We blog from Toothy’s Wordshop – mainly about writing, science, remote working, business, culture, parenting, tech and gaming. Sometimes superheroes too. Stick around for tips, tricks, hacks and perspectives.
For over a decade, all my New Years’ resolutions followed a depressingly predictable pattern. Every January 1st I poured away the last of the Christmas booze, laced up my running shoes and dusted off the spiraliser. Yet, within a few short weeks I was pounding the merlot in my unicorn onesie, eating spaghetti that was […]
Ah, January – we meet again. Where exactly did 2020 go? Given that the vast majority of the year passed in a blur within the confinements of our own homes and/or fighting over toilet paper in the supermarkets (and that’s only for the lucky ones), it’s easy to understand why the saying “time flies” is […]
Podcasts now dominate the audio world. Whether you’re commuting, cooking, or cleaning the oven, there’s a podcast for every occasion – breaking the silence and providing some sweet reprieve from staring at our phone screens. One of the (many) perks of remote working is the ability to listen to whatever you want, whenever you want, […]
Micromanagement is like the Miley Cyrus of the business world. Sure, it can be a force for good – but, if care is not taken, you might find it crashing through your office wall atop a wrecking ball. Indeed, micromanagement can be beneficial in certain short-term situations, such as in the training of new employees, […]
Rumour on the sleigh is that Father Christmas is reducing his alcohol consumption this year after being caught ‘flying under the influence’ on Christmas Eve, 2019. Mrs Christmas was rather unimpressed her jolly husband got himself locked out, having somehow lost his keys… and Rudolf (don’t worry, he was eventually discovered at a reindeer sanctuary […]
It’s cool to be kind, and there’s been a real movement in recent years encouraging us to actively be more kind to one another (and to ourselves). The importance of wellbeing in the workplace has also become topical of late, and kindness as a concept feeds directly into this. Those stale and outdated notions that […]
Burning metals on a Bunsen burner to see what colour they glow has long been the highlight of secondary school science classes. Years later, we all relish that nostalgia (perhaps unknowingly) when watching fireworks create colourful, pretty patterns in the sky. But have you ever wondered, as you’ve sat crunching down on your bonfire toffee […]
Breaking News! In Slim Toothy’s first on-tour interview, he was asked about the inspiration behind his new single. “The vibe just felt right in that moment, you know. We’d been cracking out slides all day, we’d hit go on a giant PromoMats upload and we’d won two new clients. Our mood was banging and the […]
Ben Makin joins Word Monster as a Writing Monster. We’re busier than ever with new monsters and fresh offerings arriving thick and fast. Ben is passionate about science communication. The “science” part led him to move to Cornwall to get a PhD in biology, and the “communication” part drove him to run science chat shows […]
“Have you ever considered a career in Medical Communications?” “Yes… Tell me more.” And that was the big fat lie upon which my career in MedComms was built. The real truth being, up until that exact moment in time, I hadn’t the foggiest what MedComms was. Fresh (relatively speaking) from completing my PhD, the hunt […]
We are now in the sixth week of lockdown. It’s Groundhog Day #40. And if you are anything like us at Word Monster, you’re probably in the midst of coronavirus cabin fever. Working from home is our norm. We soon realised that our normal lives are what everyone else is calling quarantine! But it’s different […]
Now that most of us are working from home, it’s more important than ever to keep yourself safe online. After all, hackers now have more people to target. We’ve worked remotely since Word Monster began, so we’ve implemented strict procedures and protocols to keep us and our data safe. Here are a few simple things […]