Overcoming procrastination using EFT

Procrastination is probably the most common and nasty habit.
I'm guilty of it as well. This article was planned to be posted last year...Anyway, here it goes.

If you are a procrastinator, you'll notice that you only procrastinate certain tasks, you may be late for your tax return that was due four months ago, but you watched the movie that was just released last week. You procrastinate because of anxiety, fear, or perfectionism. The shortcut to cure it is first to identify the reason.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is based on new discoveries regarding the subtle connection among your body's energies, your emotions, and your health. By simply tapping on certain points of your body, you will release the emotion that is associated with your illness or negative behavior, therefor curing your body or change your behavior. Make sense? I didn't think so, untill I tried for myself.

It was September, I was still sitting on my ever daunting task: filing my tax return. I know I was getting some money back so I was not in a rush but the procrastination was draining my energy. I decided to give EFT a try. After 3 rounds of tapping, I opened my drawer, took out the first deck of receives and started the paperwork. I finished the whole thing in 2 days.

Want to try it for yourself?
First, watch this video. It contains couple of rounds of tapping. You don't have to finish it, just follow the points till you're familiar with the tapping points and the order. Now you're ready to start.

Step 1, figure out the emotion related to the task you've been procrastination. Is it anxiety, boring, tiring, or being forced?
Step 2, Focus on the emotions and give it a rating from 1 to 10.
Step 3, Do a round of tapping following the video, or on your own if you remember the sequence. It will be more effective if you replace 'This feeling" with the feelings you identified in step 1. You may focus on one particular feeling in the same round, or go through different feelings at each tapping point.
Step 4, Rate your emotions again. If your rating has not been reduced to zero or any acceptable level that you can start your task, go back to step 3.

It may take a couple of rounds for you to fully release the emotions, but just follow the instructions and you'll get there eventually.
I'd love to hear how it worked for you.

Seven money habits for a wealthy future

According to a research on the economic security of American's middle-class families, 76% percent of the families do not have enough net assets to meet 3/4 of basic expenses for 3 months. Although the data was as of 2006, the report revealed a trend of the situation getting worse over the years.

These days, the newspaper is flooded with news on economic downturn, job loss, bankruptcy... Are you ready for the future? Rate yourself with the household financial security scorecard. Here are some money habits to get you off the shaky ground.

1. Start saving automatically.
Start from 10% of your after-tax income. Setup an investment account with some of the low-cost and low-risk index funds. Schedule a monthly or bi-monthly deduction from your checking account to feed it. You'll be surprised how much you can save in a year.

2. Set a realistic budget and stick to it.
Find out how much you've been spending every month. Set a budget that's both feasible and comfortable, but a little lower than your average spending. If you spend more than necessary, deduct the excess from the budget of the next month. If you end up saving some, keep it aside as a rewards to pamper yourself. And enjoy it without guilt.

3. Always go shopping with a list (and your reusable shopping bag).
If an item is on your list, look for a bargain first. But don’t buy anything ONLY because it’s cheap. It's not your responsibility to cram your personal space with useless stuff in order to help the manufactures clear their inventory. Ask yourself if you'll buy it if it's not on sale. If the answer is no, walk away.

4. Examine your cash flow monthly.
Pay off your credit card balance every month. Figure out your bank fees and eliminate them by choosing a different plan or different bank. Look at the charges on cable, cell phone, internet, membership, are you paying more than you should?

5. Detail your net worth on paper and keep updating it every quarter.
Calculate your assets and liabilities. Follow up on your investments and make adjustments if necessary. Have a plan to increase your asset, not your possessions. There are plenty of books teaching you how to do that, which is why you should...

6. Educate yourself about finance every week.
I borrow books from the library to make sure I read them. You can also talk to a financial adviser, but don't buy anything yet. Talk to your friends and do you own research. Make sure you understand what you are getting into. At the end of the day. The broker gets his cut regardless if your investment is paying off.

7. Work on generating more income everyday
Once you are in control of your finance, it's time to start making more money. It's the best way to improve your financial situation. If you are an employee, a side business can provide you more income and numerous tax deduction benefits. If you are not, find out better ways to turn what you are doing into a self-running business.

Money comes to those who know how to take care of them. Take care of your money and it will take care of you.

photo by Ben Goldstein

How I quit the "always late" habit

I had always been late since I can remember. Late for school, for work, for dates, for appointments, flights, you name anything that is time sensitive, I've abused it. And paid dearly for it. I missed my flight once that I had to pay $1000 to get on the next flight to catch my best friends wedding. I kept my brother in law waiting at the bus stop for one hour before I show up for the free movie tickets. Oh, those painful memories.

I'm comfortable taking about it now because I'm now punctuate on everything that has a time stamp on it. Being punctuate was on my list of new year resolutions every year, as I was never able to achieve this goal. This year, I did it ahead of time.

You may be wondering how long or how hard I worked to quit this lingering habit. Well, I became punctuate one day and never gone back. No, I didn't take any magic pill. It was just a different way of thinking: instead of focusing on NOT being LATE, I decided to be EARLY. As simple as that.

I realized that I tend to schedule my time based on the best scenario which doesn't existing in real life. I allocate my commute time based on this theory and if all stars are aligned, I do get to be on time once in a blue moon, arriving out of breath. I was trying to eliminate my waiting time by not being early, which resulted in other innocent people's waiting time and my countless apologies.

By allowing myself to be there early. I'm able to take other things into consideration, such as traffic, missing earring, and out of gas (I now fill up my gas tank whenever it's less than half full. ) Turned out it feels WAY much better waiting than being late know someone else is waiting. I carry a book around so there is no time wasted on my side either. Works perfectly well. I announced my new improvement to my family and friends and they will make sure I won't slip back.

According to law of attraction, the brain can't differentiate NOT LATE and LATE, so use a positive word will get you where you really want to be. Try it for yourself and enjoy being EARLY.

Image by Leo Reynolds

Pick your good habits for 2009

2009 is here when we can still remember the 2000 computer panic.
A decade is almost over. What have you achieved?

How about adopting some good habits in 2009 as your take away.
Here are some ideas:

10 good money habits
Not so difficult to do. Most can be automated once setup.
The stocks recommended are all Singapore based, but the concept works.

Understanding the Time Management Secrets of Millionaires
Tips on time management. The millionaire word make it more/less convincing.

Best Bedroom Habits To Start In The New Year
I've never thought of that. Is there an edition for the bathroom as well?

Top 9 Good Habits For A Deep Recession
I don't agree to all of them, especially the buy smart part where it tells you how to make grocery shopping cheaper. I believe in buy less with good quality.

Healthy habits for the new year
Most of the habits are common sense. Make it your habit by quantifying it. For example: instead of "Add fruit to your breakfast and vegetables to lunch and dinner.", make a habit to "Include 2 servings of fruit daily between meals."

Here is my pick:

1. Know where my money is going - Monitor cash flow monthly to adjust for the next month. Money comes to those who take care of it.
   
2. No clutter - a big challenge for me. Inviting friends over regularly will definitely force myself to clean up.
   
3. Make the bed everyday - I blame frequent travel for my bad habit of not making up my bed. In the hotel, someone else will do it. Maybe I should leave myself a tip for doing it. :-)
4. Floss

What's on your list?

Image by: Mikhail Palinchak

2 steps to replace your limiting habits with success habits at the speed of thought

We talked about how to "use your imagination" as a technique to establish a new habit.
If you deem yourself as not so imaginative, here is a simple way to trick your brain into believing that you have become what you want to be.

Read this tip from "pressrelease". Sorry I couldn't find any information on the author from the page.

I tried it myself. I felt less confident in step one. Maybe it's because deep in my mind, I don't really want to get up at 5:30 every morning. Let me know if it works for you.