This is another “time flies so fast” moment for me. I have planned a number of content to be posted in the succeeding days- if you can only see my drafts lol. I also have three book reviews scheduled in August so that’s always something to look forward to. But before I give them to you, here are the articles and posts I enjoyed reading in July:

People Who Brag About Being in Back-to-Back Meetings Deeply Misunderstand Productivity (Medium)

What is it about: The article explores on how having back-to-back meetings has become a misunderstood measurement of productivity and that being busy is a sign of insecurity. More often than not, colleagues cannot find that person who can solve a problem because the latter is in a meeting.

What I think about it: For obvious reasons, I do think meeting is counterproductive particularly when it is prefaced with work or personal gossips that eat up 50% of the time. Conducting a perfect meeting is not in my KPI but effective communication is so if something can be understood and settled in a chat or an email, I prefer the latter. As I get older, the fewer meetings I get pulled in, the better.

Why getting a name right matters (BBC)

What is it about: Deliberately mispronouncing a name may be a political agenda and should be taken as a sign of microagression. Many Asians have to have an English alternative to their given names.

What I think about it: This seems like a new take. People around me have mispronounced my name for as long as I can remember that I’ve decided to make things easier and cut things short by using a nickname. I don’t take it as a sign of succumbing to microaggression though. Saving the amount of time devoted to correcting someone’s pronunciation by telling others how they should call me is a bigger win for me.

Shoutout to my high school Math and CompSci teacher who made it a point to pronounce my name correctly.

These coffee snobs ban milk and sugar(BBC)

What is it about: Some coffee shops are now restricting customers from adulterating their coffee. According to the article, these coffee shops aim to re-educate their consumers in various coffee tastes. The downside of this marketing strategy is only a few coffee aficionados appreciate the idea and that regular consumers still prefer to have the freedom to choose how they want to drink their caffeinated beverage.

What I think about it: It is true that instead of tasting how the coffee is first, people just dump sugar or milk into it because it has become a part of their routine. They always do it, so why not and they like it so why change? Since I take my coffee black anyway, I don’t find it much of a big deal. In terms of preference, I still like how Starbucks or Coffee Bean have sugar packets ready when people ask for them.

The Greatest Book Blogging Myths I’ve Encountered (Avalinah’s Books, WordPress)

What is it about: This post enumerates myths Evelinah personally encountered in her book blogging journey including standards for one to receive reading copies and blog growth.

What I think about it: To be honest, before reading this post, I didn’t have a particular myth in mind that I was expecting to see in the list but reading through all those seven myths, I realized I might have had some of those thoughts in one way or another. For example, I decided to have a “schedule” for my posts some years ago when I was still unsure of my blogging niche. That included book and article reviews or anything related to learning. It amazes me though that what drives traffic to my blog is a post about INTJ 8w7.

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I’ll see you guys in August.