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 was using the timer method till I broken my kitchenade timer!! I like to make freezer meals to save time later or you forget to take something out!
Don't sweat the small stuff! Cliched, but true. As long as the family is healthy and happy, then everything is good. Easy recipe: Taco Soup. Brown hamburger meat and drain. Add 1 drain can of black beans, 1 can of corn, and one package of taco seasoning to drained hamburger meat in a pot. Warm it up. Top with cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. Crumble tortilla chips as a garnish on top. *Note: I always opt for low sodium/ sodium free options as this could get very high in sodium very quickly.*
I love to make lists, meal plan for the upcoming week and share a digital calendar with family members
My favorite easy recipe is a chicken salsa turn the oven on to 4:25 spray a glass or Teflon baking dish and add your boneless skinless chicken breast use a jar of salsa mix in one teaspoon Dijon mustard one tablespoon honey stir together and pour over the chicken add whatever shredded cheese you like to top it with and bake for the half an hour serve with rice and salad it's a really good easy quickmeal
I make a list of everything I need to do, and underneath I will write a few things I can/want to do. I will finish my "to-do" list and if I finish early I'll get started on the rest! For a quick fix meal My family really loves tortellini with pesto sauce. Fresh tortellini takes about 5/8 minutes to cook add pesto sauce and you've got a quick easy delicious dinner
My easiest meal is sloppy joes. Cook up some ground beef, add a can of slopyy joe mix and put on buns. Serve with chips and you have a 20 minute meal.
My favorite tip is to ake meals on the weekends for the week.
I always multitask. I also try to make chores fun and get the whole family involved.
I keep a running list of what I need, need to do on my phone. I am more organized when I go out and do errands and save time.
Make a list
At night before I go to bed, I make sure everything is tidy, I prepare food, clothes to wear and lists of things to do for the following day. My easy quick recipe is boiling ziti and then putting in a baking dish with pasta sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 min and serve with a salad and garlic bread.
My quick fix food is chicken tacos. We eat lots of chicken so I buy a couple rotisseries on Sunday so I have it to shred and use. For chicken tacos: Shred chicken and put in skillet with some green enchilada sauce and taco seasoning until warm. Heat some tortillas and a can of refried beans while the chicken is heating and then chop whatever veggies. Dinner on the table in about 15 minutes!
I use everytime I have and divide it throughout the day. I workout with my husband to enjoy quality time while staying fit . I talk to family while getting some work done on my pc that way I have some me time . I am good at multitasking to reduce time for stuff i need to do and keep me time
My idea is actually on here-binge watch while doing laundry/ dishes/ organizing.
My favorite tip to same time: I usually cook 2 meals on Sunday... which free up one day of cooking. And if I am lucky enough to have leftovers from that days dinner then it actually free up 2 days of cooking.