Sprint retrospectives are often skipped, compressed, or organized in a way that doesn't provide good feedback. This is unfortunate, as a well-planned retrospective is a great way to improve how you work. Good retrospectives enable engagement and safety, distill and prioritize ideas, and create concrete action items.

NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month—is a month off, but it’s not too soon to commit to participate. The goal is to write 50,000 words (about 175 pages) during November. That may seem crazy, but there's lots of guidance and support available online and in local writer chapters. Break through that writer's block!

Many of us fire off correspondence to groups and distribution lists that include more recipients than necessary, and we overcommunicate without stopping to think about exactly what needs to be conveyed. Here are some ways organizations and teams can cope with the influx of information and communicate intentionally.