59 INGENIOUS WAYS TO SAVE TIME EVERY WEEK

59 INGENIOUS WAYS TO SAVE TIME EVERY WEEK



Do you feel like there’s never enough time for what you REALLY want to do in life? That you are always stuck in the day to day “stuff” and finish each day wishing that extra hour would appear from somewhere?
You’re definitely not alone.
Most of us feel this way at some point or another, and find that we are constantly searching for ways to change things in some way.
Ways to save time each week

WHAT’S THE ANSWER?

The trick is simply to maximise the time that we do have.
If we can make every minute count as much as possible, we should find that the day to day “stuff” doesn’t take over too much and we can have more time for what we really want to be doing.
It’s creating that extra hour without the need for time travel!
…sound good?
To help you along the way I’ve put together my top tips for how to save time each and every week. 63 of them to be exact!
I really hope that they help you take back control a little and make time for what’s important for you…
(don’t forget – I’d love to know if you have any other tips to share, so don’t forget to leave a comment at the end of this post if you have a great time saving tip of your own – thanks in advance x)
Now – let’s get straight to it, shall we…

#1 – GROUP SIMILAR TASKS TOGETHER

If you can group things together in your week (errands, phone calls, paying bills etc…) then you will get them done much faster than if you did each one as and when it cropped up.
You will already have what you need out, and your head will be ready to tackle that specific thing – so go for it!

#2 – MEAL PLAN

Planning out your meals each week will take a little time, of course it will – but you only have to do the thinking once and you can reuse the plan again and again.
Meal plans save time because you don’t have to open the cupboards each day and work out what to cook, and you don’t have to take extra trips to the shops to get food because you will have bought your food shop knowing what meals you are cooking for.

#3 – PUT THINGS BACK AFTER YOU’VE USED THEM

It can be so frustrating to go to get something and it not be where you though it was.
You spend minutes/hours searching for it – and that’s all wasted time.
Creating the habit of putting everything back once you’ve finished with it will reap rewards immediately!

#4 – MAKE EVERY OUTING COUNT

You know you need to pick the kids up from school – so why not add in a few errands on the way?
Making each trip you do count as much as possible means you have to take fewer journeys overall – saving lots of time over the course of a week.
TIP – Have a basket by the front door with things that need to go out of the house. You can just grab them when you leave! This works really well for things like library books, dry cleaning, post, borrowed items etc…)

#5 – DOUBLE UP WHEVER YOU CAN

I spend a lot of my life sitting down writing this blog, and as such I wanted to start walking a little more. I also wanted to spend time with my friends each week but we tended to sit and have a coffee. It was an easy win, therefore, when I suggested grabbing a coffee while out on a walk with them. This meant I was doing everything I wanted to do, but in a much smaller timescale. Perfect!
Can you think of ways that you can double up in your life – so you still do everything but in less time?

#6 – WEAR THE SAME EACH DAY

I don’t literally mean you wear the same clothes every day, but having a type of outfit that is your go-to style can make choosing what you wear so much easier and quicker.
Create a sort of uniform that you can mix and match, and you’ll be ready in next to no time! The less decisions you have to make each day, the more time you’ll save.

#7 – TURN OFF SOCIAL MEDIA

We all know that a quick glance at Facebook is never just a few seconds.
Before we know it, an hour has passed and we’ve done nothing apart from know what’s going on in other peoples lives…
Turning it off completely, or at least setting a strict time limit for it each day will save you hours a week!

#8 – FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

While some multi tasking works – most doesn’t…
If you have to concentrate on something, it pays to give it your full focus as you will naturally get it done much faster.
Take away as many distractions as you can and you’ll realise that you can save hours each week as a result.

#9 – MULTITASK WHEN IT WORKS TO DO SO

Multitasking is a way of saving time – when it’s done right (otherwise you end up with no focus, as already stated in point #8 above).
It works when the tasks you are doing don’t require as much concentration – or at least one of them doesn’t.
For example – you can unload the dishwasher or put a load of washing on really easily while making a phone call to a friend.

#10 – READ USING AUDIOBOOKS

One of the best things I have found to save time is to listen to books** rather than read them.
This is because you can do other things at the same time – you aren’t simply sitting down and focusing on the book.
I love to listen when driving – or cleaning the house! Try it and you may find you love it too!

#11 – FOOD SHOP ONLINE

Food shopping can take a morning if you’re not careful.
Travelling to the shops, walking around each aisle and making decisions on what to buy, looking at special offers, queuing, and travelling home.
Why not save all this time by setting up a regular delivery online**?
Most supermarkets now offer this service for a small fee (which I feel is worth paying for the time saved) – and you can even save time deciding what to buy as they will save your favourites in a list so you don’t need to search through every time either.

#12 – WIPE DOWN THE SHOWER

It may seem like this takes more time rather than less, but over the course of the week you save lots of scrubbing time than if you left the water on the glass.
I love using a squeegee** for this job, and just keep this right in the shower so it’s handy when the shower goes off each time.

#13 – USE WAITING TIME

There are so many times each week that we find ourselves in a queue of some sort. Waiting at the doctors, in a shop, waiting for someone to pick up the phone etc… – so why not use this otherwise wasted time to get some stuff done?
It’s easy to sort through your email on your phone, read a magazine article, write a letter etc… – and then they’re done and out of the way!

#14 – COOK IN BULK

It takes the same amount of time to cook double or even triple for a meal, but if you can get into the habit of cooking more than you need you can save all the prep time another day!
Simply let the food cool down and freeze what’s left – then you have a really quick and easy meal on a day when time is short.

#15 – DELEGATE

Don’t become a martyr to your housework. You don’t have to do it all yourself.
Whether you get the family more involved, or hire some help (even a couple of hours a month can make a massive difference) – you can get some much needed time back for yourself pretty easily.

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