• Visuwords
  Visuwords is an awesome visual tool to find new words and improve your vocabulary. When you look up a word in this tool, it shows a neat graph which connects that word to various other words based on different relationships between them. You can hover over each word to get its definition and also zoom-in and zoom-out using your mouse wheel. It’s certainly an excellent dictionary plus thesaurus.
• Dictionary.com
  Dictionary.com is probably the most common and most comprehensive of all the dictionary tools available. Apart from giving the word meanings and pronunciation, it also provides various tools (like the dictionary.com toolbar), RSS feeds to improve vocabulary and word explorer podcasts.
  
  Thesaurus.com
• Thesaurus.com is a part of dictionary.com and gives an elaborate description of words, the part of speech they belong to and various synonyms and antonyms of that word.
  
  Definr
• Definr, as it says, is an incredibly fast dictionary. It starts suggesting the nearest possible word as you start typing a particular word. Most of the time you get the required word after typing 3 or 4 letters and then you can just click on the word to look up its meaning. Definr also provides some nice tools which make this service more useful.
• Merriam-Webstar Online
  Merriam-Webstar Online is a huge online resource for learning and improving your English. It provides dictionary and thesaurus which includes spanish-english and medical dictionaries. You can easily look up words and listen to their pronunciation. Further it provides other resources like crosswords and word games. It also has a visual dictionary which combines words with images.




• MetaGlossary
  MetaGlossary.com approaches the task of finding meanings of words in a different way. It aggregates various links on the web which provide an explanation to the term and shows the results. Hence it does the job of pulling definitions of the word from the entire web.
• Thsrs
  Thsrs helps you to get shorter synonyms of long words. Although it’s not dead accurate but still can be useful at times. It also provides a browser plug-in to easily look up shorter synonyms of words with a right click.
• Wordsmith
  Wordsmith is a nice resource for new words, especially its ‘ A Word A Day ‘ newsletter, which is immensely popular and delivers new words everyday to your email inbox.
• BBC Learning English
  BBC Learning English is another comprehensive resource of not only English grammar and vocabulary but on various aspects of this useful language. It includes stories, pictures, quizzes and various communication tools to improve your English vocabulary.
• ESL Quizzes
  ESL Quizzes is a part of englishclub.com, a website which is a prominent destination for those who want to learn the language from scratch. Its vocabulary quiz section has some nice quizzes to help you learn new words and phrases.
  
  Ninjawords
• Ninjawords, like Definr, claims to be a very fast dictionary. Although it doesn’t show words as you type like Definr but is certainly very fast in displaying the meanings and synonyms once you hit enter. It also has a random tab which can be used to play around and learn new words.
• About.com’s Quizzes
  About.com’s English Quizzes is a good place to find various quizzes related to grammar and vocabulary. It also provides listening quizzes for real time listening practice.
• Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus
  Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus is a free-to-try visual tool which shows related words in an interactive map and helps you to easily find their meanings and listen to their pronunciation.
• AskOxford
  AskOxford is the online version of the famous dictionary by the Oxford University press. It’s comprehensive without a doubt and includes various other vocabulary resources and a quotations dictionary.
• Urban Dictionary
  Urban Dictionary stands out from the herd. It’s a dictionary of slang words. So use this dictionary and don’t miss out on slang words either.
  
  
• Alpha DictionaryAlpha Dictionary doesn’t directly show you the meaning of a word. Instead it searches all the available online dictionaries (most of them) and displays the results in the form of links to the meaning of that word in those dictionaries. So choose your favorite dictionary (if at all you have one) and click on the corresponding link to view its meaning.Each of the aforementioned websites tries to accomplish the same task in a different manner and hence helps you to further refine your vocabulary and get a stronger grip on the world’s most cherished language.

Do you use any other websites to improve your English language skills ? Let’s hear about them in the comments.

If you don’t prioritize them, you will end up regretting the missed opportunities. To minimize regrets, take these steps:

1. Really Think Through Your Goals and Dreams
   Ask yourself what you want your life to be like 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, and 6 months from now. Do all these visions work together? These visions will probably change some as you live your life, but having a general idea of how you’d like to see yourself will give you the focus to move yourself in that direction.

   List out in detail what characteristics and skills you want to see in yourself. List out anything that you hope to accomplish. Use these to make a list of all of the things you would likely regret not doing.

   Here are some examples for inspiration:

   • Be able to bike 50 miles in one day (1 year)
   • Overcome fear of flying to travel more (1 year)
   • Master Italian and move to Italy (5 years)

2. Audit Your Current Life
   To get where you are going, you need to know where you are. Look at how you spend your time – both at work and in your personal time. What activities get in the way of your goals? If you really want no regrets, you may need to give up or limit non-forward moving
   activities, such as TV or games, in favor of practicing a new hobby or working on your goals.

   Also look at what you are doing right. Do you find that when you work in the morning, you concentrate better than in the evening? Use this to your advantage. It’s much easier to work with your natural rhythms instead of against them.




3. Get Help Where You Need It
   Some goals are hard to do on your own, but easier if you get professional help with them. For example, goals like “get in shape to run a marathon” or “overcome my fear of flying to visit Europe by next summer” would be easier with the help of a personal trainer and a
   psychologist respectively. Professional help can minimize time and effort when facing big goals that may seem daunting.

   The external help that you receive can also be a motivating factor in you putting in the work. A professional can hold you accountable when you would normally let things slide.




4. Find Ways to Remind Yourself
   It is really easy to become complacent and fall back into your comfort zone. By setting up motivational triggers in your life, you can regularly remind yourself of the you that you want to become and put the effort in to get there.

   You can use songs, images of your goals, notes to yourself in well placed locations, or really anything that can act as a reminder of your goal or dream. These can really help you experience the emotion tied to your goals, which will help keep you motivated.

5. Track Your Progress
   This step is a must if you want to reach your goals and have no regrets. Find some way to track progress on all of your active goals. I keep a daily log where I write down what I eat, how I feel, and any steps taken towards my goals.

   You can also use charts and graphs for visual tracking, if your goal can take advantage of them. The visual-ness of the chart can be very motivating.

Life is to be lived, not just coasted through. Take the steps needed to get what you want out of life. Think about 20 years from now. Which are you going to remember more: watching that TV show or reaching a goal you have always dreamed of?

I’m quite confident that you’d prefer a prettier picture for your future. So jump on board and start by getting a good, solid night’s sleep. You’ll want to begin by making some simple changes to your daily and bedtime routines.

1. Stick to a sleep schedule
   This may not make sense, but it works. Go to bed and rise at roughly the same time every day, including weekends. You might be cursing at the thought of foregoing your Sunday-morning sleep-in but truth be told, too much time in bed can actually disrupt sleep.

   So even if you’ve had a rough night, get up and on with your day.




2. Establish and follow a bedtime ritual
   We are creatures of habit. Our sequences give us familiarity and get us doing the predictable. So set up a routine that you can easily do with guaranteed consistency.
   I love to take my bath, light candles, drink a cup of Relax tea and drift off to a meditation. I don’t stress that I don’t hear the entire track because I know that on some subliminal level, my soul is sensing the words and the deep relaxation and healing is taking place.




3. Don’t eat or drink excessively before bedtime
   Nighttime is for sleep. It’s the time for your body to recuperate from your busy day and restore your health and energy. If you introduce more work such as digestion, you jeopardize the quality of your sleep as well as the actual digestion. Don’t be surprised if you wake up with gas or heartburn! Or if you feel flat and groggy — let your body do what it needs to at night, sleep.

   Drinking excessively before bed will result in you waking up and running, or perhaps stumbling, to the bathroom throughout your sleep time.




4. Exercise and stay active
   Exercise, if bottled and sold, would be a billion-dollar industry because it seems to cure almost everything — including sleepless nights. The results are unequivocal; get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes most days of the week and you’ll find yourself deeply engrossed in many, many dreams.

   Here’s the point of controversy — when to exercise? Late at night is a definite no-no. But, wait up, that’s when I exercise and I truly sleep like the dead an hour thereafter. Other research indicates early morning exercise is best for guaranteed deep slumber while still additional studies points toward a late-afternoon cardio workout as being the trick to lights out all night.

   My suggestion — as always, listen to your infinitely wise body. Try out different times and see what works best for you.

5. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol
   Noon should be your cut off point for taking stimulants — and that includes cola if you haven’t ditched it yet. Caffeine takes much longer to metabolize than you might think — from at least four hours and then some.

   While alcohol hangs around in your system for a varying amount of time depending on your body mass, gender and your metabolic rate and tolerance levels, a standard drink will stay in your body for at least one hour.

   And what’s the deal with cigarettes? Well, nicotine can cause shallow breathing and sleeplessness. Furthermore, smokers tend to sleep much more lightly than non-smokers. So, you’re easily startled and disturbed.

6. Schedule worry time
   We all worry. At least worry sensibly! If you’re stressing out before you go to bed, a nightmarish period lies ahead. Schedule some “Worry time” instead. Block out a space during your day to confront your concerns by brainstorming solutions on paper or talking to someone. But don’t start that anxiety ticker before bed.




7. Find ways to relax before bed
   Does relaxation come easily to you? If not, identify actions you can take that encourage you to chill out. I practice breathing to a soothing mantra. Perhaps for you it’s taking a warm bath or sipping chamomile tea. However weird or wacky these may appear is unimportant. The goal is to unwind and shed your cares so you can drift off peacefully.
8. Create a sleeping haven
   Experts say you should make your room like a cave — cool, dark and quiet . While “cool” is a subjective experience, the average recommended temperature is between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Apparently, this gentle drop in temperature induces sleep, especially REM sleep where you do most of your dreaming.

   It’s also crucial that your mattress and pillows are comfy. Before I changed my mattress I would honestly wake up due to lower back pain every time I rolled over. It was just awful. And if you ask my family members, so was my morning mood!

9. Don’t watch the clock — And turn off that smart phone!
   The glowing haze or staccato tick-tock of a bedside clock will totally blow your night’s rest. Get rid of the distraction by putting it in your dresser drawer or under the bed.

   And turn the phone off! At least those beeping Twitter and Facebook notifications. You are unique, magnificent and uber special — but the world will survive without your immediate response. Off!




10. Check your medications
    Ask your doc if any of the meds you are on may be contributing to your insomnia. Particular drugs to take note of include steroids, beta blockers, nasal decongestants, appetite suppressants, and asthma and high blood pressure medications. You can look on the label of over-the-counter drugs to see if they include caffeine or other stimulants such as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.




11. Your bedroom: For sleep and sex only
    It’s been labeled the “Cardinal Rule of Sleep Hygiene” — your bedroom is there as a place of calm and pleasure. It’s not an office, a gym, a dining room or a movie theater.

    And here’s the thing; less sleep equals less sex. Sixty-one percent of Americans report that sleepiness disrupts their sexual relations. So you might want to follow these tips.

With a good night’s sleep, you’ll arise smiling, energized and ready to be an active player in your life. Sounds crazy but it’s true — and simple. Make a few tweaks here and a few tweaks there and before you know it, life will be brighter, your productivity will be fantastic and you might just be the lover you were in your college days!

Here’s how to take those ideas and make them real:

1. Choose ONE Idea
   However many ideas you’ve got, try to pick just one thing to focus on first. That way, you’ll be much more likely to succeed: you won’t burn yourself out by trying to do too much, and you won’t find that some of your ideas are getting sidelined by others.

   If you’re not sure where to begin, choose an idea that will fit into your current life (with, perhaps, a few tweaks to your priorities and commitments). Don’t quit your job in the hopes that your as-yet-non-existent small business will work out – instead, work on building up your self-discipline with a goal that you can achieve while in your current job, like losing weight or taking an evening class.




2. Create a Solid Plan
   Whatever your big idea is, there’s a good chance that other people have tackled something similar. If you want to run your own restaurant business, talk to restaurant managers, or look for books that could help. If you want to get fit and healthy, talk to your doctor or the staff at the local gym.

   Once you’ve gathered some advice about turning your idea into action, write a plan. Give yourself specific things to do. For instance, if your big idea is “write a novel” then your plan might look like this:
   

   • Summarize the key theme of the novel in one or two sentences
   • Write a short description for each main character
   • Plan out crucial events in the plot

   …and so on.

   You might not be able to create a complete plan from A – Z right now, but you can at least map out the steps from A – B and B – C. Try to set deadlines for your first few actions, to help you get moving.




3. Get Support From Others
   Tell friends and/or family about your big idea. You might need to select the people you confide in carefully – who’s most likely to be encouraging and supportive?

   By letting other people know about your plans, you give yourself another reason to stay on the path towards your goal: if you back out now, you’ll have to tell everyone that you’ve quit. Plus, the people around you may be able to support you in practical ways – for instance, a colleague at work may have a useful diet book that they can lend you, or a family friend might share some great tips on running a small business.

4. Stay Focused
   Finally, you need to stay focused. So many people begin on the path to a fantastic goal only to give up before they’ve made any real progress.

   You might find that the first couple of weeks are easy: you’re feeling highly motivated, and you’re excited about your idea. After a few more weeks, though, you might find it tougher going. If you’re going to achieve your goal, you need to stay focused.

   That means getting into good habits, perhaps making time at the start of each day to work on this one key goal, or setting aside time at the weekends. It may also mean looking at the other commitments in your life – is there anything you could cut out, or cut down?

   The path to your goal won’t necessarily be easy – but it will be rewarding. By staying on that path, right to the end, you’ll achieve something you can be truly proud of … and something that may just change your life.

What ideas do you have right now? How are you going to put them into action? Share your thoughts in the comments…