Be A Stress Free Mom With These Ten Practical Tips To Save Time
by Linda Hampton
Are you a Mommy stressed for time and what Mom isn't? Do you feel like 24 hours isn't sufficient time to get everything done? Well, here are several practical ways that you can do to save time without making sacrifices:
1. Planning meals for the entire week. When you’ve listed down all the ingredients for the meals that you will prepare, it means that the grocery trip would only be done once. Rushing to the store is avoided. When you’ve planned your meal, it also means that you’re not as tempted to go to the restaurant. You save both time and money as a result. If you need some help with your planning, you can search recipes online.
2. Sticking to your schedule for the day. There’s a lot to be said for being organized and strictly following your itinerary. When you have it mapped out, you focus on the current task instead of worrying about keeping them all in a balance. It’s a good idea to know all your family members’ plans too. That way, you help each other out and nothing is set aside.
3. Keeping lists. Honestly, it feels so good when you cross off the items on your list. Keeping a list helps keep you on track and lets you avoid making mistakes or worse, forgetting about a task altogether. It lessens your worrying too.
4. Being organized. This saves you the most time. When you know where things are and how each aspect fits into the picture, you’ll get rid of the stress associated with your responsibilities. Staying organized is the key however, since it’s very easy to get your things all in a clutter.
5. Getting errands done in a single trip. To accomplish errands the most efficient way, get them all done at one time if possible. You can’t imagine the wasted minutes or hours that are spent waiting for the next task. When you intertwine jobs with errands, you're exposing yourself to the danger of getting distracted.
6. Delegating if you can. There can't be a way for you to accomplish all the chores yourself. Gratefully, we have family members and co-workers who can assist us.
7. Eliminating distractions. Don't do a lot of multi-tasking. You will find that when you’re working on the computer, turning off the social networking sites will actually mean that you’ll have more time for them later on. Doing so also has the desirable effect of maintaining the quality of your tasks.
8. Knowing when to say no. Sometimes, you will be required to accomplish more than one person could possibly do. I suggest that you decline properly and either delegate or reschedule the task.
9. Using idle time wisely. When you're driving or waiting for a meeting to begin, there are a number of productive things you can do. You can respond to text messages and emails, plan your report, or make the shopping list.
10. Grouping similar tasks. If there are tasks that you can do simultaneously, then you better schedule them to be accomplished together. While talking on the phone, there are chores that you can do. Or you can rearrange and clean at the same time.
As you use these tips you'll soon realize stress free living is closer then you think. Saving time means that you can have more time for things that are most valuable to you. Managing one’s time also means that you can keep your lifestyle. Apply these ideas and you’ll soon find that you have a lot of time for yourself.
Linda Hampton RN, MSN a Wellness and Stress Management Breakthrough Life Coach is the publisher of Transition Your Life, a free 5-part ecourse full of revealing information to help you deal with the stressful changes in your life. |