Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/399988
Oneofthetough- est things I battle in my life is procrasti- nation. My natural response to every- thing is that I'll do it later. And there's a part of me that de- spises that procras- tinator and wages a daily war to defeat her. That's how I've come to rely on the power of habits and routines. Habits are those things we do so often they be- come automatic. Take my MacBook computer. You'd be shocked to know just how many hours a day I am on this thing. The key- board is part of me. My muscles have totally mem- orized every stroke, the lo- cation of every key. Until something changes. Because of a series of complications (Maver- icks plus multiple moni- tors), I was forced to move my dock from the bottom of my screen to the left side. We're talking about a 90-degree relocation from horizontal to vertical. And I'm ready to be commit- ted. Everything in me wants that dock at the bottom. Every muscle recalls ex- actly where it should be. For nearly three weeks, I have battled this annoy- ing change, and it is driv- ing me to the brink of in- sanity. My routines are disrupted, my old habit screaming in torment. My brain, muscles and fingers were trained to reach ef- fortlessly where to go to get what I needed. It was so automatic I didn't have to think about it. I've gained a new ap- preciation for the power of habit. Habits and routines are my allies in my war against procrastination. It takes mental toughness for me to force habits and routines on myself before laziness, stress and temp- tation kick in. I've learned that when I auto- mate the predict- able things in my day, I can react to the unpredictable and take control with flexibility and poise. If you have at- tended a Debt- Proof Living We- binar, read my book by the same title or been part of my DebtProofLiving.com family, you know the first step to getting control of your money. It has nothing to do with changing any- thing. It is simply keeping track of your spending for 30 days: Write down ev- ery way you spend money, every day — every hour of every day — for 30 days. Oh, the torment. It's dif- ficult. That's because we don't want to do it. It's out of routine; it's a pain. It takes time; it's easy to for- get. Worse, we'd rather not know where all the money goes. Sadly, most people start out with great intentions to track their spending but give up before noon on the first day. They're weak, coddled by the culture that says, "Don't worry about it! If you run out of money, you can just use a credit card to get by." Or that inner procrastinator that assures, "Don't worry; you can start tomorrow." Anything here sound fa- miliar? Are you ready to kick your procrastinator to the curb so you can work on creating a new habit? Great. Every morning start with a fresh piece of paper or a new "note" on your smartphone. Deter- mine to record every way you spend money today. Just write down "what for" and "how much." At the end of the day, take a look. "Wow," you'll say. OK. Do it again tomorrow. And the next day. After about four days it will become more routine. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE My secret war against procrastination Better Business Bureau Nothing inspires scam- mers like the headlines. Con artists are always finding ways to cash in on breaking trends. This week, watch out for teasers on so- cial media promoting fake ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos. Howthescamworks: You are on Facebook, and a news item catches your at- tention. It appears to be a teaser for a shocking video. "Tragic: Ice Bucket Chal- lenge kills girl," reads the headline. You click the link, think- ing it leads to a video site. Instead, a pop up appears prompting you to "update your video player." But when you click "OK," you aren't getting a new version of some software. You are really downloading mal- ware. Like all scams, this has many variations. Not all fake videos lead to viruses. Some link to spammy web- sites, which may prompt you to take a survey before viewing the video. In the worst case, sharing your information can open you up to identity theft. More likely, your information will end up getting sold to spammers. This scam is also not lim- ited to Facebook. Watch out for similar links posted on Twitter, through other so- cial media or sent by email. Protecting yourself Take the following steps to protect yourself and oth- ers from scam links shared through email and social media: Don't take the bait. Stay away from promotions of "exclusive," "shocking" or "sensational" footage. If it sounds too outlandish to be true, it is probably a scam. Hover over a link to see its true destination. Be- fore you click, mouse over the link to see where it will take you. Don't click on links leading to unfamiliar websites. Don't trust your friends' taste online. It might not actually be them "liking" or sharing scam links to photos. Their account may have been hacked. But it may also be clickjacking, a technique that scammers use to trick you into clicking something that you wouldn't otherwise — especially the Facebook "Like" button. On Facebook, report scam posts and other sus- picious activity. On Twitter, if another user is sending you links to malware or other spam, re- port it to Twitter. SCAM ALERT Fake videos become bait for social media scams Mary Hunt Soroptimist Interna- tional of Red Bluff is pre- senting the 2014 Choco- late Fantasia, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center, 1500 S. Jackson St. Tickets are a $20 dona- tion and include dinner, dessert and an etched wine glass. There will be deca- dent and savory chocolate, wine tasting, music and raffle prizes. For tickets, call 945-7788 or 527-6806, or send an email to SIRedBluffClub@ yahoo.com. Proceeds go toward local scholarships and community projects. Come for a fun and deli- cious evening and support your local community. A delicious evening planned for chocolate lovers FUNDRAISER COURTESYPHOTO Becky Eusted and Nancy Shiltz serving at the 2013Chocolate Fantasia. Today REDBLUFF Celebrate Recovery: 7 p.m., Bethel Assembly of God, 625Luther Road, 527- 0445or 366-6298 Emblem club Oktober- fest: 6p.m., Elks Lodge Red Bluff Rotary Club Sunrise: 7a.m., M&M Ranch Weekend Childbirth Class: 6-9p.m., St. Eliza- beth Community Hospital, Columba Room, 888-628- 1948, redbluff.mercy.org/ classes_and_events CORNING Achieve: 9a.m. to 1p.m., Corning Family Resource Center, 824-7670 Car Show: 5-9p.m., Bar- tels Giant Burger, 22355 Corning Road, local car clubs welcome, 824-2788 ESL/Citizenship Class: 9-11a.m., Monday and Friday, Corning Family Re- source Center, 175Solano St., 824-7670 Nutrition Classes: 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m., 175Solano St., 824-7670 Resume Workshop-Work First: Red Bluff, call Corn- ing Family Resource Center, 824-7670 LOS MOLINOS Narcotics Anonymous: 7-8p.m., 25204Josephine Ave, Wednesday and Friday Saturday RED BLUFF Frontier Village Farmers Market: 8a.m. to 1p.m., 645Antelope Blvd. Widows Association of Red Bluff: Noon at Episco- pal Church, on Elm St., call for information 527-4659 Weekend Childbirth Class: 6p.m.-9p.m., St. Elizabeth Community Hos- pital, Columba Room, 888- 628-1948, redbluff.mercy. org/classes_and_events TEHAMA Tehama County Museum: 1-4p.m., 275C St., group tours any day by appoint- ment, 384-2595 Sunday RED BLUFF AA Live and Let Live: noon and 5:30p.m., 785Musick St., seven days a week except Thursday meets at 8p.m. Al-Anon New Comers At Heart: 6:30-7:30p.m., Presbyterian Church of Red Bluff, 838Jefferson Road, Room 2, 941-6405 Kelly-Griggs House Mu- seum: 1-3p.m., 311Wash- ington St., group tours by appointment, 527-1129or 527-5895 TEHAMA Tehama County Museum: 1-4p.m., 275C St., group tours any day by appoint- ment, 384-2595 Monday RED BLUFF Community Band re- hearsal: 7-9p.m., Red Bluff Presbyterian Church, 838 Jefferson St., New mem- bers welcome, 527-3486 English as a Second Lan- guage class: 5:30-8:30 p.m., Red Bluff High School Adult Ed building, 1295Red Bud, 736-3308, same time Tuesday and Wednesday and 9a.m. to 12:20p.m. Thursdays, free childcare from 9a.m. to 12:20p.m. classes in Richlieu Hall, 900Johnson St. Gastric Bypass Support Group: 6p.m., St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, Co- lumba room, 529-3066 Head Injury Recreational Entity: 10a.m.-2p.m., St. Elizabeth Community Hos- pital, Coyne Center, Rusty, 529-2059 Key to Life: 6p.m., Fam- ily Resource Center, 220 Sycamore St. Ste. 101, 528-8066 Narcotics Anonymous: 11a.m. to noon, 838Jef- ferson St., Room 3, Mon- day through Saturday and 5:30-6:30p.m. Saturday Narcotics Anonymous: 7-8:30p.m., 785Musick St., every day except Thursday Nutrition classes: 10:30 a.m. to noon, 220Sycamore St. #101 PAL Martial Arts: 3-5 p.m., ages 5-18, 1005Vista Way, Ste. C, free, 529- 7950 Retired and Active Feder- al Employees: 11:45a.m., Cozy Diner 259S. Main St., call Karen at 585-2494 Salvation Army Writing Class: 9:30-11:30a.m., 940Walnut St., 527-8530 Senior Writing Class: 10 a.m. to noon, Sycamore Center, 220Sycamore St., 527-5762 Sun Country Quilters Community Service Group: 9a.m. to noon, Family Resource Center, 220Sycamore St. Ste. 101, 528-1126 TeenScreen Mental Health appointments: 10a.m. to 2p.m., free, by appointment only, 1900 Walnut St., 527-8491, Ext. 3012 Tehama County Military Family Support Group: 6p.m., Countryside Cafe, 638Washington St., 529- 2416 TOPS Club (take off pounds Sensibly): 8:30 a.m., First Christian Church, 926Madison Ave., 527- 7541or 347-6120, visit www.tops.org US citizenship prepara- tion class: 5:30-8:30 p.m., Red Bluff High School Adult Ed building, 1295Red Bud, 736-3308, same time Tuesday and Wednesday Venture Crew 1914meet- ing: 6:30-8p.m., Moose Lodge on 99W, coed ages 14-20welcome Widows Association of Red Bluff - Play Cards: 1p.m., call 527-4659for location CORNING Achieve: 9a.m. - 1p.m., Corning Family Resource Center, 824-7670 Alcoholics Anonymous: noon Monday through Friday, 5p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Saturday and 1p.m. Sunday, 783Solano St. Computer Lab hours: 2-4 p.m., Corning Family Re- source Center, 824-7670 ESL/Citizenship Class: 9-11a.m., Monday and Friday, Corning Family Re- source Center, 175Solano St., 824-7670 Exchange Club member- ship meeting: 7p.m., Iron Skillet Healthy Holiday Cooking For Seniors: 10:30a.m. – noon, Tehama Village Apts., 651Toomes Ave., 824-7670 Kirkwood School Board: 5 p.m., 2049Kirkwood Road Narcotics Anonymous: 7-8:30p.m., 820Marin St., 824-114or 586-0245, meetings daily Sewing group: 9a.m., Family Resource Center, West and South streets, 824-7670. CALENDAR FARMBUILDINGS•ARENAS BULK STORAGE WAREHOUSES • OFFICES SELF STORAGE RV STORAGE AIRCRAFT HANGARS PROCESSING FACILITIES COMPLETE CONCRETE AND BUILDING SERVICE License #812173 #30SevilleCt. Chico, CA 95928 (530) 345-7296 www.northvalleybuilding.com BUILDINGS JobDeveloper Neededtodevelopvocationalopportunitiesforpeoplewith disabilities within their community. Other duties: Monitor Job Methods, Standards, and Time Studies to Dept. of Labor Standards. Experience in Job Development or Sales and Marketing. 40 hours per week $9.45 per hour with benefit package. Must be (25 years old +) must be insurable, pass drug screening/negative TB test, DOJ background check and a health screen. Apply at North Valley Services 1040 Washington Street, Red Bluff, CA LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, October 17, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5