As every working parent knows, time is a scarce commodity more valuable than gold. Finding new ways to squeeze every second out of a typical day and get as much done honoring all your obligations can feel like a mountain too high to climb. Thankfully, we have put together this list of time-saving tips to help busy, working parents achieve just a bit more each day and feel less stressed doing it.
- Delegate/Ask for Help - When there is too much on your plate juggling the kid's activities, additional stuff at work and you can’t seem to find any relief, ask a friend or family member for help. Anything they can help with to free up extra time will make a big difference. On the weekends, have kids “help out” cleaning up the garage or working on a project. Make it fun by turning it into a competition or game. This way you can spend family time together but also get some household chores done as well.
- Double Up on Recipes for Lots of Leftovers (Easy Reheat) - When making dinner consider doubling the recipe, so you always have a quick reheat meal ready to go for those nights when the time is dwindling quickly. Don’t worry about being the perfect parent and serving up a freshly cooked meal every night; your sanity is worth more than your reputation, and the kids won’t care.
- Hire Someone for Pickup/Drop Off of the Kids or Carpool with a Neighbor - Dropping off or picking up the kids can take up an enormous amount of time each week. Just by hiring someone for these two tasks or carpooling with a friend or neighbor can free up a lot of extra time. On those mornings when you don’t have the kids, go to the office extra early, before anyone else and get a lot done. On the evenings when you don’t have to pick up the kids, you can stay extra late and accomplish even more.
- Assign a Time Limit to Each Task and Stick to It - A fantastic way to manage time, especially if you never have enough of it, is to assign a time limit to each task and when the time is up, move onto the next item. Limiting your time may seem counter-productive, but it helps on a subconscious level. Your brain knows you only have a specific amount of time to complete your task and therefore works more efficiently to accomplish it on time. It also gives you a relief valve knowing that the job will end at a particular time, and you will reward yourself with a forced break.
- Use Your Lunch Hour Wisely - This golden nugget of time is perfect for many tasks that are hard to accomplish at any other time of day. Use the Internet to pay bills online, check on the kids (nanny-cam or other similar services), schedule appointments, and even order products for home delivery. Just spending half of your lunch hour crossing things off your to-do list will ease the stress of the rest of your day. Use your lunch break efficiently every day and watch your whole week improve.
- Take the Kids to Work on the Weekend - There is no better time to get a lot of work done than on a weekend when no one else is in the office, no phones are ringing, and no emails are coming in. However, if you have children, this can present a problem. The solution, bring the kids to work. Bring plenty of toys, snacks and things to keep them occupied. Set them up in the conference room or another office while you get some quality work done. The kids will love going to work with mom or dad and view it as a field trip. While you get points for the fun adventure, you also get caught up on work before your busy week.
- Prioritize Your Time - Juggling family and work is hard enough, but when faced with an invitation to do something extra, it can quickly reach Take a minute to determine whether or not it is worth your time and the stress. Do you really need to attend the company picnic or your third cousin’s barbecue? Does the lawn need to be mowed or can it wait a week (or even better, outsourced)? Prioritize what is most important and cancel any extra events and activities to help free up time and relax your schedule.
- Track Your Time - What are you doing each day? There are some great time-tracking mobile apps such as Tyme 2 where you can use timers to track your entire day’s worth of events. Try it for a full week to see where you can regain some free time. Perhaps you have a habit of reading the online news before work or checking the sports scores during lunch. You may find that freeing up these short bits of time and using them for other tasks can be the difference between having a stressful or non-stressful workday.
- Prepare the Night Ahead – Remember when you were little and your mom laid out your clothes the night before? This same practice can be a lifesaver when you are juggling work, home, and kids. Do as much as you can the night before. Get the kid's clothes ready, pack lunches, have your bags packed and even try showering in the evenings instead of morning. Anything you can do the night before shaves precious minutes off the morning bustle.
- Organize Everything - Keep everything in your home and office organized. There are dozens of great resources for keeping kids toys, clothes and office items in their proper place. Stick to routines and habits so that you don’t waste precious time hunting around for things. For example, always put your car keys in the same place every night when coming home. This way you will never lose them and frantically search when you need to be in the car on the way to daycare. And if you always seem to misplace your keys, you can get a wireless “key finder” on Amazon for less than $20 that will keep four items as far as 100 feet away within easy reach with a loud beep and a blinking light!
We live hectic lives these days, and every bit of timesaving helps ease our stress. These tips can add minutes or even hours to your busy week and help put a smile on your previously stressed face.
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