Are you tired of spending hours trying to keep your house clean and tidy, only to find that after tackling one chore, you find even more mounting up somewhere else in the house? If so, why not try a weekly house cleaning schedule? The professional cleaning companies use these, and they really do help you to make sure that you tackle everything that needs to be done in the quickest, and most efficient manner.

Instead of spending several hours aimlessly trying to attack a mountain of tasks, you have a couple of small chores to do on a regular basis – for example you may have to run a broom over the kitchen floor on a daily basis, and use a wet mop once a week. Doing that takes a few minutes each day, and is much more time efficient than spending ages scrubbing a very dirty floor if you let the dirt mount up.

You should make a list of daily tasks, and another list of weekly or monthly ones – these lists can be quite short, but should cover everything that needs done – such as dusting, cleaning, and laundry. You could then have another list including things such as carpet cleaning, floor waxing, and appliance safety inspections, which need to be done on a six monthly, or yearly basis.

Checklists Help You Keep Track

Perhaps your weekly house cleaning schedule has more than a few items on the list. If that is the case, you might consider putting your list together as a check list and then marking each item off when completed. When all checks are completed, then there is no doubt that you are done. This is especially helpful if you are trying to teach children responsibility. Let them check off each chore as it is completed!

If you keep to the check list you will be able to keep the house clean and tidy, and this should help your furnishings last longer – a carpet that is well cleaned and scrubbed on a monthly basis will last much longer than one left to gather dirt. The same is true of your 3 piece suite – if it is cleaned and cared for regularly, then when it comes to updating the furnishings, you may be able to simply put a new covering on, and give the suite a whole new lease of life.

You could also add checking the fridge and cupboards to your weekly list – throw out items that are out of date, or have been open too long. This will give you a good idea of what items are running low and need to be replaced, and help you manage your shopping list too.
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Most of us are eager to give of ourselves and then give some more. Whether it’s giving advice to friends or coworkers, volunteering for activities in the community or at our child’s school or just saying yes to every request that comes our way. What happens with all this giving is you become so buried under a mountain of responsibilities that the most important things in your life suffer. You have to take time for yourself and your family. One way to do this is to become more efficient in every area of your life. Let’s look at six ways to become efficient.

1) Schedule your day. If you have to, get up an hour early each day and write out your plan for the day. Then priotize each task on your list and put it in order of priority. Schedule what you need to do into a planning sheet and block out time to get it accomplished. Do this every single day, even on the weekends.

2) Stop trying to multi-task. Turn off the email notification function on your computer. Email kills your concentration and makes you lose focus on what you were doing. Don’t get side lined by interruptions from others. If you are trying to finish a report for an important client or meeting, don’t accept a request from a drop-in visitor who “just has a quick question”

3) Learn to control self-interruption. You are at your desk absorbed in your work, when all of a sudden you brain starts talking to you. It reminds you of something that you need to tell a coworker or an important task that you need to take care of. Instead of grabbing the phone or shooting off an email, write down what you need to tell that person or the task that you need to do in a separate binder that you keep for such purposes. Keep working on your current project and set aside time later to take care of things on your binder list.

4) Say NO more often. Know what your priorities are. When someone requests something of you and it doesn’t fit into your priorities, just say no. You don’t have to justify your answer with a long explanation or excuse.

5) Delegate as much as you can. We often think we can do everything ourselves, or that others will not devote as much care to the task as we would have. That is delusion, as we do not have enough time to do all that anyway. Other coworkers or other members of your family could easily do some of the tasks. Get away from the thinking that you are the only one who can do the job right.

6) Stop trying to be perfect. Some tasks can be done and are just as successful even if they are not perfect. Trying to be perfect with everything will slow you down and cause too much un-needed stress in your life.

Your time is a very precious resource that should not be wasted. Efficiency is the key to getting things accomplished in your work and at home. Implement the above steps and you will find yourself accomplishing more in less time, and with less stress.
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Statistics on procrastination basically involves the usage of statistics, normally utilized in organizations for gathering information on the number of procrastinating workers. This would help the organization to find the causes affecting their profits and the reasons, as to why workers procrastinate. It is already well known that procrastination is a term, which makes the person to defer a task for a later period, which was mostly supposed to be performed at a current period. There are many reasons as to why people prefer to avoid them. This would be of help only when a good statistics on procrastination is at hand.

Although, a person can indulge in procrastination at any point of time, there are high probabilities of occurrence of procrastination at the approach of a deadline. More so, procrastination can also occur during odd moments also. On some occasions, it may also happen that even before a person comes to know of the reason, he would become a victim of procrastination.

Help from the Medical Fraternity:

Possible help for studying the statistics on procrastination could come from the medical fraternity. This would happen only when people would find relevant information on the causes and then, rectify the problem. Thanks to the proper statistics on procrastination, a person would receive valuable help in understanding the numerous reasons as to why a person gets into the procrastinating trap. In addition, it would also help in knowing as to whether there are some effective ways of treating the problem or not.

With the availability of proper statistics on procrastination, there would be a possibility of deeply analyzing the findings and learning the best methods for curing the problem. In such situations, those people who are interested to know the statistics on procrastination could have a check on places as the Procrastination Research Group and other such papers, which are related to the procrastination study, in which many useful statistics on procrastination can be included.

Rough Estimations:



Based on some figures, it is estimated that as much as 95 % of the people are prone to procrastination. Amongst them, 20 % of them are chronic procrastinators. These people have an increasing chance of losing their jobs, have financial problems and have serious problems with their relationship with others.

In addition, when experts do have statistics on procrastination at hand, they can formulate theories as to why a person embarks on procrastination in the initial stage. Although, it is known that anxiety is the leading cause as to why people procrastinate, there are high chances of finding other reasons behind procrastination, which would highlight the problem. It is essential to have a serious think on procrastination, as it affects both the individual and the organization where he works.
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It is extremely common for us to put off doing something simply because we are too lazy to do so. However, procrastination goes beyond that. It is a habitual and intentional act to delay doing or completing their responsibilities, and over time, can have severe negative impact on the person’s life. Their overall wellbeing suffers as well, as feelings of guilt, inadequacy, stress and depression may kick in.


Why do people procrastinate then? More often than not, people procrastinate not because they are lazy. There are many causes and reasons for procrastination, and below we shall discuss a few of the more common ones. By understanding the reason and the emotions behind your procrastination, you can then go about getting rid of this bad habit.


Perfectionism

Some people have unrealistically high standards and expectations, and this causes them to procrastinate as they feel that they do not have the skills and abilities that are needed to complete it satisfactorily. They are afraid of attempting it, and not doing it perfectly, hence they make excuses that they need to acquire more knowledge before they can attempt it. The best way to break out of this cycle is to tell yourself that you can do it, and the task is easier than what you think it is. Or perhaps, you need to speak to your superior to draw up accurate and realistic level of expectations.


Anger

This occurs when you find yourself avoiding the task, or simply refusing to complete it. The cause of this could be an argument with your superior, or your teacher or project team. The feelings of anger and resentment against them can translate into an unwillingness to do what they have assigned you to. Another common reason for procrastination could be the anger felt at having the task forced upon you, when you are either unwilling or uninterested in it, and have expressed so and been ignored. This would cause feelings of resentment and result in avoidance.


Negative Thinking

These are the people who constantly harbour thoughts that they are not good enough, or that they always fail, and are probably just stupid and incapable. This kind of negative thinking makes it difficult for them to attempt projects, especially important ones as they feel so inadequate that they should not even be doing a task of this magnitude or importance. The root cause of this form of thinking could be previous failures, or abrasive and abusive comments from people around them, causing them to be labelled with their own inadequacies and perceived shortcomings.


Hence, there are many different reasons why people tend to procrastinate, and this is a bad habit that many people are guilty of. There is a difference between being momentarily lazy, and procrastinating as a habit. By identifying the reason for your procrastination, you will be able to eliminate it and finally get your work done on time.
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The most precious gift or the most valuable thing we all possess is time. More valuable than all of the money in the world, time is what we all have been given equal measures of. Time is truly a gift from God. The one thing that we all have in common no matter what our station in life is the amount of time we have been given each day. The best time management strategy really starts with how we view the use of our time.

My question to you is how will you use your time. Will you spend your time or will you invest your time? When you spend your time, you merely waste your time on low value activities that don’t do anything to add value to your life our the lives of others. When you invest your time you can expect a return that will not only benefit you, but also touch the lives of others. But when you spend, it is a one time transaction that leaves a lot to be desired. What are some of those things that our time, with no return? I know some think that watching TV would be the first thing on my list. But I don’t think all TV is bad if you are watching something that will add value to your life, like a show on how to invest money or how to improve your home. However, watching a show that you have seen at least three times is definitely a waste of precious time and brain cells.

Excessive Sleep is a pet peeve of mine. I seldom get 8 hours a sleep per night. Some may think that is unhealthy. However, some folk sleep simply because they love sleeping and will sleep til the cows come home. Those are also the same people sending you the email asking can they borrow some money…Think about it. Investing your time in high value activities always pay off in big ways. Reading to learn a something new is one of my favorite ways to invest time. I believe just as important as time is the relationships that we can invest our time in. When we invest quality time in our husband, wife, children and close friends, we reap rewards that last a life time. I hope this gives you some to think about today.
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All of us procrastinate on occasion. For some people, it’s a chronic problem; for others, it’s only a problem in certain life areas. Procrastination is always frustrating because it results in wasted time, lost opportunities, disappointing work performance, and generally feeling bad about yourself.

When you procrastinate, you allow less important tasks to take up the time and space that should be devoted to more important things. You do things like hanging out with friends when you know that an important work project is due soon, or going shopping instead of doing your homework. It can also be evident in behavior such as talking about trivial things with your partner to avoid discussing important issues in your relationship.

Most people don’t have a problem finding time for things they want to do. But once they see a task as too difficult, painful, boring, or overwhelming, the procrastination behaviors begin. You are not alone if you have ever made any of the following excuses to yourself:

1. It’s too cold to exercise outside today. I’ll wait until tomorrow when it’s warmer.
2. I’ve got too many other things to do first.
3. I’ll do a better job when I can concentrate on this project.
4. I still have lots of time to get this done.
5. They don’t pay me enough to do a more complete job. This is good enough.
6. This problem is too hard to talk about. I wouldn’t know where to start.
7. I work better under pressure.
8. It’s too noisy to work while my teenager is at home.
9. I should get the shopping down now because the stores will be more crowded later.
10. I can eat this pie tonight, because I’m starting my diet tomorrow.
11. My tooth doesn’t really hurt that much. The pain will probably go away tomorrow.

Most of the time, these excuses seem fairly innocuous. However, they’re not as innocent as they seem, because they cause us to postpone important duties and projects. Ultimately, these excuses can keep us from accomplishing important goals and make us feel bad about ourselves.

Why People Procrastinate

If you were hoping for a simple answer to this puzzle, you will be disappointed to learn that there are many reasons why people put things off. Here are a few of the most common (check those that apply to you):

Avoiding discomfort. Wanting to avoid pain makes lots of people shift into procrastination mode. However, the longer we delay, the worse the uncomfortable problem usually becomes. The rash gets bigger, the tooth hurts more, or the brakes squeak even more loudly.

Perfectionism. Those who believe they must produce the perfect report may obsess about uncovering every last information source and then write draft after draft. Their search for the perfect product takes up so much time that they miss their deadline.

Laziness. Sometimes people delay tasks that involve fairly slight inconvenience or minor discomfort.

Thinking you’re not good enough. Some people are certain that they are incompetent. They think that they will fail, and procrastinate to avoid ever putting their skills to the test.

Self-doubt. If you second-guess yourself, you probably suffer from procrastination. You may avoid new challenges and opportunities unless you are certain that you will succeed. Perhaps you make feeble attempts to begin a project, and you tell yourself that you could do a better job if you put in more effort.

Workaholism. At the other end of the spectrum, many people who work excessively also fall into this category. They drive themselves ruthlessly, fearing that if they stop working, they will not be able to start again. Most self-doubters are driven by the belief that they must meet strict standards in order to see themselves as successful.

Physics Review

Remember the concept of inertia: a mass at rest tends to stay at rest.

For some reason, it is more difficult for most humans to start change than to keep it going.

Why Don’t We Just Say No?

Since procrastination produces mostly negative outcomes, why don’t we just change our behavior and eliminate these undesirable consequences? The reason for this is that procrastination reinforces itself. For some reason, it is more difficult for most humans to start change than to keep it going. We avoid getting started by cleverly diverting our attention from the things we really should be doing. We do something else instead or make up a story about how we will accomplish the task in the future-when we are inspired, or when we have completed a preliminary step, or some other trick.

Although recognizing how these diversions work won’t automatically cure your procrastination, being aware of it is a good place to start working on the problem. Once you are aware of the ways that you procrastinate, you can start to change your behavior.
never say never

Is your middle name procrastination? Do you think there are not enough hours in the day? Join most of the human population who thinks they have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). People joke about it, but it’s really no laughing matter. Focus and concentration are very valuable tools for success in your career and personal life. This article will explore different ways to increase your focus and productivity with everyday tasks at work and home.

Music can make the dullest job be more enjoyable and it helps clear mental blocks to allow greater creativity. Try playing with different types of music and see what genre works best for you. Classical music seems to be the most popular since it relaxes the mind and helps organize thoughts. Music can also change your state of mind and improve your mood. Listening to music is something everyone can do to make themselves happier and smarter.

There are many things at work you can do to stay focused. Make time slots everyday when people can talk to you instead of getting interrupted constantly. Work on a project for a specified amount of time each day to prevent burnout. Get a good chair that to eliminate physical distraction from having a sore neck or back. Fill up your water bottle at the start of the day to limit the number of times you have to walk to the water and make small talk with coworkers. Finally, discover the best time of day to accomplish mundane tasks that don’t require much brain power.

Perhaps you try to do too much at one time or put things off until the next day because you want it to be done perfectly. The key to completing projects on time and correctly is by learning proper time management techniques. Begin each day by making a to-do list and stick to it. Prioritize each task and keep daily tasks small in size to be practical. Keep an up to date calendar or planner to keep track of important dates, deadlines, and tasks. Pay attention to details and take the time to be thorough…and most of all just have fun!
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