These days due to increase in demand of electricity but limited resources we must ensure that we are not wasting electricity. Moreover the way the rates of electricity are increasing we should minimize its use and should economize. We all know that electricity is essential and we can’t survive without it I wonder how ancient people or people in village where supply is not proper survive without it but surely I think that when they could live without it then why can’t reduce its use.

Therefore throughout this article I will try to give you few tip how to save electricity and eventually money for our self:

Switch off appliances when not in use:

Turn off the appliance from the switch on wall to save electricity. I have seen many people forget to switch off ceiling fan and light even when they are not sitting in that room. They should not forget it as it may help a lot to save some bit of money. Try to have a habit of sitting in the park/roof and switch off the MCB for at least 2~3 hours in the evening during summer and in afternoon during winters. Also when you are going out of home for holidays and you know no one would be there at home during that time its better to turn down MCB of your house. Also switch OFF refrigerator for few hours that may reduce consumption of electricity and minimize use of it during winters I normally don’t switch ON refrigerator in winters as I don’t find if it is required in winters. Fix your AC to sleep mode that would reduce the consumption of electricity. All members of the family should try to sit in a common room. In addition to this we should not have a separate TV in all the rooms however we should have a common TV installed in the common room where we all could sit and watch it together.

Reduce usage of hot water:

Minimize use of hot water. Try to wash full load of dishes than to wash them in small lots. Try to use cold water where we can like some people have the habit to take bath with hot water in any season so we must not do it. Try to reduce even to wash clothes with hot water if possible. Don’t waste water as these days we need pumps every where to fill tanks which unnecessarily consumes electricity.

Reduce excessive heating and cooling:

Room heaters and AC consumes more power so it’s better to operate them with care and try to fix timings for operating them. Like we use our AC mostly in night that too I switch OFF it in early morning when temperature is not so much and switch on cooler if required. Use localized equipments rather than using central AC or heating system as they consume more power. Always set their temperature not more than 10 degrees less or more than the atmospheric temperature depending on the season. Its better not to use heating systems in winters its lot better to wear warm clothes and to use quilts and blankets. I don’t use heating system at all but then it all depends on the temperature of course if the temperature goes beyond Zero degree then one must find it better to use heating system than to go to see a doctor but then we should minimize its use.

Few other options to save electricity through investing some money:

Check insulation of appliances:

For example one can check heat loss in geysers by toughing it and if you feel the geyser is warm than it may be losing heat and it may be consuming more power so it needs a better insulation. Similarly check for the ceiling fans, exhaust fans, coolers if their bearing is working properly if not then they should be oiled/greased for proper working.

Install efficient lighting:

Compact florescent lamps use 75% less power than old electric bulbs so we must use CFL only to save electricity.They are the best and the basic thing one can do to save energy.

Use of solar heater:

We know sun is rich source of energy and we hardly use its energy for our work. Solar heaters are the best option through which one can save electricity by installing it. This can save at least two third of water heating cost

Insulating ceiling/roofs:

Insulating ceiling /roof nicely can keep home 5 degrees warmer in winter and 10 degrees cooler in summer. More comfortable house temperature always saves power as then we don’t need to make inside temperature comfortable with the appliances.

Always use thermostat and timers in the equipment as that would always save energy by not letting them to operate over the extreme conditions.

These are few tips for saving electricity and ultimately money hope you people will find it worth and start working how to save electricity at your home and at your workplace.

With the arrival of September the season of festivals starts in West Bengal and many other parts of India. Biswakarma Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dashera, Kali Puja, Dipawali, Bhai Tika, Chhat Puja and many others are celebrated at very few days interval. It is a time of extraordinary religious fervour and devotion, fun and frolic, extravagance and indulgence. 

Community worships are a special phenomenon during this season. Millions of rupees are spent on more than lifesize idols, beautifully built "pandals" (makeshift temples to place the idols), electrical decorations and everything that goes with a community worship of a deity.

Where does the money come from?

The money is collected  as puja contribution ('chanda' in the local language) from the households in the neighbourhood, shopkeepers, businessmen, factory owners, trucks and buses passing through the area. Much before the puja season sets in young men go around with collection receipt books, knocking at the doors of local households, visiting shops and factories, stopping vehicles passing through the locality. How much money is one supposed to pay as puja contribution? Most of the time it is left to the generosity of the contributor but quite a few times it is not so. The hapless contributor is supposed to cough up as much money as written on the receipt by the collector. Soon, the puja organising committees get enough money to start the balls rolling.

How is the money spent?

Now, it is the time to open the treasury. The idols are to be bought. Pandals have to be built. Decorators have to be hired. Brahmins(Priests) have to be assigned with the secred duties of offering puja. Drum beaters have to be hired. Some part of the collection will have to be spent on helping the poor with blankets. Poor students may be given copybooks and pens or pencils.  All this is done with a bit of ceremony and exhibition. A common feeding of all who contributed to the treasury has to be organised. Usually, a special dish called "Khichadi" (a mixture of rice, lintel,and vegetables) is served. And, a picnic or a dinner party may be thrown for those who are actively involved in conducting the whole affair. If the fund allows, may be a free entertainment program for all. Some famous singer may be invited to sing from the stage set up for this purpose. A popular actor may be invited to beautify the occasion. He or she would do it for a thick envelope stacked with currency notes. Everyone is happy to hear the singer or see the actor. If they could shake the celebrity's hand, they got  more than their money's worth.

At the end of the puja the idols are immersed in a river or a lake with a lot of noisy sound of music , bursting of crackers and free style dancing.

After the puja the streets wear a forlorn look. The skeletons of the pandals are left standing for a few days more, mourning the departure of the deity. The drums have become silent. People are seen sitting at tea shops or at local clubs talking about the puja days. Everyone looks a bit sad. Everyone finds a huge hole in their pockets.

New standards of being social

A big friends’ list on every social networking sites and big followers list on twitter is a common sign of being social today the people not in this category are not supposed to be called social now. Generally, people take them for old fashioned and unknown of using social networks or unsocial in other words. 

However, do you think so that the one who does not have friends online is backward or old fashioned? At least I am not the one who thinks so despite having almost forty thousand online friends whom I do not know at all in real life although there are a couple of hundred whom I know personally but never communicate with them on these sites. 

Now the question arises about being personal on such sites! What is your comfort level, how for can you reveal about your personal details on these sites? I would say there is no harm sharing your details up to a certain limit because you are a real person and if you have nothing to hide or you are not a fake then there is no harm if your friends around the world know a little bit about you.

When you interact with others on such sites, you always share your views with them and want to know about their feelings and thinking. There is nothing wrong as far as that is not revealing your private information. People would not take you seriously if your interaction level were zero with no personal touch. People understand you better and give you more weightage if they know about your age, social status and job profile etc. Therefore, there is no harm if you share about your job profile, age group, gender and area you live in. 

A platform that keeps you informed

Social networking sites are mainly a platform that keeps you updated about the latest news around the globe and the activities of your friends instantly. This is no more a taboo people used to keep a distance not so long ago. In fact, nothing is too personal unless you want to keep it from your friends. On the contrary, more and more people are coming forward to share smallest of things with friends through messages and tweets for the people who have smallest of values in social circles. This subject may well be a matter of debate as to how does it benefit us reading and liking such news on sites like Facebook but that is trend of the day

This is like writing a diary 

The trend of updating in social networking sites is related to people of certain age group in particular, you can see mostly see users in between Sixteen to thirty five more active on Facebook who update their status regularly thinking like writing a diary. Most of these people are students or associated with a profession. They love to share their schedule of the day with friends and family.

Now most of the networking sites have started resetting their rules of privacy to avoid dangerous effects of misuse of some of the messages and photographs shared. Some users set their privacy to ‘friends only’ but there are dangers of misuse of such content cannot be ruled out if it is too personal or of adult nature. The privacy settings cannot save your data from hackers or do not guarantee that others may not be able to have an access on them.

These sites are addictive 

Social networking sites have become part of the life for almost every one who has access to a computer and internet. These sites have an addictive effect on the user who cannot keep a distance for a long time and finds himself busy with different activities available on such sites. If you watch the activities of your friends regularly, you would find that most of tem do not mind sharing their private life and other routine activities on such site. Only thirty to forty percent people keep their personal matters private and share only limited activities. 

Most of them share while 

• They find themselves upset and no one else to share their problems offline
• They try to express their problems through a photograph or updating their status
• Some of the user want to show themselves off and share social issues to make you aware about their knowledge of the topic
• Female love to gossip and share their outings, shopping, fashion sense, films and matters related to boyfriends.
• Some users keep uploading photographs of the different occasions. They never forget to upload every outing, birthdays, marriages attended and what not. 

I am a user of almost all the social sites

Yes, that is true I am one of the proud user of almost all the networking sites worth their name but I seldom visit them. That is right again, I seldom visit them but I use them all on regular basis through the sites I write for. As every knows that we have a share button every site that works automatically and updates your work if you simply click on them. Like you can see a share section on this article also, that will share this article on your page if you only click it provided you have an account on that particular site. 

You maybe a frequent user of social networking sites but I suggest you to be careful about what you share with your friends because you are not sure that all of your friends are what they pose to be or may not misuse what you share with them. There is no harm as long you do it for fun but sharing personal or private data may harm your cause. People in government jobs where data may reach into wrong hands must be more careful as the government has banned the use of such sites for men in uniform. 

In the end

We can see most celebrities update their status and daily routine because they have a big fan following who wants to know about the life of their favorite stars. The stars also want to remain in touch because that is a way of free publicity for them. However, this is absolutely a personal matter for a particular member of the society as to how he/she looks at the issue and how he shares his information.

Someone once said that a New year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other year.

Why is it important that we stick to our resolutions since most of them were made on the spur of the moment, so easily forgotten.As long as they did not mean anything in the first place one need not pay much importance to them.

But look at it from a different angle, in life we need to take some decisions that may yield positive results for our growth and for the all round benefit of our family,career and our own well being.In these stress and worry filled days individuals need to assess thier life situation every now and then take some decisions. So why not do that on New Year’s day or New Year’s eve?

One has to admit that New Year resolutions normally don’t last very long – sometimes they last only as long as your hangover! We may begin with all sincerity and dedication, but as months roll along , interest and commitment begin to wan. But, it doesnt have to be that way – with regular reviews and assesments , and given the fact that we can stay focussed on our work and career , can’t the same thing work for ressolutions as well ?

It is already September now and the perfect time for assessing how you did on your new year resolutions so far ? With a few more months to go before 2012 draws to a close, this also is the right time to take stock of our current status, tweak our short term goals and set some long term goals , and also focus on converting our dreams into a reality !

How to go about it

First of all , when your mind and you ae relatively free, and not too pre occupied , sit down and list out all the resolutions that you made at the beginning of the year.For making it easier for you divide them into different headers such as Personal,Children,Work, Finance,Health etc;

For example :-Your personal list would probably look like this

Wake up at 6 every morning and Go for a walk everyday

Get organised at home and at work

Your Children list would probably look like this

Spend more time with them alone individually

Listen to them and be understanding and not always dictate and discipline

Your Health list would probably look like this

Lose 15 kilos by the end of the year

Go for regular medical check ups to monitor your blood pressure

Your work list would probably look like this

Stop playing on line and focus on work

Be nice to co-workers and polite to juniors

So, once you make a list of all the different resolutions that you made at the beginning of the year in January or probably even before that on 31st December last year before the new year began, now is the time to assess your performance based on your resolutions.

Assessing yourself

Most of our resolutions aim at growing,evolving and moving out of our comfort zone , which means they help improve self confidence and self esteem. So once you are sure that your resolutions are worth sticking to , you have to go forward and work at it and assess yourself every three months to see how you are faring?

While doing this you have to be absolutely honest sinceit doesnt help you, if you try to overlook certain things and gloss over certain others.You have to assess your performance and also grade yourself.

Be honest and rate yourself on a scale of 1 – 10. Here, 1 indicating poor and 10 outstanding. If you are at the 2’s and 3’s level you really have done precious little, and a score of 5-6 means that you are trying.If your score is 7’s and above it means that you have done well,you can afford to pat your back but keep at it since there are 3 more months left . The same goes for poor scores - you still can do something about them. An average score of 8 and above shows that you are a person who is committed to your word and resolutions no matter what!

How to stick to your resolutions

Once you are sure that your resolutions are worth sticking to the only thing you can do is move forward and do better .Here are some points to consider !

Be Specific

Instead of allowing yourself a vast canavas like I will try to be healthier, focus on what you would do to stay healthier – like join a gym or do workout for so many hours in a week or do yoga or eat a healthy breakfast and have a light early dinner before 8pm.

Where financial issues are concerned – how much you will save each month ? should be put down in facts and figures , like Rs 5,000 a month into PF or a Compulsory saving deposit, also where exactly you are going to cut down spending to make this possible.

Keep it Simple and Sraightforward

Always make your targets achievable otherwise you will lose interest right at the beginningwhen you realise that your target is way beyond your reach. Aiming to lose 10 kilos in a month is a sure shot for diasaster since it is neither healthy nor advisable nor is it possible.Instead if you aim at losing 10 kilos in 6 months with a steady loss of 2 kilos per month, your traget is not only realistic but definitely achievable and even the small weight loss each montn keeps you motivated to achieve your final target.

Time bound Goals

To fulfill resolutions it is essential to map out a plan that lets you measure progress, so that you keep taking stock periodically to check and see that you are on the right track.You may or may not have achieved what you set out to do when the New Year rolled in, but a timely check can ensure that you end the year with most of your resolutions accomplished.

Make a list

Make it short and interesting.If you make an over long list of resolutions you may end up getting disillusioned just by looking at it. Trying to ensure that you do too many things at the same time often spells disaster – it means that you end up vacillating and unable to stick to even one of them.Set yourself a small list. There is always next year for more resolutions.

Don’t Give up when you fail

Its fine to fail or fall once in a while after all we are all human and are capable of making mistakes or giving in to tempatations.Not being able to stick to something does not mean that you will never be able to make it.So, Just because you have failed and gorged on a huge piece of Chocolate cake ,does not mean that it’s over and you can scarp the drop the weight resolution for the year.Instead go back and start all over again and you will succeed.

Finally Reward yourself

You have to remember that resolutions don’t have to mean that your entire life turns dull and grey.If you are aiming at fitness,give yourself a little treat once in a while when you complete a goal - an icecream or a slice of cheesecake , no harm in that as long as you dont make it a habit.

Remember that people with plans that they stick to generally fare better than those who are clueless.When you see changes - small ones in the beginning ,positive changes and bigger changes with time you begin to feel good about yourself and are ready to make some more resolutions ..So you can build your goals and set targets to ensure that you can end the year with most of your missions successfully accomplished.