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It seems like everything takes longer than expected and more often than not longer than it should. It is not always due to something that we did or did not do. A traffic accident or the call to customer service that turns into a half hour on hold are beyond your control. There is not much we can do about these things. But there are some little ways to save time everyday. They will add up to a better add with a little effort.
The problem is that when these things happen, everything else has to change. We put other things on hold or skip them all together. Like exercising! Cleaning is often neglected or we stay up to get it done.
Now what we were doing suffers since we are tired doing it and our bodies suffer. Not getting enough sleep makes the next day harder on us. We are more likely to eat bad and not think as clearly. When we don’t think as clearly mistakes are made and we need to redo things. This is the time when we cause things to take longer. This leads into us repeating the day before trying to do more than we really can in one day. There cycle keeps repeating and we get nowhere.
I am sure that this is you or someone you know. It seems there is little we can do to stop it. The world is just busier than it ever was before. We feel the need to keep up with everything. But just because we feel like that doesn’t mean that we really need to. You can save time by not doing everything.
In order to get your life back you will need to stop the cycle. A change to your day should be started when you have some free time. Either a day off or maybe a stay-cation of a few days would work. You will need to start implementing some of these things to keep you ahead of the game at first. Once you can stay ahead of the game you will then want to start adding different tips to your routine.
In the beginning you will want to choose 2 – 4 things that you feel will give you an immediate boost in your time saving. Give it a few weeks before you try the next one. Add only one or two at a time. Do it only until you feel that you are getting the most out of your day.
Here are some ideas to get you going:
Online
1 Use email filters – Email takes so much time to get through. You can set up folders so that you can route certain emails into each folder. You can also flag important senders so that you see the most important emails to you first. Also setting up your spam filters will help.
2 Set up another email account – New websites sometimes end up sending spam. Another account used for signups keeps it separate from your regular emails. This means that you don’t need to check it often.
3 Social media neglect – You can be a social media slacker. It will be okay if you don’t check every five minutes. It does not mean that you are out of touch, it just means you have a life. Set a few times a day and stick to it. This could save you quite a bit of time each day. Reclaim your life and save time.
4 Rescue your time – Rescuetime.com is a great tool to track how much time you are spending on each site. You can setup what sites you use as business and what are distractions to you. It is something that I use on a daily basis to keep myself in line with my online time. Free sign up with limited tools. The paid plan is just $9 a month.
5 Passwords – Use a password saver. You can use one like lastpass.com This is cheap at just $3 a month. It will allow you to use more difficult passwords and not worry about using the same across all sites. Which will make you at risk to hackers. If you use Norton’s Internet Security they have a password saver that works great. It is what I use.
Money
6 Auto pay – Put your bills on auto pay and stop taking the time to pay them. It saves time and helps to be sure that you are never late. Bonus!
7 Amazon Subscribe & Save – Schedule your deliveries. Not only will you save money with some items, but also the time to do the shopping. This is something that is simple and you can start today.
8 Shred it – Shred all bills or statements that have personal information on it. Don’t forget expired credit cards too. You will save time if you keep this information safe. If you don’t it could cost you a lot of time if it ends up in the wrong hands.
Schedule
9 Morning madness – Plan your days so that you do your least favorite, but most important things in the morning. Exercise is one of the most common things to check off your to do list. Whatever you do it should be something that you will get a huge benefit from and that has been getting ignored.
10 Rush away from Rush hour – If you can go into work earlier, do it. You can avoid the rush hour traffic. It will also allow you to leave earlier and avoid the late afternoon traffic. Depending on your job you may be able to do this and not know it. All you need to do is ask. Also depending on your job ask it you can work from home. Even it is only one or two days a week it could make a huge difference.
11 Shop off peak hours – Run your errands off hours. This will mean less people on the road and in the stores. Shorter lines are excellent for you to be able to save time too. Also remember to not shop just before a holiday when everyone else is as well.
12 Night time prep – Prepare for the morning in the evening. Simple tasks can be done the night before. Get clothes laid out. Breakfast and lunch can be put together (or at least in part) and finished quicker in the morning. This is especially great for getting the kids out the door in the morning quicker and without as much fuss.
Everyday
13 Fridge list – Use a dry erase board that is either on the fridge or next to it so you can write things that you are out of or low on. Then you will know that you get everything you need at the store the first time. This will avoid those second trips because you forgot something. And no one likes having to do that.
14 Keep healthy – Healthy habits are difficult with little down time. Eat well and get your exercise even if all you have are a few minutes a day.
15 Junk the mail – Use the touch it once method. When the mail comes in look through it and decide where it will go. Junk in the garbage, and bills or other correspondence in a place you designate it.
16 Just call – It can be quicker to call someone instead of text or email. Not only does it take time to write it, proof read it and send, but if they don’t understand you may need to do it again. An old fashioned phone call can make it much easier and quicker with the other person knowing exactly what you mean.
17 Get a to-do list – A to do list is vitally important to accomplishing anything. There are a number of ways to do it, but the main ways are either on paper or digital. I do both. I use google calendar for more long term to-do’s and use paper for the everyday items. Highlight a paper list different colors for different tasks.
18 Get your Zzz’s – As I said before if you’re not sleeping you won’t get things done and it will cost you more time. Mistakes will happen from lack of sleep.
19 Lists are your friends – Always use a list when you are shopping. If you know the store well you can even make the list in order of when you will walk pass each item in then store. Dry goods should be done first. I go through the dairy section, fresh meat and then frozen after. I know the order and my list lines up perfectly and saves time. It also helps not having refrigerated or frozen food in the cart any longer than needed.
20 Double duty – Cook once and eat twice. If you double up a recipe it will take a little more time, but not as much as cooking twice. Freeze the second portion and you have a meal ready to go quickly for lunch or dinner the next day
This is just a short list to get you started. There are more things that you could do to save time, but you need to get started. Remember just start slow.
