Common Sense About Everyday Things

Majority of Americans Say Sharing Common-Sense Information Makes Them Smarter and More Successful

2007-08-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

While searching the internet I came across this article on Common Sense, hope you enjoy!

NEENAH, Wis., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Underscoring the importance
of sharing practical information, eight of 10 Americans claim that exchanging
common-sense information with others makes them smarter, and 68 percent
believe it even makes them more successful. Indeed, a new national survey on
common sense and sharing commissioned by SCOTT(R) Tissue and Towels finds that
99 percent consider common sense important to their everyday lives.
While Americans think common sense is important, they don't realize it can
be developed. In fact, 40 percent don't believe it can be learned, and only
one-in-five Americans thinks people are born with it. But Robert J.
Sternberg, IBM Professor of Psychology and Education and Professor of
Management at Yale University and an expert on practical intelligence, differs
strongly with that view. He contends that common sense is a life skill that
can be learned and improved, especially by sharing ideas and information with
others.
Dr. Sternberg, who has studied practical intelligence for more than 20
years, has completed notable research concluding that sharing information can
increase levels of common sense. "While many people believe it is a genetic
trait that can't be changed, common sense, in reality, isn't something we're
born with but something we learn in the school of life."
Recognizing the importance of sharing ideas, the SCOTT Brand is beginning
a nationwide Common Sense Tour in May 2005. The 15-city tour kicks off in New
York City on May 11 and will bring residents together to share their common-
sense tips and ideas. The tour will feature the House that Common Sense
Built, an interactive common-sense exhibit and "think tank." In addition,
SCOTT continues the year-old online Common Sense Community, at
http://www.ScottCommonSense.com , a resource for everyday common-sense tips
and information.
"Common sense is something we use every day, which is why we created the
House that Common Sense Built," says Ellen Wheeler, associate director of
SCOTT Tissue and Towels. "It's a place where people will give and get useful
common-sense information from across the country. As the creator of one of
the most practical household products, toilet paper, this shows how the SCOTT
Brand is committed to making common sense more common."
Additionally, the common-sense tips collected along the tour will go
toward a great cause. The SCOTT Brand is making a $300,000 donation to
Habitat for Humanity during the 2005 Common Sense Tour to help deserving
communities throughout the country.
The new SCOTT Brand survey uncovered many illuminating findings about
Americans' views of common sense.

Why Common Sense Matters
Common sense plays a major role in our everyday lives -- from cleaning the
house to managing finances. Ninety-nine percent of Americans say common sense
is important.
Americans identify a number of challenges in managing their lives.
Seventy percent report being overwhelmed by finances and 40 percent by
managing a household. Nearly half of respondents say that spending time with
their partners and finding personal time are challenges.

Men vs. Women
By a wide margin, Americans perceive that women are more open than men to
receiving common-sense advice on a number of life topics. Four-of-five
Americans say women are more open to seek advice on parenting, while only five
percent think men would do the same. In addition:
-- 85 percent of Americans believe that women are more open to seeking
tips and practical advice on relationships with partners.
-- 85 percent of Americans believe that women are more open to seeking
tips and advice on raising children.
-- Americans overwhelmingly see women as more likely to share advice on
parenting (90%), running a household (85%) and health (80%).
-- Men are perceived as more likely than women to share advice and tips on
career and work (47%), financial management (46%), and purchasing new
products (62%).

Common Sense Starts at Home with Mom and Dad
Home is not only where the heart is. Eighty-three percent of Americans
say they learned common sense growing up, primarily from their parents. A
large percentage of those who learned it growing up also felt they learned it
from teachers (59%) and other relatives (53%).

-- About a quarter say they learned common sense from siblings (26%) and
coaches (23%).
-- Men are more likely to report that they learned from coaches (31%,
compared to 13% of women).

Finding Common Sense in Your Community
Americans are divided on the ease of finding common sense in their
communities. Only 10 percent believe that it's "very easy" to find people in
their local community with whom they can share practical advice.
On the other hand, some Americans are more familiar with where they can
get practical advice in their communities. For instance, according to the
survey, people in Boise, Salt Lake City and San Antonio think it's easy to
find people in their community with whom they can share tips. Whereas,
residents of Los Angeles and Denver say it is more challenging to know who to
go to in their cities.
Because most Americans aren't sure where to go in their communities for
practical advice, it's no surprise they don't seek common-sense advice very
often.

Common Sense Tour
That helps explain why SCOTT Brand created the Common Sense Community in
2004, an online resource for everyday common-sense tips and information. The
web site, http://www.ScottCommonSense.com , has become so popular that SCOTT
decided to turn this "virtual" forum into reality by hitting the road with an
interactive experience.
The House that Common Sense Built is a traveling home that brings the
everyday common-sense solutions from the online community to life. Just like
the Common Sense Community, people can discover and share useful common-sense
solutions that will improve their everyday life and common sense. The House
and the online community offer:

-- Time-saving strategies that create room for the things you love
-- Easy organizing solutions that take only 10 - minutes
-- Neat and clean tips that'll save time on big cleaning tasks
-- Healthful hints that improve your mind, body and soul

Inside the House that Common Sense Built, people can visit four rooms:
the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Each room provides a sharing
space where unique common-sense tips are exchanged, building and strengthening
common sense across the country.

About SCOTT(R) Products
SCOTT Products, including paper tissues, towels and napkins, is one of the
largest manufacturers of tissues and napkins in the world. It is part of the
Kimberly-Clark Corporation family of global brands, which play an
indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day,
1.3 billion people -- nearly a quarter of the world's population -- trust
K-C's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene
and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex(R), Scott(R), Huggies(R), Pull-
Ups(R), Kotex(R) and Depend(R), Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share
position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and
to learn more about the company's 133-year history of innovation, visit
http://www.kimberly-clark.com .

Your Own Personal Budget

2007-06-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

It really surprises me when I find out that many today don’t have a budget? Or won’t admit to it? I guess the ones who don’t have one figure that they have all the money in the world, “now wouldn’t that be nice”? But, some of us with common since know better... Let’s get started on the path of financial well being!

If you want to know how to put together a personal budget the right way, first you need to understand what the wrong way is. Creating a personal budget is probably the single most important thing you can do to move yourself towards financial security. A good way to prevent yourself from digging yourself further and further into debt is to form a personal budget that can work for you.

The big thing that stops most people from creating and maintaining a personal budget is fear - fear of facing the ugly beast of too much debt, too many bills, and not enough money. Many people believe that there are a lot of rules to follow when making a personal budget. Budgets can be a lot of work, but they don’t need to be, if you follow the First Rule of Making a Personal Budget: Keep it Simple.

Most businessmen entertain the notion that a huge chunk of cash can spell the difference between success and failure in business undertakings, which can be true to a large extent, however it was proven that proper financial management is the key. Doing your personal budget the right way is really about avoiding the confusing pitfalls that can goof you up. Make sure that the budget software vendor have an efficient customer support and after sales services.

Here are several features your budget software should have, to effectively help you keep track of expenditures and record your savings. What is it you would like to achieve over time? What are your targets for your budget? Make a list of all of these things, then you should begin to layout your financial means.

By knowing what money is coming in each month, and the dollar amount of the bills being paid each month, will give you a very good understanding if you can, or can’t afford to buy that next item on your list.

It sounds like a lot of work setting up, and it could be? But keep it simple and just follow it each month, and you’ll be amazed how rewarding it can be....

Common Sense Exercise: Weight Loss Solutions for the Common Man or Woman

2007-05-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Diet and Exercise. They are the inseparable twins that are seen and heard everywhere. You can't have any sort of effective weight loss or fat loss without incorporating both into your daily regimen.

This article is going to focus on the exercise aspect. We're not talking about power-lifting or marathon running, but exercise for the common man or woman.

My wife and I had joined a gym last September, but I had not stepped into the place until almost December. Why, you ask? I was afraid of the soreness and stiffness that accompanies the first several weeks of beginning an exercise regimen. Fear of pain kept me away.

Even my own disappointment at the condition of my body was not sufficient to overcome my fear of starting to exercise. After this past Thanksgiving, however, I weighed in at an all-time personal high. It was shocking, at least to the point that it inspired me to begin working out.

My fears ended up being unfounded. I faithfully take R+ Alpha Lipoic Acid (http://www.ralapure.com), which (among many other things) aids in circulation, and my muscles never really got sore at all.

I'm happy to have avoided the pain, but the whole experience got me thinking... it was fear that kept me away. What is keeping you away? For many people, fear may not be the issue. It may be that joining a gym is not convenient, too expensive, too difficult, or simply beyond their abilities.

I began to look around for recommendations of an exercise regimen that is easy enough for nearly everyone, and yet effective enough to facilitate a meaningful weight loss. Surprisingly, there is plenty of information to suggest that walking for a half an hour each day can do incredible things in a very short amount of time.

But... what if you can't string together 30 uninterrupted minutes to go for a walk? The answer is simple... buy a pedometer.

The website DiabetesInControl.com (http://www.diabetesincontrol.com) published a study that proves you can achieve significant health benefits from simply walking briskly for 10,000 steps each day.

So, what can walking do for you? More than you might imagine. Walking helps to control body weight, blood sugar and levels of cholesterol. Walking at a brisk pace can burn around 300 calories an hour.

The folks at Diabetes In Control assembled a group of diabetics to participate in the 10,000 Steps A Day program. Each one was given a pedometer and asked to work toward increasing their daily steps until they reached 10,000 per day. At the beginning, the average person was taking 3,100 steps per day, so they had to increase by a significant, but not impossible amount.

After just three months, they saw significant improvements in blood glucose, weight, body fat, cholesterol, and overall fitness. Here are some of the average results:

LDL Cholesterol went from 114 to 98
Blood Glucose went from 182 to 153
Total Cholesterol went from 191 to 159
HDL (the "good" cholesterol) went from 36 to 48
Triglycerides went from 220 to 159
Average weight loss: 4.1 pounds

The study concluded with the following comments: "Over 15 patients reduced their medications, 6 eliminated some of their medications. 3 patients were able to get off all of their medications. Most lowered their blood pressure and had more energy. The average weight loss was 4+ lbs and everyone agreed to make the program as part of their lifestyle." Wow, that's pretty amazing stuff!

If you can walk for about thirty minutes at a good pace, you'll find you are at or near the 10,000 step goal. If you can't afford thirty straight minutes, here are some ways to increase your steps each day.

1. Park at the back of the parking lot. You'll spend less time looking for the "right spot" and avoid door dings too!

2. Avoid the elevator and escalator. Stairs are usually an option, so take them instead.

3. Shop alphabetically. Don't loop through the aisles, checking things off your list as you go. Alphabetize your items and go from point to point.

4. Get a post office box near your home. Walk to retrieve your mail each day. Walk your outgoing mail to a community mailbox, post office or mailing center.

Most importantly, though, get yourself a pedometer and begin to keep track of your steps. See if you can't get yourself up to 10,000 steps a day. You'll appreciate the results if you do!

Michael Callen is the author of the Weekly Weightloss Tips Newsletter (http://www.ccwebgroup.com/tips) and the Chief Technology Officer for http://www.WellnessPartners.com, an online retailer of dozens of health and wellness products.

Nutrition Is Not Common Sense

2007-04-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'd like to explain an important concept that most online trainers (even the "gurus") don't "get"... Have you ever heard that 'nutrition is common sense?' Have you ever thought about why the United States has an epidemic of overweight individuals and kids that are out of shape? Or that most people talk about how in their younger days they were able to do this and that. Yet these people are only 30 years old?

Most people think nutrition is common sense. But these people are completely wrong. You see, common sense isn't specialized knowledge, but just native good judgment. Many times common sense is when it comes to many things in life are learned behaviors from parents, teachers, mentors or coaches. We get at lot of this common knowledge thru what we see as well. Driving on the right of left side of the road is common sense in your country. You get this from what you see.

The REAL four biggest problems when it comes to nutrition and common sense is that:
1- You learn what to eat from T.V. How crazy is that? I don't think I've seen a good commercial about just eating right. It's always about diets, points, fad diets, crazy workout stuff or fast food. Many kids get plenty of T.V. They don't understand why sugar cereal isn't part of a complete breakfast.

2- You learn what you see at home. If you were a witness to a lot of healthy eating habits (fruits, vegetables, moderate portions) then you probably got a lot of your good eating habits from your parents or guardians.

3- You learn to finish everything that's put in front of you. Does it matter if your hunger was satisfied half-way thru the meal? Or have you been told it was rude not to eat everything. You start to learn that finishing what's in front of you is more important then if you are hungry or not.

4- You learn nutrition at school. Some schools have good programs. Many do not. The only exposure most school children receive is the food pyramid. And then it's off to lunch period where they are served fish sticks and a variety of other unhealthy items. Only a few schools have a very healthy lunch option. It's pretty rare. You learn more about ancient Egyptians then you do about how to put together a healthy meal and what the heck is a complex carb. This is an important concept -- so let me break it down and explain it in detail.

Most things we learn are common sense. It's common sense not to touch a hot stove. Why? Somebody told you or you tried it and your body responded by telling the pain receptors in your hand that it didn't like that. You learned the stove was hot and not fun to touch. Common sense. It didn't require any specialized knowledge. Then it hit me... Neither should nutrition. It doesn't require any specialized knowledge to eat correctly. But yet it's not common sense.

The reason most people get it wrong is because they were never taught! They received a lot of information from T.V. which was promoting diets and fast food and sugar cereals. Their parents didn't learn either so they passed that onto their children. There's a pressure to finish everything that is put in front of you (don't be wasteful) ignoring the absence of the hunger feeling.

The lack of sound nutrition in most schools. You learn how to read in school. You learn how to write. You learn how to solve math problems. You learn history and you learn different cultures. I'll bet you can guess what happened next. You never learn the definition of a complete meal. You start by learning that right now... A complete meal always includes a lean protein and a natural, complex carbohydrate.

The best meal of all for muscle-building and fat-burning purposes contains three things:
1. Lean protein (chicken, fish, egg whites, etc)
2. Starchy carb (potato, rice, etc)
3. Fibrous carb (broccoli, green beans, salad, etc)

And that, is the biggest benefit of having a complete meal and understanding just how simple it is to create meals with these three steps. So watch for your next issue of this mini-course, where I'll reveal the single most important question about how much cardio should you do. Yours For Continued Success

Common Sense Can Make a Big Difference In Your Life

2007-03-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

As someone said, there's nothing more common then common sense. You would be surprised at how many people don’t have an oz of common sense? Common sense can be very valuable, and save much frustration in the outcome of any decision.. If you are thinking about applying for a credit card, here are some tips on credit card common sense. I like to think that my approach to business is 1 part experience, 1 part research and 2 parts common sense.

However - it is very important that the woman takes a common sense approach when she is attempting to lose weight after a pregnancy. It is important however that you take a common sense approach when you are attempting to lose weight after your pregnancy. By looking at your family’s television habits with a little perspective and some common sense, you can find a happy medium.

Sometimes people suffer because they sacrifice their common sense to their "mechanical faiths" in situations that demand the former the most. Over the past 20 years we have let them in, used them, enjoyed the fruits of their labors and now we have to use some common sense and be responsible. Defend me, therefore, common sense, I say, From reveries so airy, from the toil Of dropping buckets into empty wells, And growing old in drawing nothing up.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. Not many attended the funeral of Common Sense because so few realized he had gone. Google, MSN, and Yahoo all use their own formulas to calculate the relevance of your pages, but here are a few common factors to guarantee you will rank above those not using them.

We make best decisions when we use our common sense. Most people don’t realize that many daily decisions are made with common sense. Usually, we find that a good decision is made with common sense.

It really just comes down to common sense. Have more money than common sense (or taste). We often forget that underneath it all there's this assumption that spiritual truths are by nature "convenient" things to live by and they just make "common sense," perhaps similar to the useful household gadgets we have that make our lives easier and more comfortable.
Finally, common sense can be very valuable if you know that your the type of person who really does not use common sense. If you are indeed one of these fortunate people, harness your common sense like there’s no tomorrow. Learn how to think using common sense. Not enough people think things out, before making a/or-taking action. You will find that your life will change dramatically by the decisions you are now making, due to using common sense.

Give it a try! You’ll be surprised how your life changes for the better.

Bad Credit Unsecured

2006-12-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

With a quick unsecured bad credit loan you can get all support which you may be looking for in form of loans. An unsecured bad credit personal loan is the financial support for you when you are collateral-less borrower looking for financial support in form of loans. Lot of people these days end their needs as they are denied from financial support in form of loans, the reason being their bad credit.

People who have the stigma of bad credit record attached to their names because of genuine financial problems want to improve their credit record as soon as possible and they can help themselves only through procurement of bad credit unsecured loans . You can benefit with bad credit unsecured loans as on one hand they give you fund to fulfill your needs and desires while on the other, they offer you easy repayments and affordable rate of interest so that you can repay it easily and thus improve your credit score. There are few factors, such as, your loan amount, income, credit score, financial condition, which determine the interest rates that you will have to pay on unsecured bad credit personal loans.

The amount you as bad credit can borrow under bad credit unsecured personal loan depends on your annual income and financial position and to the extend you are able to convince the lender about timely pay off of the loan. In bad credit unsecured loan, the person is always needed to fill an application either in the financial market or through online mode which generally ask for the certain details such as amount needed, financial status and credit worthiness. While availing bad credit unsecured tenant loan the person is required to provide certain details of his employment, flow of income, financial status, and address proof.

No collateral is required to avail online personal unsecured loans and instead the loan seeker has to give details of his annual income or financial standing to prove his repayment capacity and timely return of the loan. Lenders, while offering bad credit unsecured personal loan always feel it safe to check out borrower’s continuous income source and financial capacity. Looking for banks and financial institutions for quick unsecured bad credit loan is useless as these institutions will not even look at your loan application due to your bad credit.

One can avail bad credit unsecured loan from different financial institutions. In order to qualify for a bad credit unsecured loan, the borrower needs to present some financial documentation to the loan provider. Absence of collateral in bad credit unsecured business loans allows borrower to get the loan faster, as there is no need of property evaluation.

On the one hand, bad credit unsecured business loans make borrower free of risk of losing his property, on the another, borrowers are charged higher interest rate, as they also have bad credit, besides offering no collateral. A big disadvantage with bad credit unsecured loans is that it comes with higher interest rate due to the absence of the collateral. One disadvantage of bad credit unsecured student loan is that it comes with higher interest rate.

Being unsecured one plus bad credit, online bad credit unsecured loan has higher interest rate attached to it. Being unsecured, bad credit unsecured tenant loans have higher interest rate attached to it. With the fact that you have bad credit, lenders charge high interest rate on bad credit unsecured personal loans.

In spite of bad credit unsecured personal loans bearing high interest rates they are the best possible solution for people having a bad credit history. Unsecured personal loans for people with bad credit history are beginning to take a turn in the market and are establishing as one of the most popular loans for lenders to make. Online lenders for bad credit unsecured loans are easy to deal with as compared to standard lenders, banks and financial institutions in the market.

Forget about your bad credit, unsecured loans have all the answers to your financial problems. Eventually, we can say that bad credit unsecured tenant loan not only provides financial assistance but also improves the credit score of a person. So, as to conclude bad credit unsecured loans provides funds to satisfy personal needs and simultaneously it also improves the credit score.

Surely bad credit history unsecured loans come to the rescue of borrowers like tenants who are suffering from bad credit. Searching for an unsecured bad credit personal loan is easy with internet availability at almost all the places. The fact, which cannot be ignored in case of bad credit unsecured personal loan, that it may carry high interest rate and come with rigid terms.

To avail a bad credit unsecured loan with suitable terms you have to explore the loan market. If the installments are paid off in time, online bad credit unsecured loan enables you in repairing credit score.

Financing Your Home Improvements

2006-11-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

What You Need To Know About Financing Your Home Improvements

"There is definitely no place like home!" as the saying goes. Time goes by and your home will be needing renovation, additions, and improvements.

Have you recently checked your kitchen, does it need an additional cabinet? Do you have more space in the living room? Do you still have that crack on the bathroom floor? How long have you had that roof, is it time to have it replaced? Either way your home needs a change!

Short on the budget? Then consider Home Improvement Financing, it can help you with all the renovation or additions you need for your home. The terms for the loan are adjusted to serve different borrowers. Just like other loan companies, home improvement financing can be paid on a monthly or quarterly basis. Such loans can also be payable for 5 to 10 years, of course of you choose to pay the loan for a longer time, the interest will also be higher.

Why go for a Home Improvement Financing, if we can fix the repairs ourselves? Well, basically because not all repairs, specially renovation can be done by a non-experienced worker as yourself. There are situations to which you should call professionals and one of which is the financing for home improvement. This would also help your property increase its value, in case you plan to sell it in the future.

A warning for you though, such financing does not come cheap. But when can you save that much money in a given time? It is best to take it from a home financing company and have the luxury of staying in a home you always dreamed of, while you have the opportunity of paying the loan on flexible terms.

Try to find home improvement financing that would charge lower than the others in the market. You must first consider the equity or the value of your property, the higher equity of your house the better. You can find financing from banks, loan businesses, society cooperatives, and the like.

Though there are qualifications or requirements that a home
improvement financing have and you should have good financial issues like existing credit loans from other companies if not for home improvement, what is the status of the house mortgages, and then if you do have a regular monthly income. These issues should be clear for you to have that home improvement application from them. Those are just the main areas to consider when you go for any home improvement financing, but of course every company has its own rules and standards.

Take time to choose which home improvement financing you are to say "yes" to. Gather as much information as you can and compare all their prices and pick the one that offers an affordable rate. Don't just settle for a low rate always check the credibility and the legality of the lenders.

Take your time and find the right lender! There are many out there today, finding a good one is not as easy as you might think? Many offer the bait and switch. They paint a nice picture at first, then turn around with a completely different loan program that sound no where as good as the first one they mentioned? Take many notes when talking with a lender.

Credit card debt: How to deal with it

2006-10-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Do you have a hard time paying your credit card bills? Starting to get notices from waiting creditors to pay? Worried that you might lose your properties like your house because of credit debt? Chin up: Dealing with credit card debt is not as hard as you may think.

If there's any consolation, you're not the only one facing such situation. At some point, many people like you face financial crises with credit card debt. But you must remember that your financial situation doesn't mean it should go straight to the dogs, making it worse than as it is.

Here are some tips to help you cope with your credit card debt:

Make a Budget. If you want to have a grab of your financial situation before you lose everything, making a budget is what you should do first. Assess how much do you get from your income or other means and your expenditures. For example, if getting that posh apartment means you have to limit your meals to once a day, then it is not a great and sound budgeting decision. Your goal is ensure that you can answer for all the basic necessities: food, housing, clothes, health-related costs, among others.

Contacting Your Creditors. Remember: Running away from your creditors is not the answer. It is not a solution, and may in fact lead you to bigger problems. If you are having trouble paying off your debts, address this immediately with your creditors. State to them sincerely and fully the reason why it has become hard for you to pay these debts, and check if they could give you a revised payment arrangement that will put you at ease on your payment terms. Do not let creditors turn over your situation to someone or an agency to do the collecting for them, as this means that they have given up on you.

How to address Debt Collectors. There is a law that gives certain conditions for debt collectors as to when and how they should ask you to pay. The federal law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, clearly states that those collecting debts may not bug you, give false assertions, or do practices that are not fair when they are getting to collect money from you.

Credit Counseling. You could also consider getting the aid of groups or institutions that will help you in your problems. If you managed to have an improved payment arrangement of your debt with a good credit counseling organization, creditors may approve of your proposition and accept your modified arrangement plan.

Bankruptcy. Generally, personal bankruptcy is known as the last choice to fix your ballooning credit debt. A bankruptcy unfortunately stays on your financial information report for years. Getting additional credit, buying a house, sometimes even getting a job might be hard for you. Technically, however, it is a legal way of addressing your credit debt.

Is Time "Running Out" for You Too?

2006-08-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

For some people it doesn't seem to matter how long their day is. They just never seem to have enough time. The clock is ticking and it's ticking too fast for comfort. It feels like they have a million things to do, a couple thousand of which were actually due last week and every new task is urgent and can't wait...

Sounds familiar? Well if it does you might be one of those people who just don't have a very good relationship with time. It is often a sign that you're not in control of your own day-planner. You may have some things on your to do list that you set out to accomplish, but anything and everything that you come across interferes with your plans. Someone or something else seems to be claiming your time to the extent that you never seem to get anything done. You might be asking yourself: "How can I possibly get everything done?" Good question. The answer is very simple: "You can't and you shouldn't want to".

Wanting to get everything done is probably the main reason why so many people are short on time. They're trying to do too many things and fail to realize that there are only so many tasks that one person can accomplish in a day. Instead of focusing on getting everything done, focus on those things that really need to get done. Separating what's important from what's not important will help you prioritize your tasks. And once you've done this, just remember that priorities are in order. That means that when you're working on something with a high priority it is okay to turn down someone asking you to do something that has a lower priority. Learning to say "no” is a huge time-saver. Of course you can also say "no" to yourself when you find yourself tempted to interrupt your work for another task that pops up. You will find that if you focus on the most important task that needs to get done during the day, the major things, you will probably have enough time left to fit in some of the minor things.

Time is an area where we can be absolutely sure that everyone is treated equally. No matter where you're from or what your background is everybody has the same amount of hours in a day. The difference is in how we choose to spend those hours. And that is why some people are considered miracle workers while others never get anything accomplished. Perhaps you've heard the story of the business consultant giving this simple piece of advice to one of his clients. His client was a CEO of a large corporation who felt he and his management team wasn’t performing to their best abilities. They just didn't seem to get the work done.

The consultant listened intently for a while and then gave the following advice:
"Every night before your head hits the pillow, take a piece of paper and write down the six most important tasks you must accomplish the next day. Write them down in the order of importance. Then the next day, it at all possible, start on the first task and don't move on to the next task until the first has been finished. This may not always be possible because sometimes the most important thing can be something that comes up later during the day. For instance your most important task may be a certain presentation that is scheduled to take place somewhere late in the afternoon. In that case you would move on to point number two. You wouldn't want to be sitting idle all day, right?"

When the client asked for the price of this advice, he was told to simply put in into practice and then determine the value himself. After a certain period of time had past the client wired an amount of $25,000 to the business consultant. Apparently this little piece of advice had worked out quite well for him and the members of his management team. Do this for a while and you will see your effectiveness soar. A great side effect is that people around you are bound to see it too.

Some pointers that may help you in this direction:

Become more efficient in your communication. This means: on the phone, in emails or letters, and of course in face-to-face conversations. A lot of time spent in communication is very inefficient. This is especially wasteful because you're not just wasting your own time but also somebody else's.

Touch everything only once. This can be a really great time-saver. Every piece of information should preferably pass through your hands only once. This goes for mail, email, but also things like certain websites, articles, newspapers and other sources of information.

In order to do this successfully you will need to learn how to take decisions quickly. Some decisions just aren't worth too much of your valuable time. The ability to take decisions is the key to becoming successful anyway. So why wouldn't you want to speed that process up a little. The ability to take decisions quickly, especially minor ones, will free up a lot of time that can be spent on more important things. Aside from that, it increases self-confidence, which will help you in when taking decisions on more important issues.

Three Big Steps To Better Money Handling

2006-07-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future.

1. BUDGET – Get one and stick with it! And set aside at least a small portion for savings while you’re at it; savings for your future, your retirement, your education, your vacation, whatever. Head to your local office supply store for planning workbooks or budget sheets to use. Or head to your favorite search engine and type in, “budget planning” for hundreds of sites with articles, free downloads, tips, ebooks and other resources to help with your budget setup and follow up.

2. PLAN AHEAD – Make sure to plan for emergencies and the unexpected, like an appliance break down or garage door malfunction. Even if you can only set aside $50 or so each monthly, place it in an account and earmark it for this “Miscellaneous” fund. Then when things go wrong, and they will – nothing’s perfect – you’ll be better prepared.

3. NON-MONTHLY ITEMS – Work out a monthly payment for items that you don’t pay monthly and set this up in your regular monthly budget. For example, for items like annual home owner or renter insurance, quarterly water bills and automobile insurance payments and annual trash bills, take the amounts and determine what they would be monthly. Then list the items on your budget log and pull these amounts aside, saving them in your account for those purposes. This way, when the bills hit, you won’t be caught off guard and have to scrounge for the payments.

What works well, instead of handling multiple savings accounts for each company owed, is to use index cards and one savings account. Create one index card for each bill. Then simply log the amount you’re setting aside on the card and deposit it into your savings account. Keep the index cards with your savings passbook to remind you what the balance covers. The total of all your index cards should equal the balance in your savings account. (Make sure to create an index card for your regular funds that you are saving each month in step one above and a card for your Miscellaneous fund in step two above).

So next time you get paid, take three giant steps forward. Grab your index cards, follow your budget and invest in yourself and your future. Get a grip on your money handling.

Controlling Debt

Seminars - The Real Deal

2006-06-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Do you want to know the quickest way to fast-track your way to success? Do you want to shorten your learning curve by years? The answer is simple. Attend a seminar.

Seminars provide the opportunity to learn from the best. Those who put on a seminar are there for a reason, they are very good at what they do. They offer their expertise willingly to anyone wishing to listen to it, for a price of course.

Let's look at four solid reasons why seminars pack the most punch for your learning dollar.

1. You will learn more in a day than you will in a month. Seminars are designed to give you the maximum amount of information into a predetermined period of time. Seminars can range from a couple of hours to a full week retreat.

2. As mentioned before, you get to learn from the best. You get to sit in the same room with an expert and listen to them share their wisdom and knowledge. It's a shame that many people cannot see the opportunity in this. An expert knows what information to provide to achieve maximum results in the least amount of time.

3. You are right there in the room with no outside distractions. No phones, no television, no kids yelling. We learn best from direct experiences. What better way is there to absorb information quickly than being a part of the action? Why do people go to the movies? Maybe it’s because they want to watch the movie in a room without any outside distractions. A movie theater provides them the environment to focus and absorb what is being presented to them.

4. Seminars provide tools of the trade. It may be a workbook or a physical product like a software CD. It may be included in the cost of the seminar or it may be offered for sale after the conclusion. Many people underestimate the value of these tools. These products were designed to help you continue and re-enforce what you have learned from the seminar. Why spend the money to attend if you are not planning to put the information learned to good use? If the seminar provided value to you it should be a sure bet that the book, workbook, audio or video series should also have value.

Take the time to attend at least one seminar this year. Whether you are looking to improve your life, make more money, plan for your retirement or even learning how to tie fishing flies. Someone is out there willing to help you achieve your goals with the tools in hand to get you there as quickly as possible.

2006-06-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

ROCKS IN MY DRYER!

Your probably thinking what does that mean?

Well, I'll tell ya... what I think it means! I think it is something like, "You have bats in your belfry!" Maybe your a little crazy? Like you might have a few lights out in the old marquee?

So when someone tells you that you have "Rocks in your dryer" you'll know what it means.

I hope this helps?