Working in South America nearly 20 years ago, I made a breakthrough discovery: if you know an English word ending in ‘ity’, you know the Spanish word if you replace it with ‘dad’.

This increased the variedad and utilidad of my conversations 100%. Sometimes the necessidad to find an opportunidad to use a ‘dad’ made esponteneidad a dificultad. But new vocabulary had opened a new world of possibilidades.

Now I am a Dad, the combination of children, work and life makes productividad an absolute necessidad. And blimey I’ve been productive this week. School runs, presentations, objectives, appraisals, cooking, cleaning, mowing the lawn. Phew. But with hindsight not enough time for thinking, reading and friends.

It’s all very well being ‘ProductiviDad’ but the good life needs a bit of ‘contemplación’ too. All work and no play makes Juanito a dull boy.