Blunders

Any hints on avoiding blunders?  I practice puzzles and take lessons but when playing daily games (and there is no rush) I continually make stupid blunders giving away pieces.  I take my time but somehow immediately after moving I see my horrible error.

One thing I noticed is that whenever I make a really bad blunder, I'll usually see it almost immediately after I've made the move... too late to prevent disaster, of course, but...

Here's a trick that I used to use in over-the-board tournaments.

After I've decided on a move but before I actually play it, I will first compose a little mental image of myself reaching forward, making the move on the board, writing it down on the scoresheet, and then sitting back in my chair. 

Quite often, I will suddenly spot the blunder at that point... in that little moment of relaxation that comes with the dissipation of tension "after making my move". Although of course, since this is just a composed mental image, I haven't actually made the move yet... or even touched the piece. So it is easy to wipe away that mental image, recalculate, and decide on a different move to play.

Yeah brother someone taught me this. Simply   with EVERY move keep this in mind. Look for checks, threats and captures. Also happy new year to you and your family.hope that helps. Lmk.

I used to do that, but it is now illegal (in tournament play) to write down your move first.

Although this is my biggest bane as well i try to ask 3 things for myself and my opponent.  

Is there a threat to my/their king?

Is there a threat to my/their pieces?

Is there threat to my/their position?

Also in complex positions I will play the move in my head and ask those questions again.

Another trick that helps me if I am playing too fast I will take my hands off the mouse and only touch it when I've analyzed the move.

One last thing is no matter how good you think your combination or idea is, don't blindly make your next move in the combo without reanalyzing the position.  Sometimes you can catch a missed variation before its too late.

I have been out of chess for the last 8 or 9 years, so I had not heard that you could not write the moves down...   Thanks for the update.