in front of a computer

Micromanagement

Vocabulary: micromanagement verbs (reprimand, hover, hold accountable)
Videos: 1. “How can I avoid being a micromanager?” and 2. “Working For a Micromanaging Boss & How to Handle it”
Idioms: put out fires, have a lot on your plate, hands-on/hands-off

B1 / B2

Business

4:00

free

a woman stretching in a field enjoying the sun

Time to take a mental health day?

Vocabulary: feeling down, blue, overwhelmed, burned out
Phrasal verbs: power through, blow up, check in on someone
Grammar: used to, be used to, get used to

B2 / C1

Business, Health

4:32

The importance of company culture

Reading: types of corporate culture
Video: What makes people thrive? The psychology of success
Vocabulary: describing corporate culture, phrasal verbs

B2 / C1

Business

4:09

A man concentrates in front of a computer

How to smash distractions

Vocabulary: distractions (clutter, gossip, multitasking, micromanagement)
Video: How to smash distractions
Collocations: attention (undivided attention, scant attention, unwelcome attention)