Allison is the brain-child (like that Allison?) behind MANICMUMS.COM.
She has applied her wealth of expertise about time-management in business to making home life more streamlined, efficient and... well, less manic.
And since, as they say, time is money we thought we'd love to have some wise words from Allison here....
Put off Procrastination!
The cost of putting things off is always greater than the price of doing them. There, I’ve said it.
At its most simple, the dish washed straight away is done quickly, the dish left overnight requires effort to tackle the crusty residue.
But we’ve all done it, haven't we? The report written in the dim glow of midnight oil, the jerry can walk of shame, when the car was running on vapor, wearing yesterday’s knickers when the cupboard was bare (or is that just me?)
Anyway, if your life swings along to the tune of, ‘The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow’ and you live in the knowledge that tomorrow is always a day away, you could well be living with the emotional costs of procrastination on your bottom line. But, it’s not all psychological, have you ever calculated the hard financials?
What about the cost of that parking fine?
‘Manana,’ the ticket whispered sweetly in your ear until the fee doubled.
And hey, why were you ticketed in the first place? Oh yes, you left for the interview at the last gasp and had to park on double yellows.
‘Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow,’ said the tax return, due January 31st, but oops, before you knew it, February arrived, along with the penalty notice.
I could go on, but you’ll think I’m a nag. Suffice it to say, if you're the kind of person who wouldn't leave a burning building until the flames were licking their bottom, then it may be worth considering what procrastination is really costing you. Please, please don’t say you’ll think about it later!!
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Thanks Allison, find out more about Allison's work here.
Allison this is so true! Lesley, a self-employed business-woman, told us her story recently. She had to make a short trip to Zurich but on the morning she was due to fly she suddenly remembered she hadn’t arranged travel insurance. She spent a frantic half-hour on the phone trying to sort it out. Running late, she then left her car in the short-term car park (instead of the mid-term) at the airport. This cost her £108, double the mid-term rate. And she later discovered that she could have insured the trip for £30 less, if only she’d allowed herself more time to shop around!! How often do we get caught out like this...and end up paying later?!
ReplyDeleteAh yes ! My save money and get it done mantra for healthy living ? Clean out your juicer BEFORE drinking your juice, use the 'live' pulp as a free fruity live face-mask (just dont' answer the door !) and keep a nail brush handy for the annoying juicy dregs. If you leave it till later...yuck... takes much longer
ReplyDeleteI once heard something about procrastination feeling better at the time that getting done whatever it's we're deliberating over...but you're asbolutely right that in the long run it's pants to put things off. Personally I live by the mantra "Don't put off until tomorrow something you can do today." professionally, I encourage the women I coach to be more proactive to avoid the interference (AKA nagging pangs/guilt gremlins) putting things off causes us.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean! I have had so many conversations over the past few weeks with people who were meant to be writing (books, articles, blogs) and suddenly they needed to make up for 'lost' time.
ReplyDeleteAfter sorting everyone else out, I realised that I had been putting off updating my own blog, and proceeded to spend *hours* on that. Ouch! If only I had done it each week. I don't want to experience that pain again...