***Please note, if this is your second copy, we apologize. The server crashed in the middle of the sending!

We hope this issue of Continuing-ed warms you out of you're winter doldrums. As with every issue, our goal is to give you a little respite, as well as mental challenge for you to continue your lifelong learning and growth. We've included some longer articles on Critical Thinking and Workplace Communication that will cause you to pause and reflect a little, as well as benefit you in your day-to-day operations.

No doubt, Continuing-ed readers are an unusual group. Our Poll on Creativity yeilded unexexpected results: 37% rated themselves as "highly" or "above average. 0% reported below average. Obviously this ws not a scientific poll, but reflects the quality of our readership. In a recent study only 18% of high school graduates considered themselves as "creative."

The Brain Teaser: Congratulations to Lee Poulson last month's "The Two Sisters" winner.  Lee's was the only correct answer! This month's: Verbal Ability Exercise - check your results and compare with others' response scores!!

Take The Poll: Social Security Reform. Click on the link. The poll takes about 5 seconds. We're really interested in your response. Our intention is not political, we're merely curious to see how our readers think about this confusing and divisive issue.

Check out our Web specials this month. Besides the products already being discounted, you can get an extra 10% off using our readers coupon code # News205 at checkout. The coupon will expire February 28, 2005.
Warmest regards,

Best Regards,

President & CEO
Productive Learning Systems, Inc.

Do You Have Difficulty Connecting to Certain Types of People?

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Why Bother To Use Critical Thinking in the Workplace?

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Music Stimulation = Brain Boosting

Sound stimulation has a major impact on our brain. It can have either a positive or negative effect upon our brain functioning. One complaint I often hear about in the workplace is noise. Besides adding interference to your listening abilities, the sound around you can add to your already overloaded senses. Too much overstimulation can increase confusion, anxiety, and stress. To cool your brain down, you may want to read on.

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Help Keep Staff Focused and Motivated

In your daily activities as a manager, there are probably many days that you are not available because of meetings or things that take you away from your desk. What happens on a daily basis when you’re gone? Does your staff voice mail you, or e-mail frequently taking your focus away from the business at hand? Also, quite often one of the biggest complaints employees register about their work is that they don’t understand how a particular task fits into the larger picture of the organization’s work. If this isn’t true for you, are there times when you have difficulty helping an employee understand the overall scope of a task or project, because the employee wants to take a direction that you don’t agree with? Here’s a simple idea that can help keep your staff focused as well as keeping them motivated.

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Web Reading vs Print: What's the Difference?

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is, "Will the enhanced reading skills I learn from Dynamic Reading enable me to read from the web, or normal printed material better?" Here we address the differences of reading print versus online electronic infomation. 

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