Avoid the Avoiding Habit and Find More Time and Less Stress

Procrastination can creep in and easily become a habit. Once it does, it erodes your capacity to function effectively. But it can be a hard habit to break.  However, with some honest self-assessment and an organized and attainable plan of attack, it can be overcome successfully.
Be gentle with yourself when you decide to try and kick the procrastination habit.  It may be so ingrained that you don’t fully recognize all the ways you actually procrastinate. Start out by taking a large or complicated task and breaking it down into smaller parts that you can accomplish easier.  It’s important to bear in mind that the most difficult or complex tasks are simply just a series of smaller jobs.
Make a verbal commitment to someone else about improving your time management skills and your desire to avoid procrastinating. Allow others to become involved in your efforts by reviewing your progress, helping you set deadlines or evaluating your results can be very helpful.  This will most likely create a commitment on your part to fulfill the expectations they’ve set for you.
Sit down and map out a plan to manage your time more effectively.  When a deadline is looming, make sure you allot time each day to work on the project so it doesn’t sneak up on you in the final hours or days.  Learn to ask for help when you’re feeling overwhelmed or overworked.
Reward yourself for good behavior and accomplished goals. Don’t wait until you’ve accomplished the ultimate goal, but reward yourself for your successes along the way.  Make sure the reward is something you like to do.  Treat yourself to the newest book by your favorite author and take the time to read it.  Indulge in bubble baths or relaxing music.  If you’ve gotten into the habit of working late, make sure you develop a new habit of going home on time each night.
By making a commitment to avoid the avoiding habit, you’ll soon be well on your way to finding more time and find yourself more relaxed and productive and less stressed in the process.

Learning How To Spend Less

This is a step that many people have to confront in order to become a more frugal person. You have to learn how to spend less. This is tough for most people since they haven’t had to do anything about this. Learning to spend less is difficult unless you put your pencil to the paper and are determined to make this a goal. Without determination and a goal to strive for, this won’t work.

To begin to spend less, sit down and take a look at where your money has been going. Write down every thing you have spent your money on from fast food restaurants to clothes shopping to grocery shopping. This also includes all the cups of coffee from the coffee shop on the way to work.

Some people find it handy to get a small notebook that they can carry in their purse or pocket and write down every transaction they make. Make sure you write the date at the beginning of each new day and it is helpful to write which day of the week it is to be able to figure out why you are doing what you are doing. Be sure to write down the bills you pay and whether or not you mailed the bill using a stamp or if you paid for it in person.

The reason to writing it all down is to find out where the money is going. Once you find out how many times a week you are actually eating lunch out and how many cups of coffee you are consuming each day, you’ll quickly figure out where you can cut expenses. We’ll deal with some money saving tips in a moment so don’t begin to panic that you won’t be able to get a double espresso ever again.

Once you’ve written all these details down, take a look at what you’re buying. Write down how many times you ate out, how many movies you rented, how many plays you saw, how many stops to the local coffee shop and whatever else you might have done.

Total up how much you spent each time you did all these activities. It will become surprising exactly how much money is spent on non-essential things as these. This isn’t a tactic to destroy your spirits, but mainly an eye-opener to begin a plan of action to figure out ways to spend less.