Over the next few days at least try to make a point of finishing what you start. Your mind won't always be on what you are doing. Snags at home or on the work front will be distracting and could make you forgetful. A few battles need to be faced. You will feel torn between duties to your work colleagues and responsibilities to family. You can't always please everyone this week so be prepared for some long faces!

Your choice today is to either accept a challenge positively and with enthusiasm or yield under pressure. To maximize your potential, aim to live fully and see the possibilities in all situations. Getting irritable and angry at hassles and headaches blocking your way will only lead to you giving up too easily; we all have hard choices, and the decisions you make today will determine the consequences of any situation.

It's not a particularly good time for buying or selling; you might feel someone has conned you in some way. If you're selling an item you no longer use or you have never liked, it could be more valuable than you think. Be extra careful when dealing with old and precious items. In fact, have them valued first. You want to be the one who comes out on the better side of this deal, don't you?

A friend or colleague's dismissive attitude towards something you feel is important is going to annoy you. So why hide it? You don't want to make waves. But you could be so adept at acting a part that you fool others into believing you aren't bothered when you are! If you are more open about your feelings by the end of the day others will show a distinct change of tune. This proves some people aren't as insensitive as they appear.

A moody or unpredictable associate causes some contention at the start of the day. By early afternoon, the dust from any upset of earlier will have settled. You will be back in an easy going frame of mind. You might be invited to join a new group or club in your locality and before you know it your name will be put forward to join the committee. No question about it: you will sit comfortably in the role of chairperson.

You might wonder whether you and those spending the day with you are speaking the same language. The more you try to convince those around you that your suggestions and plans are worth developing, the harder it is to get them to take you seriously. You have put a lot of time and effort into forming your ideas and you see no reason to alter them to suit other people. For this reason persevere.

Whether you are trying to sell a business or financial plan to someone whose backing you need, be organised about it. With Mercury still retrograde, you can't be too careful at this time. Write down all the good points before opening discussions. Give people a chance to weigh up the pros and cons. In most areas, the more efficient and confident you look and sound, the greater your chances of success will be.

Be prepared, plan ahead and be organised over the days ahead if you want to avoid making careless mistakes. Rather than beginning on a new project without having thought it all through, this is the day to sort out all details in your mind. You might sense someone is trying to prevent you from moving forward and quite justifiably you won't want to share all of your plans with them. In some areas the more secretive you are the better.

A hectic, almost frantic program could cause a degree of friction today. You may have to turn down some requests when you can't possibly fit in everything expected of you. To complicate matters further, someone could remind you of something you were supposed to do but still haven't got around to. This is yet another job you must leave for later in the week. Even so you will do it as you don't want to let anyone down.

If your partner and friends are asking more from you now it's because they believe you can handle the load. What they may not realise is how much pressure you are actually under! It may become necessary to call a halt to relationship trends that are becoming a habit. People can't keep putting further demands on you and they must realise you have your limits too. Before taking on more than you are able to handle, take a leaf out of everyone else's book: delegate!

Avoid being too stubborn about your own professional views as colleagues have some good ideas too. New suggestions being put forward by others deserve your consideration. In this way, by throwing in more thoughts of your own you will be able to arrive at some useful and time saving conclusions. Later in the day a friend you can never say no to will talk you into lending them some money!

Before revealing what you hope to do over the days ahead, double check you haven't overlooked anything important. Spend time quietly tying up any loose ends of the past and that way fault finding people can't accuse you of jumping from one task to another without completing anything. One project in particular could receive a boost, perhaps as a result of you using your imagination.