It's a rare day that I don't fall into bed thinking about how busy the day was. I sometimes ask, what am I doing wrong? But when I talk to friends, they all say the same thing: life is busy, it's impossible to get everything done!
I refuse to accept this. There must be ways to save time and still enjoy life without it running us all ragged. So I polled some friends and got some great ideas. Then I tried them out. Read on to find out which tips worked for me - and can work for you too!
How do you save time? Tell us for the chance to win a $50 gift card to either Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts (winner's choice!) and a cute kitchen timer. Plus, submit an easy recipe for a bonus prize. If we use your recipe in an upcoming blog post, we'll send you a $25 Amazon gift card to say thanks!
Most experts say that if you are doing two things at the same time, you are not doing either of them well. I beg to differ. On tasks when my brain runs on autopilot, I'm much more efficient when I multitask. For example...
Make a boring chore fun and you'll want to get to it, like ironing while binge-watching TV or cleaning the bathroom while listening to a podcast.
Exercise with a friend: you'll be getting healthier and finding out the latest gossip. Schedule in a weekly time on your calendar and you'll be more likely to stick with it.
Use waiting time, like your train-commute or your kid's gymnastics class, to cross a few things off your to-do list, That quiet time is perfect for finding dinner recipes, ordering groceries online, or doing vacation research. Alternatively, save that time to catch up on social media, and then resist checking your Facebook feed the rest of the day.
Plan for the unpacking while you are shopping: When unloading groceries from your cart to the conveyor belt at checkout, group them in order of where they go in the house, so they get bagged in that order (dairy together, fruit together etc). Then the groceries are easier to unpack when you get home.
Reminder: My kitchen timer gets a lot of use, but not just for cooking. It's the perfect way to remind me to get things done. For example, I put it on when I throw in a load of laundry so I don't forget to put the wet clothes in the dryer.
Deadline: Timers are also a good way to create an artificial deadline, like when I'm going through the pile of papers my kids brought home from school. I just put on the timer and try to get it all done in 5 minutes - it forces me to make decisions more quickly and keep me focused.
Note: Make sure the timer is in another room and doesn't stop beeping until you manually turn it off. Is it annoying? Definitely. But does it force me to stop what I am doing and change the laundry? Yes.
There are three ways to enter:
*One lucky commenter, Tweeter or Instagrammer will be chosen at random to receive a $50 gift card to the winner's choice of either Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, plus a Hitechway Cute Digital Count-Down Up Kitchen Timer. Giveaway is open through August 27th, 2017 to U.S. residents at least 18 years of age. Entrants must be a member of SheSpeaks. If you are not a member, click here to join. Winner will be notified by email.
I try yo save time by planning and making meals ahead for our busy week!
I use Evernote app & created a To Do List. It then sends me reminders and I don't have to use paper or post its. Which I always have a chance of loosing. Easiest receipe is meatball subs. Warm meatballs (frozen store bought) with spaghetti sauce. Warm hot dog buns with cheese slices. Top buns with meatball mixture. Serve with fries, tots or chips.
An easy crock pot recipe I love invlolves chicken, coca-cola and BBQ sauce. Chicken and half a can of coke in the crock pot for 4 hours on high. Take the chicken out drain the coke. Add the rest of your can of coke and a cup of BBQ sauce and mix together put the chicken back in for 30-1 hour
getting kids to help out!!!
Best easy recipe (that is so quick, simple AND cheap): tuna casserole. Boil some pasta (I usually use rotini) and lay it all out flat in a casserole dish. In a pot on medium heat, mix together some frozen veg (I like peas and corn), salt and pepper, a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup and a couple cans of drained tuna, until everything is hot. Add a little milk if you want to thin it out (depending on the soup you've used), but I don't usually need to. Pour over the pasta, grate a little layer of cheese over top and stick it in the oven on broil until the cheese has melted. Done! SO GOOD.
I try to have my information handy on the refrigerator so everyone can see it on paper. I like making grilled ham and cheese. I love it so much. I can never go wrong there.
Make realistic to do list one day at a time. Whole chicken (cut in half) seasoned and place on roasting pan, add onion, peppers, potatoes and veggies. Cook on grill until done.
My fave breakfast meal is Wasa crackers and literally any kind of spread, or pb, or lunchmeat or salmon (so good!). It's quick and the crackers never fall apart. My fave way to make life easier is always using my Evernote app and updating it throughout the day. People always wonder how I remember everything!!
I save time by syncing all calendars together
I have a list of items to do each day on my cell phone.
My favorite way to make life easier is to pack my lunch the night before. I love to put leftovers in my mini crockpot to reheat for lunch at the office. My favorite quick recipe is sautéed veggies with pasta. Takes about 20 minutes to cut up your favorite veggies, sauté in olive oil with your favorite spices (use premixed seasoning to save time), and pour over your favorite pasta (I love the veggie twists for this). Simple and nutritious.
My favorite way is to plan everything out before hand. Make lists and make reminders for future endeavors so I'm not surprised when they do arrive. My favorite quick recipe is Fried Rice. We always have rice in our rice cooker so I grab an egg and scramble it and fry it up then ill just grab some rice from the cooker and throw it in a frying pan, I add some soy sauce, garlic, and pepper and voila its done. Quick easy and filling.
My favorite way to make my life easier is keeping a calendar keeping appointments Or using post it notes as reminders I even use alarm clocks set up on my phone to keep me alert
My favorite way is to plan everything out before hand. Make lists and make reminders for future endeavors so I'm not surprised when they do arrive. My favorite quick recipe is Fried Rice. We always have rice in our rice cooker so I grab an egg and scramble it and fry it up then ill just grab some rice from the cooker and throw it in a frying pan, I add some soy sauce, garlic, and pepper and voila its done. Quick easy and filling.
I set timers and put post its on things like library books etc. I make lists organizing by store and isle number