Bad Habit Budget Busters - Procrastination

My favorite subject of speeches I give at seminars is procrastination. I like that subject so much that I titled it “Procrastination Bites You in the Butt”. It’s true, you know.

Procrastination causes money problems. It causes late fees and non-sufficient-funds (NSFs) charges. Did you know that each month banks pay ALL their employees’ paychecks-even the president’s-with funds accumulated from NSFs? Pretty scary to think about. It’s not the financially comfortable who get charged NSFs; it’s the people who live paycheck to paycheck.

Whether we want to admit it or not, procrastination really does bite us in the butt. I know; I used to be an expert at it.

Years ago I’d wait until the last minute to do almost everything. I learned that art in high school. I made straight A’s without a lot of effort so why hurry? I’d wait until the night before to write a book review on a book I’d read the chapter titles of, then the first, middle, and last chapters that very day.

In college I’d wait until I was wearing my last pair of underwear before I’d wash clothes. When I’d go on a trip, I’d always wait till the last day to pack my suitcase. And I’d always plan to leave for a function on time but each time something detained me: the dog, my curling iron, my purse not being the right color, I couldn’t find all the papers I needed. Any one of these sound familiar?

Do you live like this? It causes high blood pressure, emotional stress and trauma, dangerous periods while you race down the freeway, or worse, through busy streets as you struggle to make an appointment, or just as bad, as you put on your make-up. People who’ve killed someone while driving will tell you it’s not worth it.

Question: What can you do about procrastinating?

Answer: Realize that this is one dangerous and expensive habit and vow today to stop it.

Plan ahead:

• Exercise anytime except mornings when you have an appointment or meeting.
• Select your clothes the night before.
• Pack your attaché with all the papers, files, etc. you’ll need.
• Set your clock to get up at least 30 minutes before you think you need to.
• Don’t watch TV while eating breakfast unless you have it programmed to go off at a certain time.
• Keep an eye on the clock so you stay on schedule.
• Leave a minimum of 15 minutes ahead of when you think you should leave; it’s best to even give yourself a 30-minute leeway.
• When you go on a trip, make a list of everything you’ll need and pack several days in advance.