10 Bad Habits And What You Can Do To Change Them

Each of us have our own share of bad habits that we acquired during our life. Some we are aware of, others we don’t realize we’re doing. Just by observing my actions for couple of days I’ve observed quite a few bad habits that I’d like changed, and I’ve also seen them done by my friends. I imagine that quite a few of these bad habits might be yours as well.
Changing bad habits can be quite a pain, as you have to pay attention and recognize them as soon as they show up and give yourself a mental slap (don’t make it too hard), every time you’re about to make one.
Here are a few of the bad habits I’ve seen done in myself or my friends, and how you can change them.
1. Not being on time at meetings
I usually arrive 5 minutes early to a meeting. Having to wait for 10 minutes after the set time, or even half an hour as a lady friend of mine usually is late, wastes my time and makes me question how serious is that person. That’s especially worse if the person that requested the meeting is late. Know the time it takes you to arrive to a meeting, and leave 5 minutes early. You usually know some time in advance when a meeting will happen, so take care of your business and be on time.
2. Postponing paying the bills
This is a personal problem of mine, as I work from home and when I go out, the places where I need to pay my bills are usually out of my way. Further more, I forget to set money aside for them, so when the final term for payment is reached I usually spend a few days low on cash, as I pay them all in one go. Take your bills and set the money aside for them, and even if it’s out of your way, make a detour when you go shopping and pay them on time. You avoid the interest penalties this way.
3. Talking too much on the phone
Socializing is ok, but spending too much time on the phone doing it might not be, depending on your take on it. Set aside some time in the weekend to get together with your friends or relatives and spend some quality time together. Doing it over the phone is way too impersonal and it costs money to top it off.
4. Eating fast food at lunch
I don’t need to tell you that it’s not healthy, so why do it? Save money and your health, and pack a couple of sandwiches from home. Make them healthy and nutritious and eat those at lunch instead.
5. Getting out of bed late
Hitting the snooze when the alarm goes off or staying too much time in bed means spending the time preparing for work in a constant rush. Set yourself enough time to sleep as much as you need and get up once the alarm goes off. I know it can be hard, but there a few tricks you can use, like buying an alarm clock that is a nightmare to stop or keeping the clock at enough distance from the bed so you have to get up to stop it.
6. Taking work home with you
Organize your time better and avoid spending the time you got with your family on paperwork. It’s a really bad habit and one I’d recommend working on. Don’t slack off at work if you know you’ll have to do it at home instead. When you’re at work, do your job. When you’re home, spend time with your family and make the most of it. Your kids will leave for college soon enough so spend your time now with them and create some nice memories.
7. If you promise something, keep your word
If someone asks you to do something for them, analyze what they’re asking, see if you can do it, and learn to say no when you need to. Promising something and then not following through is not nice at all. When I depend on someone to do something for me, I expect that he does it if he promised so. When you promise something, set some time aside on your to-do list and do it as soon as you can. They’ll appreciate you more for keeping your word when so many don’t.
8. Procrastinating
Too many people have problems with this one, including myself. Procrastination deserves a post of its own, but for now there are a few things you can do about it. Sticking to your to-do list and learning to balance it and do what you write on it is a good first step.
9. Not having enough fun
One thing that bothers me about my fun activities, is that I do them only in the weekends. One big problem when you work at home is learning to be guilt free if you’re not working constantly. I usually feel guilty whenever I’m not on the computer working, feeling that I can do more. Doing something fun every day, even if it’s only for half an hour is something I want to do from now on.
10. Not paying attention and forgetting someone’s name
This one can also be a bit embarrassing and offending to the person you’re being introduced. Try to pay attention for a couple of seconds when you meet someone new and at least remember their name. If you forget it anyway, ask for a business card at the end of the meeting to avoid asking for their name again.

These are 10 of the bad habits I’ve seen in myself or some of my friends. What are your bad habits and how are you trying to change them?