With bored children, road construction, traffic, and a late start, driving can be very stressful. Since you probably have to drive every day, reducing your stress in the car is a worthy goal. If you can arrive at your destination with less stress, you’ll be a better position to make the most of the situation. It can be challenging to decompress after a stressful drive.

Turn your car into a rolling sanctuary:

1. Leave early. Being late is stressful and adds stress to the total driving experience. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination with at least a few minutes to spare. You’ll be more relaxed and in a better position to deal with traffic, construction, or any other unexpected obstacles.

2. Know how to get there. If you’re driving to someplace you’ve never been, take the time to map out your route. GPS systems are always improving, but they still make mistakes. Be certain you know where you’re going and how long it will take.

3. Find a new route. Are you sure you’re taking the easiest route to your destination? Just because you’ve taken the same route to work for the last three years doesn’t mean it’s the only way. Look at a map and consider the other possibilities. You might find a quicker, or at least a more pleasant, driving route.

4. Keep the kids occupied. Bored, whining children are quite stressful! Ensure that you’ve brought snacks, books, and anything else that will keep them busy. There’s nothing more pleasant than happy, peaceful children.

5. Create a relaxing environment. Pick up the trash on the floor, keep the windows clean, and maintain your automobile. Stress is accumulative, so eliminate as many sources of stress as possible.

* Turn on the radio or put on a CD. Calming music is one of the best ways to relax quickly. Studies have proven the value of relaxing music.

* Avoid listening to music that you find overly stimulating. Avoiding the news is a good idea if you find it upsetting.

6. Control your emotions by controlling your thoughts. You can’t get mad about the guy that just cut you off unless you think negative thoughts. Training your mind to focus on positive ideas enables you to completely avoid the stress of many situations.

* For example, there’s a big difference between thinking: “I can’t believe the nerve of that guy – someone should teach him a lesson,” and “I’m glad no one got hurt. It must be my lucky day.”

* Other people don’t anger you. They inspire thoughts that create anger. You can control your thoughts. Avoid allowing a stranger to affect your mood. You’re in control.

7. Get calm before you leave the house. The experience of driving is often more stressful than whatever you were doing before you climbed into the car. Start in a good place by relaxing before you drive. Take a few minutes, close your eyes, listen your iPod, breathe, and relax.

8. Smile. Our emotions tend to follow our behaviors. Try skipping down the street with a smile on your face and see how you feel. You can’t skip in the car, but you can smile. Put a smile on your face and keep it there. If you have to be in the car anyway, you might as well enjoy it as much as you can.

Driving can be stressful. However, you can learn to find relaxation in driving. Apply your ability to remain calm and relaxed in the car to other situations, too. Leave early, listen to calming music, and keep the kids busy. There’s little more to do. Smile and enjoy the ride.

Everyone procrastinates. However, some of us are better at dealing with procrastination than others. You’re not alone if you procrastinate. The people that get things done are more effective at minimizing procrastination. You don’t have to remain a master at procrastination. You can choose to become a master of productivity!

Getting things done can be challenging. It’s much more challenging than not getting things done, in the short (very short) term.

However, procrastination has a steep price. It creates a lot of stress. Even while you’re avoiding a task, you’re stressed and anxious. You’ll also be much more stressed at the end when your deadline approaches.

Try these unusual strategies to deal with procrastination:

1. Put your procrastination to good use. Consider what you do when you procrastinate. You perform one activity in lieu of performing another activity that you should be doing. Create list that includes a couple of reasonable, but awful, tasks that you can add to your to-do list. You’ll then procrastinate on those tasks and perform the tasks you need to accomplish.

* It might sound silly, but this technique is highly regarded by many productivity professionals. You’re willing to do any unpleasant task if you can avoid something even more unpleasant.

2. Get to a new location. Head to the library, park, or coffee shop. You could even move to a different area of the house or find a vacant office at your workplace. A change of scenery can often minimize the tendency to procrastinate. Part of your brain associates procrastination with your usual hangouts, like your desk.

3. Use a timer and a very short time frame. Getting started is often the most challenging part. It’s surprising how easy it is to complete a task versus taking the first step. Set a timer for two minutes and see how much you can get done. Two minutes is too much? Try one minute.

* Have a list of steps and begin on the first one. When you have a list, you won’t waste any mental energy trying to figure out what to do first.

4. Try working at an unusual time. Get out of bed at 4 AM and see how much you can get done before your normal wakeup time. Try staying up late and see what happens. Shake up your routine and you’ll be less likely to engage in your old habits.

5. Focus on enhancing your mood. You procrastinate when you feel bad, and the thought of performing the task makes you feel even worse. You’ll do just about anything that you think will make you feel better. Work on enhancing your mood and you’ll be less likely to procrastinate.

* Think happy thoughts, eat a healthy snack, or listen to music that lightens your mood. Once you feel better, get started on your task without overthinking it.

6. Give your friend money. You may have enlisted the assistance of a friend in the past, but did you do it in the most effective way? Instead of telling your friend that you’ll give her $50 if you don’t complete your to-do list by Friday, give her the money upfront. You only get your money back if you’re successful. It changes the dynamic significantly.

7. Give yourself a big reward. Make completing the task as positive as possible. Instead of viewing a task as painful, you’ll begin to view it as desirable. Promise yourself a day off, a meal at your favorite restaurant, or a massage.

Procrastination occurs when not performing a task is perceived as less miserable than performing the task. Procrastination creates stress, and can even put your employment and relationships at risk. When you procrastinate too much, you ultimately fail to live up to the reasonable expectations of others.

Deal with procrastination by tackling it head on. Dig in your heels and try these strategies. Start today. You’ll discover that you can beat procrastination and get things done.

We all want to accomplish more and have more free time. With limited time and energy, every trick that can potentially make life easier is worth investigating. There’s more than one way to catch a mouse, and there’s more than one way to handle daily living.

Life hacks can save time, increase productivity, and make life easier:

1. Use a timer. A simple timer can greatly increase your focus and productivity. For example, the next time you need to clean the kitchen, determine how long it should take. Then set a timer for a couple of minutes less than your guess. See if you finish before the time runs out. You’ll be more focused and get more done.

* Use a timer at work. There are timers available for your computer and cell phone.

2. Take a 10-minute break every hour. Set your timer for 50 minutes and work hard. Then give yourself a 10-minute break. Productivity studies have shown this to be the best ration of work and rest for the average person.

* Use the 10 minutes to take a quick walk, do a few pushups, get a drink of water, or deal with personal email. You’ll get more done over a long day than you ever thought possible.

3. Fill up your gas tank before you get home from work. Avoid putting anything off until the morning if it can be done beforehand. You’re likely to forget, or something will go wrong. If you’re running late before you remember that you need gas or something else for work, you’re doomed.

4. Prepare to leave, then be idle. Imagine this: you have to be at a party in three hours. It will take 30 minutes to get ready and 30 minutes to drive there. If you’re like most people, you’ll wait two hours, then get ready, then drive to the party. This is a recipe for disaster.

* Instead, give yourself an hour to get ready. You’ll be ready in plenty of time. You can then spend any extra time doing whatever you were going to do if you had waited for two hours.

* If getting ready to leave is the last thing you do before leaving, you’ll frequently be late.

5. Start slowly. The key to adding any new behavior is to start slowly and gradually increase the amount of time spent doing the new behavior. This strategy works whether you’re starting a new exercise routine, learning to play tennis, starting a new language, or trying to implement any new habit.

* Changing too quickly has a tendency to derail your efforts. Be patient and enjoy how easy it is to be successful at maintaining your new behavior.

6. Sort your mail before it leaves your hand. You get home from work and grab the mail. Before you toss it on the kitchen counter, quickly sort through it. Put the junk mail in the trash and organize the rest. Keep your bills in one location, preferably where you sit while you pay them.

7. Get a toy, give up a toy. After a child has accumulated a certain number of toys, the clutter gets out of hand, and several toys never get used. Institute a rule that every new toy results in the loss of a toy. Donate the toy to charity, give it away to a friend, or sell it. It’s a good lesson and will keep the house tidier.

Life is fast and furious. It can be challenging to find time to do everything that needs to be done. A couple of simple hacks can free up a little time for more important things. Life can be less stressful and more productive.

Do you feel like your life is unfulfilling and overly full of challenges? If so, you’ll be happy to know that you can make changes, starting today, to turn your life around! Creating a wonderful life is the result of consistently doing things that support your happiness and fulfillment.

Avoid stressful challenges and enjoy your life more with these behaviors:

1. Be proactive. Avoid waiting until you’re forced to take action. Plan ahead. Many of life’s challenges are easily managed if you deal with them quickly. Most of life’s difficulties are preventable.

* For example, you know that your car needs regular oil changes. A natural result of not changing the oil is a ruined car. You can prevent this challenge simply by changing your oil on time. If you can’t afford to have the oil changed, learn how to do it yourself. This is one task anyone can learn.

* Being proactive also applies to any task that you’re aware of ahead of time, such as projects and reports at your job. Waiting until the last minute to do something ensures that when you finally do it, you’ll be full of stress and won’t do your best work, both of which can cause further challenges.

* Set goals, write them down, and take action to achieve them. Do something each day to bring you a little closer to the life you desire.

2. Pay attention to your diet and fitness. It’s easy to gain 50 pounds one pound at a time. A poor diet can ruin your health with imperceptible changes, a little at a time.

* Keep an eye on your weight and set a hard limit. Once you’ve reached that limit, it’s time for serious action. You can’t weigh 250 pounds if you never allow yourself to weigh over 150.

* Start feeding your body the nutrition it craves for peak performance. Make changes a little at a time. For example, add a vegetable or fruit to each meal. Make something homemade with organic ingredients instead of buying processed food. Do this often enough, and you’ll develop a taste preference for delicious, healthy food.

3. Minimize time watching TV or surfing the internet. TV, the internet, and your smart phone are all great ways of wasting your precious time. Consider all the other, more productive, things you could be doing instead.

* Imagine if you spend three hours each day split between exercising, learning a musical instrument, and running an online business instead of watching YouTube videos. How would your life be different after five years? You can determine today how your life will be in the future.

4. Save money consistently. Having secure finances is crucial. One unfortunate incident, such as blown transmission in your car, can be catastrophic if you don’t have any money in the bank. Keep in mind that you can’t work forever. Sooner or later you’ll be forced to live off your savings and social security.

* Start a savings account today and add to it each week. You can start small and, once you get into the habit of saving consistently, begin a program of increasing your savings.

* Start investing. A great start is an index fund. Find one that you can get into with small payments and add to your investment each month. You can get started with as little as $25.

5. Consider the actual value to you of your purchases. Buy things you need, rather than things you want due to the impulse of the moment. It’s difficult to save money if you routinely make unnecessary purchases. These items rarely bring true enjoyment anyway.

6. Make decisions. Making decisions can be scary and feel restrictive. You might not want to take that much responsibility for your life. But even a poor decision is often better than no decision at all. Without decisions, your fate is determined by luck.

7. Maintain friendships. Friends drift away unless you make an effort to maintain your friendships. As you get older, there can be fewer opportunities to make new friends. Keeping a friendship alive takes effort, but it’s less work than finding and nurturing a new friendship. There are few things better in life than an old friend.

A few bad habits can create a very hard life. A few effective habits can reward you greatly. Strive to develop habits that support your happiness. Be proactive, make your health a priority, use your time wisely, and be responsible with your finances. An exciting life with minimal distress can be yours.

There are two general attitudes you can hold: Pessimism and optimism. Pessimists have poorer long-term results than optimists. Optimists are healthier, happier, and more successful. If you’ve been accused of being pessimistic, rethink your perspective. Optimism is a more enjoyable way to live.

Optimism has many advantages over pessimism:

1. You’ll excel. When learning a new skill, studies have shown that optimistic people tend to overestimate their current skill level. However, those that are optimistic ultimately learn a new skill at a higher level. Those that most accurately judge their abilities at the beginning fail to learn as well as those that are more optimistic.

2. Strengthen your health. Optimistic people have been shown to have healthier blood sugar and cholesterol levels. They’re also more likely to exercise and less likely to smoke. Optimists carry less body fat, too.

3. Lower stress. When you expect good things to happen, there are fewer reasons to experience stress. In fact, when things go wrong, optimistic people are more likely to view the mishap as an opportunity for something bigger and better to happen.

4. Uplift your mood. Your attitude affects all aspects of your life. Adopting an optimistic perspective might be the easiest way to lift your attitude.

5. Make more friends. Others appreciate your optimism. When you have positive expectations, you positively affect the mood of those around you. You’ll find yourself with more friends and have greater influence over others. The people you like the most are those that make you feel the best. Your optimism benefits others.

6. It’s the most effective option. Pessimism doesn’t have much to offer. It’s damaging to your health, mood, and results. Others avoid pessimists. Why would you choose to be anything other than optimistic? What other intelligent option do you have?

7. Optimists dare themselves to be great. Pessimists are too afraid to try new things or take the risks that are necessary for higher levels of success. Optimists are in a better position to pursue and achieve greatness.

8. Boost your immune system. Or maybe pessimism suppresses your immune system. Either way, you’ll get sick less frequently if you have a positive outlook on life. You might even spend less at the doctor’s office.

9. Live longer. You’re more likely to live to be 100 years old if you’re optimistic. Interviews with centenarians consistently demonstrate an optimistic attitude about the future. Optimism is one of the most enjoyable ways to extend longevity. An optimistic attitude might allow you to spend time with your great grandchildren.

10. Make smarter decisions under pressure. This can be helpful at work and in your personal life. When you deal with stress more effectively, you can make wiser decisions. When you expect a negative outcome, your decisions will be mostly defensive in nature.

Optimism has a lot to offer. You’re hurting your future, yourself, and those around you by being pessimistic. Optimism is free and it feels good. Your health, success, and mental health are all enhanced when you hold a positive viewpoint. Let go of your pessimism and view the world from an enthusiastic perspective. You’ll be glad you did!