Note: This is a guest post from Timo Kiander of TimoKiander.com

Our daily life is full of unproductive habits and rituals that we execute – whether on a conscious or unconscious level. This makes us less efficient and productive than we could potentially be.

Obviously, just listing some avoidable habits is not enough. Because of this, I encourage you to check out Donald’s article on how to break bad habits. It gives a good foundation on how to actually start changing your habits from bad to good.

Here are 17 unproductive habits that you should let go:

1. Consuming the information you don’t need

Unsubscribe from as many mailing lists as you can. This way you can cut down the amount of incoming e-mails and prevent distraction.

Also, stop watching news. If there is an event that is newsworthy, it will catch you anyway (mostly by other people).

2. Letting others to run your life

Steve Jobs said it right: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

You are the master of your life and it is a shame if you live your life by pleasing others.

Naturally, it is wise to listen for advice from other people every now and then. However, ignore those people who say you can’t reach your dreams, it is impossible to do something or that your vision is foolish.

In your heart you know that it is not true.

3. Reinventing the wheel

Before you start working on your task or project, prevent reinventing the wheel.

Spend some time on research to find out if there are already solutions that help you to complete your task faster.

4. Being perfect

Although striving for perfection may be a noble principle for some, it is still a huge time and energy waster.

Instead of spending too much time on tweaking something, create a checklist to go through on your finalization phase. When you realize that all the items on your list are checked, you can finish your work and move on.

Not only are you relieved of your accomplishment, you will also give room for your brain to focus on other things instead.

5. Letting television to overrun your passion

When television is preventing you to take action on your passion, maybe it is time to rethink your priorities.

Save your TV show to your digital set-top box for later viewing instead. If you do this operation a couple of times you will form a new success habit – working on your passion first and watching television second.

6. Multitasking

Stop working on multiple tasks at once. You are spreading your focus and effort on too many places at once. Although you might be able to proceed on many fronts at once, it is still a very slow and error-prone way of working.

Instead, when you focus solely on one task, you get all the work done much faster. You can put your mind fully to that task, complete it fully and move to the next task.

7. Neglecting your body

You should take utmost care of your body. Feed it nutritious food, keep it fit by exercising on a regular basis and give it enough sleep.

When doing these the quality of your life rises considerably, you feel good and in some cases you are able to prevent some diseases to break out. Also, your energy levels are higher and you are more productive.

8. Promising too much

Control your “yeses”. If you feel you have too much on your plate, be selfish and just say no! You have a right to decline from requests presented to you. Don’t feel bad about saying no.

If another person has a right to ask something from you, you have an equal right to say no.

9. Reacting to every distraction that comes along

The number of distractions has grown radically over the last few years. The main problem is that you are expected to be reachable all the time.

When you are distracted, it causes unnecessary stress and makes you procrastinate on your work.

Instead of being reachable, shut down the communication devices when you want to concentrate on your work. If this means shutting down your phone or even taking the network cable out of your computer, then do it. This way you can cut down your temptations to be distracted too easily.

10. Thinking that the more the better

More is not necessarily better. In fact, in many cases the quality beats the quantity.

Strive for mastering or focusing just the few, but not everything. For example, this could be focusing on just a subset of your clients that bring most of your results or mastering one skill well rather than trying to be good on 12 different things.

Focusing on the things that bring the biggest rewards is a good strategy to be used your in life.

11. Being late on appointments

Stop wasting time of other people. Not only are you giving a bad image out of yourself, you are also showing that you ignore the other person’s timetables completely.

Adjust your own schedule to, for example, 15 minutes earlier, so that you keep the appointment without any delay.

12. Staying quiet when you should ask

When you are stuck and you are not able to move forward with your task, speak up!

It’s not silly to ask a question if you don’t know – rather, the person who doesn’t ask for help is silly.

13. Starting a task but not finishing

Too many people start a task and never finish it. Understandably the task may get postponed sometimes because of the reasons that are not dependent of you. But in majority times this is not the case and it is your responsibility to finish the task.

Make a plan on how to tackle the task: Break it into smaller pieces and execute your plan on a daily basis. Eventually you realize that the task is done and you feel very good about yourself!

14. Working tired

When you work tired, you are not able to focus on your work as well as if you were fully refreshed.

If you feel tired, ponder yourself if you get enough sleep at night and adjust your sleeping time accordingly.

Also, you can take a quick 15-20 minute nap to refresh yourself. Powernap is a great way to restart your day.

15. Waiting others to take action

Sometimes the only way to get something done is to do it yourself. If you are waiting others to take action on your behalf, you get disappointed because most probably nothing gets done.

Take initiative, put your ideas into action and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

16. Failing to admit mistakes and learning from them

Everybody makes mistakes. However, some people learn from their mistakes, while other people complain and never see any positive sides in those situations.

Use mistakes as a feedback and learning mechanism to improve your action further.

17. Fixing the symptom instead of the root cause

When you have a flat tire on your bicycle, you have two options to handle the situation.

You can either pump air to the tire so that you can ride your bike for a while – until the tire is flat again. On the other hand, you can change the tire to an intact one once – and stop wasting time on pumping air to a flat one on a recurring basis.

Strive for fixing the root cause instead of just fixing the symptom. It may take more time, but fixing the symptoms will most likely to take even more time.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are lots of habits on our daily lives that could be improved or replaced with a better one.

If there is a one single area to focus on this list, it is definitely the item #7. When you make your body feel good on all three levels (nutrition, exercise and sleep), it is much easier to change other parts of your life too.

Just take one unproductive habit, crush it and then move on to the next one.

Timo Kiander is an online business productivity and time management enthusiast who blogs at http://www.timokiander.com. Visit his blog and grab the free e-book: “101 Tips For Becoming a Productivity Superstar”.

Photo by King

Note: This is a guest post from Alex Mangini of Life Notion

I’m going to be honest with you: one of the most difficult things about doing any kind of work is finding the motivation to keep going and get what needs to get done, done.

And not just for the sake of accomplishing something, but to actually do a good job of it.

And I’ll let you in on a little secret that may take some guilt off your conscience:

Each and every one of us has given up on something, or hasn’t completed a task to our fullest potential.

Generally, this is because we don’t have an interest in what we’re doing (like homework, or chores). When’s the last time you were told to do something you absolutely did not want to do, but did anyway? Was it fun? Wouldn’t you rather be doing something else? But most importantly: did you do what you were asked to your fullest potential?

Incredibly enough, doing things you don’t enjoy is not what will ultimately kill your overall productivity. And it’s not even the “flaw” I was referring to at the beginning of this article.

As a matter of fact, millions of people go to a job they dislike every day and get their work done. Whether it’s flipping burgers or filing papers all day — the productivity is there and people are getting things done.

So what is truly, the #1 biggest killer of productivity, and the one flaw in your seemingly perfect workflow?

Not Knowing What to Do Next

I don’t know how many times I’ve been working on a new project or doing chores around the house, and then suddenly have it all come to a screeching halt because I don’t know what to do next.

It’s kind of like being stuck in a conversation with your friends and having nothing to say because you don’t understand what the heck they’re talking about.

So what’s the easiest solution to this problem? The easiest thing to do would be to curl up in a ball and not worry about work. But since you’ve read this far, you’re obviously not the type of person to just sit around and let things happen. You’re ready to take action and work hard to improve yourself.

I admire that a lot, so I’m going to share with you a few things I do to always keep myself busy, and know what I have to do next.

1. Always Be Prepared for the Worst

When you try committing yourself to your work, it’s easy to get distracted by the world around you and stray away from what’s important.

I do feel that if you’re doing work that stresses you out, a distraction is actually good for you at 1-5 minute intervals. Just to keep you calm and take the stress off your mind for a little bit. Then it’s back to work.

But if you find that you’re getting too distracted by Facebook or you can’t stop eyeing the pretty girl at the coffee shop you’re working from — it’s time to get rid of them and start eyeing what’s most important to you: getting the job at hand done.

2. Be Proud of Your Work

Nothing is as satisfying as looking back at what you’ve accomplished at the end of the day and feeling good about it. It not only makes you feel great, but it gets you absolutely pumped up to get back to work as soon as possible.

So don’t be afraid to gloat or show off your work every once in a while. Even if you’re not one to brag about your accomplishments, you should be telling yourself this one thing at the end of each day:

I’m happy with what I accomplished today, and know that I did it all to the best of my abilities.

Be proud of your work, and have great respect for everything you do. No one else can do the same thing as you, and that alone commands respect greater than anything else.

3. Don’t Go to Bed Without a New Plan

This is just as important, and something I try to work at every day.

Before I go to bed, I will put some thought into what I’ve done that day, and figure out how I can build upon all that work. Or, I think of new things I need to get done tomorrow.

This is helpful because it allows me to get straight to work without ever thinking twice and wasting valuable time sitting at my desk and staring off into space.

I would also recommend writing down a little schedule, or keep a small to-do list of things you want to do. If you can maintain a list and actually do the things on it, you will be golden.

Don’t Waste Your Potential

Each and every day, you have the opportunity to do something amazing.

Don’t let this one thing; this one stupid thing hold you back from creating and doing something great.

Know what you need to do, know how you do it, and most importantly — do it. Then, know what to do next, and do that too.

Alex Mangini is an 18 year old web designer and blogger. He’s the founder of Life Notion, where he helps people discover their passion and live the life of their dreams. He thinks you should check it out right now.

Photo by seier+seier

Note: This is a guest post from Karol K. of newInternetOrder.com

I dearly hate wasting so much time every day… This probably didn’t boost my credibility as someone who’s about to write a productivity article. But now something that will: My days of wasting up to 5 hours a day are long over. That’s because a typical day of mine has between 27 and 30 hours in it.

The best news is that creating a 29-hour day is easy. See how you can do it in two simple steps.

1. Realize how much time you’re losing every day

I’m not talking about procrastination. I’m not talking about laziness. And I’m not talking about getting up late either. In fact, I’m not talking about any of this kind of things.

I’m talking about losing time in moments that are seemingly out of your control. The most common of which are:

• Commuting
• Walking (either as a recreational walk, walking the dog, or going somewhere in general)
• Shopping
• Exercising (all kinds of physical exercise and workout)
• Cooking (spending time in the kitchen)
• Cleaning and other housework
• Waiting for things (at the doctor’s, at the bus stop, etc.)

All of these things seem to be out of your control. At first glance you can’t do anything about the time you spend commuting, working out, or walking the dog. However, this is all the time you can use for some additional things.

You see, whenever you’re doing something that doesn’t consume your brain resources very much, you can use this moment to do something else at the same time. Simple, two-task REAL multitasking.

The activities mentioned above are perfect moments to employ the concept of the No Extra Time (NET). Time that can be used more productively than it seems.

Now a simple example. Let’s say that each day, on average:

• you spend two hours commuting (one hour going to work and one hour going back home),
• you walk and shop for a total of one hour,
• you exercise for half an hour,
• you cook and clean for one hour,
• you wait for other things for half an hour.

That makes it a total of five hours lost every day if you’re not using your NET.

The example I’m using above may seem like one that’s a little exaggerated, but it’s not. Commuting for two hours a day is not something unusual for many people. Some of us simply get out of bed and immediately sit in front of a computer – total commuting time of 15 seconds, but some of us have to get in a car and drive down the interstate for 90 minutes. Walking and shopping for one hour – that’s just how it is. If you don’t believe me grab a stopwatch and find out for yourself.

Exercising for half an hour each day is the thing that seems the least believable, but I’m not saying that you have to be doing it for half an hour every single day. I’m just saying that’s the average. If you’re exercising three times a week for little over an hour that makes it half an hour per day on average. One last thing – if you don’t exercise at all, start!

Now it’s your turn. Use the example above, sum up your hours and find your personal amount of lost time – your personal amount of NET. Remember, NET can be employed every time when you’re doing something that seems natural and doesn’t require much focus.

Once you have the number, proceed to the next point.

2. Use your No Extra Time (NET) more productively

NET can be used in many different ways. The most popular are:

• Education (learning new things, self development).
• Keeping up with the world (getting familiar with the news).
• Planning and scheduling (deciding what you’re going to do).
• Taking over the world (just a fancy name for coming up with business and personal strategies).
• Networking and contacting people.
• Checking and responding to email (since you shouldn’t be checking email more than twice a day anyway).

If you want to be able to use your NET effectively, you have to create some new habits in your life and start to experiment with different ways of receiving information.

Here are some tips:

Whenever you want to read a book check if there’s an audio version of it. If such a version exists buy it and put it in your iPod. That way you can “read” it while commuting. That’s two hours of “reading” every day. Something not many people can afford. Plus, you can listen to audio in many different situations, for example: while walking the dog, shopping, exercising, cleaning, cooking, the possibilities are endless.

Find some interesting podcasts.

Carry around a moleskine notebook or use one of many iPhone apps for note taking. It will store your thoughts and plans for taking over the world while you’re waiting at the doctor’s.

Plan and schedule your nearest actions using your iPhone or/and Google Calendar. You’ll be able to do it on the move – on a treadmill at the gym, for example.

Get a Kindle. You’ll be able to read thousands of e-books while on the metro.

Check and respond to email from your iPhone. You can do it at the gym, while taking a bus, or whenever you’re waiting for something.

Contact people while you’re on the move. For example, when you’re walking the dog, shopping, or going somewhere on foot in general.

Have the above tips in mind and try to come up with your own set of activities. It shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes.

BUT

Don’t overdo this whole NET thing

You absolutely need some time for relaxation. Not every piece of NET should be utilized. Set aside a separate period for relaxation and chilling out. Feeling relaxed gives the best boost in productivity once you get to work.

That’s pretty much it. Welcome to the 29-hour day!

Tell me what you think. Are you using your NET? What do you prefer to do with it, what are your favorite activities?

About the author: Karol K. (@carlosinho) is a 20-something year old web 2.0 entrepreneur from Poland who shares his thoughts at newInternetOrder.com. Tune in to get his Getting Things Done (GTD) tips and other personal productivity advice.

Photo by Duncan

Note: This is a guest post from Nate Klemp, PhD, of LifeBeyondLogic.com

The American Philosopher Henry David Thoreau mastered the art of break taking. For him, the world of work was like a prison. “This world is a place of business,” he insisted. “It is nothing but work, work, work.”

Breaks were his path to freedom. Without them, life lost its value. “If I should sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society,” he said, “I am sure that for me there would be nothing left to live for.”

But break taking is not only good for our souls. Strangely enough, it’s also good for productivity and work. If my mind is well rested, I can do four hours worth of work in an hour. If my mind is tired, even the most trivial tasks take significant time and effort.

By mastering the art of break taking, you can maximize productivity and minimize the strain of work. Here are four types of breaks to help you do this:

1. Micro-Breaking

How often do you find yourself sitting at your desk waiting for a file to download, an email to send, or a live person to answer your call? In these moments, our natural reaction is frustration and anger. But see what happens if you shift your experience of them. See if you can use them as micro-breaks – as momentary pauses for reenergizing your mind and body.

Breathing is one of my favorite ways to spend my micro-breaks. Instead of watching impatiently as your file downloads, bring your attention to your inhales and exhales. See if you can lengthen and smooth out the quality of your breath.

Stretching is another great tool. Use these momentary pauses to shake out and stretch your neck, arms, and shoulders.

2. Mental Rebooting

Do you ever get that feeling of mental sluggishness? Most of us try to push through it. But here’s the thing. The work we produce in this state tends to be sloppy, second rate. And what’s worse, the more we push, the more we drain our mental and physical energy.

So I’m a big fan of the mental reboot. To do this, I recommend exercise. It might be a quick walk, yoga class, run, or bike ride. These short periods of physical exertion reenergize the mind and body. They ensure that when you go back to sitting in front of your computer, your creative juices are flowing.

3. Sunset Breaks

These days, almost everyone seems to work crazy hours both in and out of the office. Even when we’re at home or out to dinner with friends, we may feel an irresistible temptation to check email and answer calls. In these moments, our bodies may be at home or at a restaurant, but our mind is still back at the office.

So see if you can create several work-free hours at the end of each day. Your work-fast might start at sunset or maybe you can only afford to break for an hour before bed. These intentional evening breaks give your body and mind a chance to wind down. They help your system prepare for sleep and recharge for the day ahead.

4. Macro-Breaks

In my experience, small breaks during the day and in the evening have powerful effects. They allow you to live well while also working productively. But these smaller breaks are not enough. Every month or so, your system needs more time to rebuild, refresh, and reenergize.

To do this, I recommend taking occasional macro-breaks – full weekends or even weeks away from work. You might think that these breaks take away from productivity. A week off work means a week with no tangible value-added. But these longer breaks have a number of beneficial effects:

• They give your body and mind an opportunity to reenergize, ensuring that when you go back to work, you bring your A-game.
• They give you distance and perspective. Longer breaks take you out of the details of work-place drama and can help you see the bigger picture. While taking one of these breaks you might find that the solution to one of your most difficult challenges at work comes to you out of nowhere, in a matter of seconds.
• These breaks are good for maximizing productivity. But let’s not forget their most important benefit. They allow you to spend time with friends and family, to explore new activities and new places, and to have fun.

***

If you choose to experiment with these four types of breaks, you may find that your boss or co-workers see your new work style as lazy or unproductive. Most of them live in the world of “work, work, work.” But let your productivity and creativity prove them wrong. Soon, they’ll see that your weekend getaways, lunchtime yoga classes, and one-minute micro-breaks are what make you such a rock star at work.

I would love to know what you think. Have you experimented with this kind of break taking? What keeps you from taking more breaks?

Nate Klemp, PhD is a professor at Pepperdine University. He founded LifeBeyondLogic.com, a website dedicated to exploring philosophy as an art of living. You can follow him on Twitter @LifeBeyondLogic and on Facebook. Download a free copy of his new ebook, Finding Reality: Thoreau’s Lessons for Life in the Digital Age.

Photo by Zach Dischner

Note: This is a guest post from John Suter of Money Saving Challenge

Busy modern lives leave us with little time for managing our finances and we often have to compromise on getting the best deals or completing tasks efficiently, simply because we don’t have enough time.

But in many cases, being time poor is just an excuse for procrastination and the reality is that we are either too lazy or too perfectionist to properly find deals and plan for the future.

In fact, the whole business of being time poor is big business and there are companies of all sizes making very good money out of people who don’t believe they have enough time to cook their own food, iron their own shirts, hunt around for cheaper insurance deals, move their money to higher-interest bank accounts or properly research their shopping purchases.

Worse than that, those who are too busy to spend time planning their financial future are more likely to end up poorer than those who pro-actively research the best pensions, mortgages, insurance polices and investments.

Getting Things Done

As a project manager, I’m in the business of getting things done. No matter the size of the task, if it needs doing then I am responsible for organising my team to understand the problem, putting together a plan and implementing the solution effectively.

In the business world, time is money and that requires tasks to be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Yet in my personal life, I have been equally guilty of financial procrastination, making do with the first quotes I was given and not planning for the future.

Why We Put Off Financial Tasks

To overcome procrastination, it is necessary to understand the factors that cause it. More often than not, it is a combination of the following factors:

• Lack of understanding – Tasks always become more challenging if it is not clear how to complete them. For example, many people don’t know where to start with setting up a pension, so it is no surprise this task gets put off for many years.
• Immensity of the task – It is easy to be over-awed by the size of some tasks and often in our minds molehills can quickly turn themselves into mountains. The bigger the task becomes, the less likely we are to start it.
• Afraid of not achieving perfection – Most people take pride in the things they do, but for many the fear of not doing a task perfectly prevents them from even starting it.
• Failure to see the importance / significance – This is more than just not understanding how to do a task; it is the failure to understand why the task is even necessary. For example: why do I need to set up my own pension when the government will provide one for me?

How To Beat Financial Task Procrastination

Here are some time management tips that I have applied to my personal life to beat my financial procrastination:

1. To-Do List

Whilst everyone knows that a to-do list is probably the simplest and most effective task management tool, it is surprising how many people fail to make one and continue to go about their lives, trying to keep track of all their tasks in their heads.

To-do lists not only help people with poor memories (like me), they also help us begin difficult tasks, as the simple act of writing things down on paper has the psychological benefit of making them seem less immense and more accomplishable.

There are plenty of apps and websites designed to help people manage their to-do list, but good old fashioned pen and paper works just as well, if not better.

2. Break Big Tasks Down Into Achievable Sub-Tasks

I’ve always found that the more simplistic the to-do list, the more effective it is (the same applies with project plans!). However, in some cases it is necessary to break big tasks down into smaller sub-tasks, making them achievable.

Setting up a pension is a relatively big task, but if you begin to break it down into the individual steps (e.g. research on internet, speak to financial advisor, choose the pension scheme, fill in application form, etc), it quickly becomes less daunting and helps you to understand how to complete the task.

3. Plan and Set Deadlines

One of the biggest blockers of progress is being overwhelmed by trying to complete too many tasks at once. Multi-tasking is just a modern day euphemism for being disorganised.

Better to concentrate on one task at a time and get it done properly, starting with the highest priority item and working down your list in that order.

But at the same time you need to impose deadlines to ensure a good flow of progress through your tasks. As I don’t like to waste too much time undertaking detailed planning, I simply set myself targets to complete a small number of tasks each month.

This is as simple as: By the end of April, I will have completed Task 1, Task 2 and Task 3.

The number of tasks you choose to target will depend on their size and complexity.

Maintaining a smaller target prevents me from being overwhelmed and allows me to work through an individual task effectively. If I meet my targets before the month-end I can simply pick up the next highest priority task on the list.

4. 80% Rule of Quality

You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule – a rule of thumb where 80% of your output comes from 20% of your effort. Well, a variation of this rule also applies to the quality of your tasks.

In many cases it is better to complete a task at 80% quality level, than never actually starting it because you are scared of not getting it 100% right first time.

Better to have a pension set up and working to build your future wealth than have nothing set up at all. The pension may not be 100% finely-tuned to take advantages of the rises and falls of world commerce, but at least it is doing something and you can always modify your fund at a later date.

5. Just Do It

Often in large organisations, the bureaucracy involved in carrying out tasks can be mind numbingly dull and painful, with employees crying out in despair that they just want to get the job done quickly in the same way that small, entrepreneurial businesses do.

If you feel that your personal task management process is growing into an uncontrollable monster or that you are spending too long trying to do the task perfectly, just remember the concept of Just Do it – JDI.

The concept is simple and straightforward – stop procrastinating and just get the job done.

Why wait till next weekend to research cheaper car insurance deals? Instead start looking tonight after work, whilst you are watching television.

Need to sort out all your files or update you budget – just do it now whilst the thought is fresh in your mind.

The point is that we all need to make time to get these tasks done. Don’t let your busy schedule fool you into thinking you can’t do them for a week – everyone has 24 hours a day and it is up to us as individuals to make the best use of that time possible.

John Suter writes for www.moneysavingchallenge.com and challenges his readers to make savings of £250 per month with a range of great money saving ideas. You can also follow him at http://twitter.com/MoneySavingPig – The Times Money Central No. 1 Twitter Account for saving you money.

Photo by Tax_Rebate and taxfix.co.uk

There is a sad fact in this world we live in. Many people live overloaded lives. They have so many activities and responsibilities that they often feel exhausted. They live from paycheck to paycheck with no room for unexpected expenses. And they keep spending their emotional and physical energy with little or no time to restore it.

There’s a book related to it entitled Margin. The book argues that many people fill their lives up to the capacity, be it in term of energy, finance, or time. As a result, their lives are no longer in balance. They might seem "productive" in one or two areas of their lives, but the other areas of their lives suffer. They might have a good career, for instance, but their health and relationships suffer.

This, of course, is not a good way to live. So what can we do to avoid such a situation? What can we do to keep our lives in balance? I agree with the book’s advice here:

Give margin to your life in the form of emotional, physical, financial and time reserves

Don’t fill your life up to the capacity. Give yourself margin. Give yourself space to breath. You might not achieve as much as other people in the short term, but you will live a happier and more enjoyable life in the long term.

Here are eight things you can do to give margin to your life:

1. Trim your commitments

You might want to do many things, but the fact is you can’t do everything you want. Trying to do too much will only deplete your physical and mental energy. Not only that, it might also take time away from your relationships.

So, instead of taking everything that comes your way, use the 80/20 rule to choose only the most essential ones. If you already have too many commitments, go over them and trim the non-essential ones. Learn to say no without feeling guilty.

2. Set boundaries

Don’t fill up your time with work. Set boundaries. For example, you might decide not to touch your work above 6 p.m. so that you can focus on your family. Or you might decide to take one or two days off every week. Everyone has different situations, so set the boundaries that work for you.

3. Spend less than you earn

This is a basic principle of personal finance but it’s an easy one to forget, especially in this age of credit cards. Credit cards make it easy for people to spend money they don’t have. As a result, many people fall into financial troubles.

The first thing you need to do is tracking your spending. The reason is that it can give you understanding of how you actually spend your money.

After that, you can take action to control your expenses. Remove unnecessary expenses. Find cheaper ways to do things. This requires sacrifices but it’s good for you in the long term.

4. Build an emergency fund

Again, this is a basic principle of personal finance. You need to build an emergency fund for unexpected situations so that you can handle them when they come.

There are different opinions about how big an emergency fund should be, but make it at least three months’ worth of your (and your family’s) living expenses.

5. Make time to exercise

Exercise can boost your personal energy and keep your energy level high throughout the day. So make it a habit to exercise, either by yourself or with a friend. You will be more productive and less stressed as a result.

6. Have enough rest

Your body needs enough rest to function properly. Therefore don’t sacrifice your sleep time for work or any other activities. Make sure that you get 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night.

7. Pray or meditate

Doing this can boost your mental energy and give you peace of mind. You can then think more clearly and stay calm throughout the day.

8. Make quality time for relationships

Your relationships are great source of mental energy. Not only should you make time for them, but also you should make sure that it’s quality time. Give your full attention to the people you are with. Let them feel that you appreciate them.

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What do you think? Do you have other tips to give margin to someone’s life?

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Note: This is a guest post from Dia Thabet of 2achieveyourgoals.com

Are you a procrastinator? Do you have a hard time to accomplish your tasks on time?

If you are like most people, chances are you are a procrastinator. Most people procrastinate to some degree; the key is not to let procrastination keep you from accomplishing what you have to do or achieving your goals.

Procrastination is when you put your work aside and say you will start tomorrow or next week to do what you have to do, so you can do something that is less important because you feel it is more fun and more comfortable. The procrastinator might work for long hours, but usually on less important tasks, which usually happens due to the lack of prioritizing.

Common characteristics of a procrastinator

1. Afraid to fail
2. Doesn’t believe he can accomplish the tasks
3. Doesn’t know where to start
4. Waits for the right mood or the right time
5. Focuses on the moment of bliss instead of the long term bliss
6. Doesn’t know how to prioritize and manage his time effectively
7. Waits for everything to be perfect before he starts working on the task
8. Says YES to people for many things that they ask and leaves the important work behind.

For these reasons, the procrastinator prefers to do something that he feels more enjoyable at the moment. Unfortunately, he leaves the required and important tasks for a later time, which usually has a negative impact on his life.

To learn how to overcome your desire to procrastinate, follow the steps below:

1. Recognition

Realize and recognize that you are a procrastinator. If you are honest with yourself, most likely you would know deep in your heart that you tend to procrastinate. You should recognize and know your priorities and focus on the most important tasks instead of the less important ones.

2. Know the reasons

Some people procrastinate because they don’t like doing a certain task. For example, some people procrastinate reading a book because they are not interested in the subject. When you know the reasons why you procrastinate doing something, you can learn to change your attitude towards it.

3. Motivate yourself

If you procrastinate just because you don’t feel like doing a certain task and can’t delegate, then looks for ways to motivate yourself so you can accomplish the task.

Here are some ways that can help motivate you:

• Promise to treat yourself when you finish working on the task like going on a vacation, buying something for yourself, or relaxing.
• Ask a friend or a family member to motivate you in case you start slacking.
• Remind yourself of the consequences you will encounter in case you don’t finish the required task.
• Remind yourself of the long term benefits you will gain from doing the required task on time.

4. Take small steps

If you are a procrastinator, start taking small steps to accomplishing your goals. For example, if your goal is to write a book, but you think there is no time for it, then spend one hour every day to work on your book. By taking small steps, you avoid working on a task for a long time, which is one of the main reasons why people procrastinate.

5. Learn time management skills

You might tend to procrastinate due to the lack of time management skills. When you learn how to manage your time effectively and prioritize, the chances are you will stop procrastinating. Personally, I prioritize the tasks that I have to finish daily, so I accomplish everything that I need to.

6. Focus

Focus is necessary. Many people start jumping from one thing to another and after a while, they find that they have not accomplished much. Focus on one thing until you finish it.

Always remember the famous proverb by Edward Young: “Procrastination is the thief of time.”

Dia Thabet is a personal development coach, author, and consultant. You can visit him at http://www.2achieveyourgoals.com

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Note: This is a guest post from Josh Lipovetsky of Optimistic Wellness

Circadian Rhythms. Cool sounding word, but how can this be they key to productivity? Let me explain. We are all different, yet similar in some basic ways. One of these ways is our circadian rhythm. It is the reason why you feel so energetic at some points of the day, yet so lethargic at others. Some of us are most efficient in the night, afternoon, or day. If you don’t know which one you are, then it’s time to experiment.

The key to my productivity has been finding a block of time where I am most efficient. I am almost 100% certain that you have a 2-3 hour block of time every day, where your cognitive functions are incredibly alert. During this time of the day you can learn languages, you can get your most intense creative work done, and if you’re in school you can get some great schoolwork done.

For me, my most powerful block of time is between 9 AM – 12 Noon. My second time block in the day is 8 PM – 10 PM. During these times, my brain is naturally more alert and ready to take on intense tasks. Isn’t it great to know you can find your productive times of the day, and skyrocket your productivity? Oh, the joys of being human!

It is so important to find a 2-3 hour chunk of time during the day when you are most productive. And when this time comes, cherish it. However, if you find yourself unproductive, it’s even more important to have a secondary time chunk for yourself.

Here are a few tips to help you optimize your productivity during these peak daily times:

1. Take breaks

Let’s say your peak time is 11-2 PM. If you envelop yourself in mentally rigorous work for all 3 hours without any break, you will likely feel run down afterward. And your mental performance/energy for the rest of the day will probably not be at full capacity. This is why you need to take a short break during your productive time. I recommend about 60-90 minutes of work, followed by a 30 minute break. I usually watch an episode of a favorite TV show during my break. I think listening to music is also a wonderful way to make use of your break time. Music that empowers you to do your best. Check out http://www.8tracks.com or http://www.unhearit.com for some awesome songs!

2. Don’t beat yourself up

Mistakes happen all of the time. You may not be as focused as you like during your sharpest time of the day, but that is no reason to beat yourself up. If that voice inside your head is hassling you, calm it down, and know that you will eventually build this amazing and empowering habit. This is another great reason to have a secondary time block. If you miss your first, you still have another shot later in the day!

3. Set up your schedule the night before

I am not a big schedule person. I get so much done with schedules, but they make me feel trapped, stressed, and limit my spontaneity in life. Yet, it is quite important to know what tasks you will tackle during your sharpest times of the day. The rest of your day can be unplanned.

In short, find two chunks of time, approximately two hours each, in which you are most productive. It’s best if they are spaced far apart. During those blocks of time, focus on the most important and fulfilling work that you have scheduled in advance. Remember to forgive yourself if you have trouble developing this habit at first. Just because you can’t lift the weights today, doesn’t mean you won’t be strong enough to lift them tomorrow.

Josh Lipovetsky has been battling severe Crohn’s Disease for the past 3 years, and he is always looking for new ways to help people achieve more in their life. He loves public speaking, and can be found video blogging at http://www.optimisticwellness.com. His twitter is http://www.twitter.com/joshlipovetsky

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Note: This is a guest post from Arina Nikitina of ArinaNikitina.com

If others can be out of bed really early and make great days ahead, so can you! It’s all a matter of changing routines, learning the benefits of being an early riser and practicing the new habit positively.

Here’s how:

1. Gimme one good reason. Is it being a better worker? Is it to be healthier, less stressed parent? Or is it because you’ve proven that the late riser’s life is that of a loser? Just find one good reason why you should be up and moving about early, and always keep that in mind. Make it your mantra before you finally doze off.
2. Forget the snooze. Hey, hey. The snooze button won’t get you anywhere near the new habit or waking up early. Forget it. Set the clock at 6 AM and that’s it. Once you extend another ten minutes of getting back to sleep, you’d want another ten. And another. And some more. So forget the snooze and always remind yourself of your “one good reason” to rise on time.
3. Know the OR ELSE factors. Most early risers know very well the repercussions of staying longer in bed. But those who don’t tend to go back to sleep. So be aware of the dreadful “or else” scenarios and that will push you to really wake up early.
4. Sleep well and enough. People who don’t get sufficient and quality sleep are always sluggish, if not nurturing that pathetic habit of waking up late. If you wish to shift from this, then you must commit to get good sleep all the time.
5. Make your bedroom a partner. A great bed, better pillow textures and form, and comfortable sheets would surely help in changing your sleeping – and waking – patterns. Change your bed position so you’d face the rising sun. Have the lights automatically turn on at set times in the morning. Don’t have TV or the internet in your bedroom to avoid late night temptations.
6. Open a window. Having great air during sleep is good for your health so make sure you have a window or two opened at night.
7. Dress right at night. Wear comfortable night wear that wouldn’t keep you awake at night. Make sure what you put on is appropriate with the weather condition and your body’s temperature. This helps you achieve quality sleep versus feeling too cold, too warm or too edgy
8. Sleep happy. Yes, there are so many things to think about. But even with serious concerns, find a way to put yourself in a positive light and avoid thinking bad right before you sleep. Think “Tomorrow’s gonna be better, I can make it work” instead of clouding your mind with “Ugh. Life’s so unfair! Why does it always have to be me!”
9. Create a bedtime ritual. Think nice thoughts that soothe your mind and soul. Set aside the hectic schedule for tomorrow, and instead focus on the shopping spree or vacation once you’ve completed the task. Praying and meditation works for some; try it when you feel you’re ready.
10. Avoid night traps. Apart from TV, internet, pessimism and unfavorable bedroom atmosphere, get off good books and interesting magazines before you sleep.
11. Eat and drink well and properly before bedtime. Don’t just focus on practicing the “no food right before sleeping” habit. Always eat a good, light dinner and avoid alcoholic drinks and coffee. They affect your sleep and have adverse results on waking up on time.
12. Toilet before sleep. Discharge before you head off to bed so your sleep won’t be disturbed by a bursting bladder.
13. Consistent hours even on weekends. Stick to the sleep hours and waking up routine even on weekends and holidays. Once the pattern is broken, it’s difficult to get back on track.
14. Turn on the light right away. As darkness helps people sleep, light would keep the body attuned to day. So once you’re awake, reach for the light right away.
15. Have a better alarm. Instead of the soft rings that could be snoozed, find an alarm that is really loud and bordering on maddening. Then place it in the bathroom or at a far corner in the bedroom. Putting it off would push you to wakefulness.
16. Stretch. Don’t jolt your heart by suddenly jogging or doing jumping jacks in place. Instead, do stretching in most parts of your body to allow the “daytime” body processes to start well.
17. Jump and stretch some more. Push yourself some more to be fully awake by doing more rigid stretching, jump or jog in place before heading off to the next routine or to the bathroom or kitchen.
18. Water right after. For some, a glass of water isn’t just a healthy start, it also wakens their internal body system. Or if you need it, have water on your face to splash off sleepiness!
19. A gentle reminder. Still too sleepy? Put the days’ to do list somewhere like the ref or bathroom cabinet where you’d be reminded what lies ahead. This should keep you on track and make you appreciate your effort to rise early.
20. A little extra comfort. Get extra clothes ready for waking up, like a thicker coat, pajama bottoms or socks for extra cold mornings. Others would use the evening’s storm or pending blizzard to stay in bed longer. Well, don’t! Instead, be prepared.
21. Find a partner. It helps to let someone help you with the shift. Ask your spouse or partner, even someone at work to make surprise calls just to check you’re really up. Mothers are great at this!
22. Be ready for surprises. When your sleep has been disturbed for serious reasons, like a late night call from overseas or another state, or a bad dream, find a method to get right back to sleep. Don’t get up unless you need to go to the police district or the hospital!
23. Perk up. Find the one good song or album to fill the air with positive sounds as you start the day. Some would even use the “party” music as alarms. If coffee or cold fruit juice perks you up, then go ahead and drink. If it’s the morning talk shows or news that gets you going, then turn the TV on.
24. Open another window. Letting in more air – and early day time sounds – would help your body become in sync with what’s coming ahead. Take a minute or two to breathe deeply facing the window. It always refreshes – and perks you up.
25. Congratulate yourself – out loud. Once you’re up, express wonderful congratulations verbally. It solidifies being awake, particularly if you say, “You’ve done it again!” with “Now let’s get going, dude! Time for coffee and let’s rock!” Imagine saying all these out loud!

Arina Nikitina is a blogger who shares practical goal setting, motivation, and productivity tips at http://www.arinanikitina.com

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Note: This is a guest post from Daniel M. Wood of Looking To Business

Being more efficient and more valuable to your company is the best way to put your career on the fast track. If you are always working hard, getting more done and bringing more value to your company than your peers, you will get noticed.

My wife is a great example of this. She is working as a writer, working on her first book. When we moved to Norway (we moved about 6 months ago for my job) she decided that she wanted to take a part time job.

She looked around and before long she was working as a salesman for a local gym chain. She worked 3 times a week. Every time she was at work she would work hard. She made about twice as many sales as the other salesmen because she was talking to 3 times as many people.

She also helped update their signs, their offers and presentations to make it easier for customers to understand the offer and buy a membership.

After three months she was promoted. Even though most of the staff had worked longer then she, she got the job and no one was surprised, she was doing the best work.

My wife and thousands of others practice time-proven techniques that make sure you move forward:

1. Ask yourself and your boss what the best use of your time is

If you don’t know exactly what your boss feels is the best use of your time and what the highest value activity is for you, ask! It is by doing that or those tasks that you can move forward quickly. Building the most value will get you noticed and to do that you have to find out what it is you are expected to do.

2. Ask your boss to help you clear away other tasks so that you can focus on the highest value task

Once you have found out what your most important task is you will probably notice that only a small portion of your time is spent on it. Talk to your boss about it and see if you can get rid of or delegate some of the tasks to other people so you can spend your time building as much value as possible to the company.

3. Plan your week so that you spend as much time as possible working on the most important task

Make a weekly plan trying to free up as much time as possible to your important task. List everything you do in a week and figure out how you can get the most possible out of your workday.

4. Organize each day

Once you have planned your weeks you can start organizing each day. What is most important? What needs to be done first? What second? Once you have that daily plan, get to it and start checking them off one by one.

5. Get in earlier, work harder, stay later

By working focused you will get a lot more done then your peers. But if you also make the great impression of being first to the office and the last to leave whilst all the while producing at a high rate, you will get noticed, appreciated and promoted.

6. Be proactive

Don’t let the circumstances control you. Instead, control the circumstances. If you want to be promoted you have to show that you can shoulder the responsibility. Ask for more responsibility and when you get it, do it well and do it fast!

Even if you aren’t given responsibility, you can do like my wife. She noticed that the signs weren’t working; the customers didn’t know instantly what they were offering. So she made new ones and presented them to her bosses, they liked them and before weeks end they were using her ads.

The fact that she proved she could take more responsibility is one of the reasons she was promoted over the others.

Conclusion

Your career is your choice. If you want to move forward quickly you have it within you. If you don’t do what it takes, you will not get promoted. Don’t be reactive and let others control your life. Take control of your future and do all that you can to be the best employee and the obvious choice to advancement.

If you liked this post and want to read more like it visit http://lookingtobusiness.com. Daniel M. Wood writes about Sales Techniques, Motivation and Success.

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