Agile encourages teams to continuously improve through learning. One of the phrases associated with this process is "failing fast"—trying new things and taking lessons from mistakes as you go. But Johanna Rothman thinks "learning early" is a better phrase. That change in terminology can give you a happier mindset.

It's interesting how people speak at different rates, and there are lots of reasons for that, such as culture, upbringing, preference, and just the way we're wired. At work, what's important is that if you speak too fast or too slow relative to what's normal in your environment, you may unknowingly be annoying people.

Some people confuse being busy with being productive, but the two are not the same. Busy people talk about how little time they have; productive people decide what’s important and make time for those things. If you want to be less busy—or at least have some control over your busyness—try these tactics to reprioritize.