Posts Tagged ‘STOP’

In part one I talked about measuring wealth in time and freedom. In part two I will be discussing 5 ways to get started. As a quick note, I would like to mention I wrote this post on my itouch while commuting on the Tokyo metro.

1. Assess your bills and eliminate

Learn to live with less. Look over your expenses and eliminate anything that is not a necessity. When you think necessity, think stranded on an island and what you need to survive. You can always add things back later, but after some time without most things you will find they really aren’t that important.

2. Use cash/get rid of credit cards

Some people might disagree with this so let me explain. Credit cards allow you to spend money you don’t have. Stop carrying them with you. Set a monthly budget including lunch, gas, and spending money. Pull this amount out and don’t go over it. If it helps, only keep the daily amount in your pocket.

3. Create a want/dream list

Figuring out what you want and how much it costs will not only help you set some saving goals and focus your efforts, it also brings to light the things you purchase that aren’t important. Check out The Four Hour work Week for a dreamline template.

4. Make your money make money

There are a lot of things to invest in. Find something that interests you and learn about it. Talk to successful people who are investing in the fields you are interested in and learn from them. And don’t forget, one the best investments you can make is in yourself and your own education

5. Find cheap fun

Learn to enjoy life and have fun without spending money. You can find one list on cheap fun here. But don’t limit yourself to that list. Find something you enjoy and then find a way to do it cheaply. Or better yet get paid for it.

Sit back and watch your money grow! It seems difficult at first, but after you do it for a month then it gets much easier…and eventually fun.

How many of you do the following:

-check e-mail first thing when you wake up and several times a day and last thing before you go to bed

-surf the internet into the late hours of the night or morning

-read a several blogs a day as well as current news

-multi-task everything that you do

-feel that the number of things you have to do constantly increases and you have less time than ever

As the amount of information continues to increase we are taking in more than ever. We spend most of our time glued to a little box and always feel that there is never enough time and we can’t get enough done.

There is a really simple solution that can give back a lot of your time and make you a happier person….STOP. Go cold turkey for a week and don’t check e-mail, blogs, or any online newsarticles. Don’t even surf the web. Do it for one week and you will realize that the world doesn’t end. It just gets better.

When you go back to reading, set allotted times. Only check e-mail twice a day, for an alotted time. Maybe 30 minutes each time you check. Take a look at your blogs. Do you really need to read them or do you just read them becuase you feel you have to. The best way to save time is to get rid of the things you don’t need.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Getting away from the technology and freeing up time is a great feeling. Now you just have to decide what you will do with the extra time.