Hello,
With autumn leaves falling, and the holidays around the corner, it’s one of those seasons of the year when time seems to become more scarce and more precious. So for this post we’ve spoken to our friends and family and asked them for their best tips for saving time. The list is rather eclectic, with ideas for shopping, cleaning and being more productive – we hope you find something useful!
TEN Tips to save time
- Put things away as soon as you’ve used them. A few seconds now saves things piling up and needing a lot more time and effort to put them away later.
- Store cleaning products in the room you use them, rather than a central location. There are more details here
- Polish silver jewelry in next to no time by laying it in a single layer on top of a sheet of aluminum foil, lightly crumpled in a baking tray. Sprinkle it with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and pour boiling water over the top – everything will fizz up. Leave it for a few minutes to settle, then pull out the jewelry with tongs, and rinse. That’s it!
- Put your phone in airplane mode, so you don’t get distracted by email and notifications.
- Ask friends for recommendations for products or services, instead of getting lost in online searches.
- Buy holiday gifts and greeting cards throughout the year when you see them – don’t wait and wonder and have to come back later.
- Make a digital, re-printable shopping list for all the groceries you buy regularly, so you don’t have to recreate it each time. List items in the order you would find them as you go around the store. Or order your groceries online; the delivery fee may be well worth the time you save.
- Double up. When you’re meal plannning, remember it takes the same amount of time to shop for and make more than you need, and if you double up your quantities you can freeze soups, pastas, casseroles in individual serving portions to save preparation time later. We have a delicious soup recipe here
- Say no quickly to things you can’t or would rather not do. This can be hard if you don’t want to upset a friend or feel like you are letting them down, but telling someone you’ll get back to them and then wrestling with how to respond takes time and emotional energy. Get into the practice of simply saying no, without feeling like you have to justify why: ‘I’m so sorry, I can’t this time’ or ‘I’m not available that day’.
- When you make a decision, act on it. Otherwise the temptation is to revisit your thinking and second guess yourself, and then it takes twice as long to get to the same end.
When you have saved the time, remember to budget some time for yourself. Mark time on your calendar that is just for you, to do something that will give you energy – go for a walk among those autumn leaves, make yourself a cup of tea or hot chocolate, soak in a bath, read a magazine….
After all, in the end, it’s time well spent that is the most important thing.
Until next time,
Sam and Claire
PS If you have other time-saving tips you’d like to share with our readers, please do so in the comments; thank you!