Time Saving Tips (from a mother of 4)
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No doubt we live in a stressful world. We are supposed to go to work, do our best, take care of our families, eat well, exercise and have a restful sleep. But how on earth is it possible to squeeze everything in those 24 hours? Glad you're here. These tips will help you to save time so you can concentrate on things that matter. How about self-care? Or hugging your loved ones?
5 Time Saving Tips (from a mother of 4)
1. Meal Prep and Batch Cooking
We've all been there - we picked our kids from school, arrived home and then - there's nothing for dinner. All too often we grab a prepackaged meal, turn the microwave on high and everyone's happy, yep? Nope. I won't get into details what do manufacturers put into ready made meals (read this book instead). What I do instead is the so called batch cooking. Under this fancy term hides the process of preparing multiple portions of several meals at the same time and storing them for future consumption. Simply put, when you prepare a meal during the weekend, you double, or even triple the ingredients, cook the meal and store in the fridge or freezer so all you have to do is reheat it when you come home from work. Batch cooking also means prepping such as cutting your veggies in advance in large quantities or freezing small portions of broths, soups and sauces.
2. Online Shopping
Gone are those days when going to the town to shop for groceries and other items was a fun but a time-consuming activity. With a few clicks you can now order everything from a gourmet bottle of wine to the high quality Japanese matcha tea. There are farmer's shops with fruit and veggies boxes that you can order online in almost every town. Some will even ship directly to your doorsteps. Tell me about time-saving healthy shopping! Find an online shop with organic products that ship in your area, order a farmer's box with seasonal fruits and veggies or find a farmer who will prepare a box with fresh products and all you have to do is pick it up.
3. Audio Books
I love learning new things. And I love reading books. But between taking care of four kids, a household, house renovation, studies and business, the time for reading is scarce. You get the picture. That is why I am an avid consumer of audio books. I spend a lot of time in the car commuting to school to pick up my kids and audio books are a sanity saver in a traffic jam. I recently had a good laugh in the car with this book. Check it out, it's raw and directly from the heart.
4. Exercising On The GO
Who has time to go to the gym? Driving there to walk miles on a treadmill? Instead, consider every activity as an exercise. Gardening is exercise, vacuum cleaning is exercise, picking apples from a tree is exercise, walking you dog is exercise, playing with your kids is exercise. You don't have to cancel your subscription to the gym if you like lifting weights, all I'm saying is not to stress just because you didn't have time to go there. Take stairs instead of an elevator, park your car a few blocks away so you can walk a bit. All these activities count. Did our grand-grand parents go to the gym? No. So? Wondering what's the best exercise for longevity? Watch this video!
5. Less Screen Time Means More Free Time
Our phones are incredible tools for keeping us connecting, informed, and (sometimes) productive. However, study after study is starting to show that our screen time habits can have a pretty negative impact on our focus and attention. Get this - most people, on average, spend 3 hours and 15 minutes on phones. And that’s just an average. When we break these numbers down, we see that the top 20% of smartphone users have daily screen time in excess of 4.5 hours.[source] Can you imagine what you could do with those 3 hours? Read a book, start a business, plant a garden, prepare a homemade meal for the whole week and and and. Is Kim's new hair or The Ellen Show so important? No. See? If you think you spend less than 3 hours on your phone daily, install the RescueTime App. You might be surprised! There are some of us, of course, who use phones as a business tool or are working as Social Media Creators. If you are one of these people, at least consider ditching binge watching Netflix in the evening and switch off your phone at least half an hour before going to sleep. Use this time for meditation, a calm conversation with your loved one or for something else (hey, yes, you know what I mean).
6. Simplify nutrition
Almost three years ago, a company reached out to me and asked if I want to be an affiliate with the pioneers in plant based nutrition. I said yes and since then, our family of 6 never goes a day without their shakes, bars or whole food concentrates. It's been an absolute life saver and I am no longer frustrated when my 9 year old refuses to eat arugula. Check out this page, your life will get so much easier!
Happy free time!