This way you save time
Just a quick return to the supermarket, because I forgot to load the crackers into the cart. Stopping at the pump to bring the tank content up to par. With the phone wedged between my left ear and shoulder, because I need to keep my friends a bit updated too. To the editorial office, because - hello - we still have work to do. And then it's bedtime, while I feel like I just finished my breakfast. Does that sound like your day? Sometimes I wonder where I leave my time. As in: it can't be that the day is already over? That calls for tips, serious time-saving tips.
Get up early. Sounds as logical as the scale that shows two kilos more after a weekend of liters of wine and barbecue. If you get up early, you have more time. Just set the alarm an hour earlier tomorrow.
Cook more and less. Make an extra portion of greens and freeze it, stir soup in large pots or make XXL casseroles. With a bit more stock, you cook less again. This saves you at least half an hour three to four times a week. Look, that makes a difference.
Say no. If someone starts a sentence with ‘can you just...’, remember that such things never take ‘just’ a moment. It's time you had planned for something else, so that 'just' takes a part of your day away. So just say no. Ouch, this is a tricky point. But read here for a moment how Rens deals with it.
Turn off your mobile distractions. Kiek has discovered an app (more on that later), but on Friday, she and her phone spent almost six hours together. Six. You roughly sleep eight, work another eight, and spend six hours on your phone. Do the math, those two hours were probably filled with breakfast, a quarter-hour in the bathroom, and an hour of Netflix. My point? Put your phone in another room sometimes.
One thing at a time. Even though women pretend to be multitasking walking wonders, we are not. It has been scientifically proven that you do something faster, better, and more efficiently when you concentrate on one action. So, do you want to save time? Then do one thing at a time. It saves you precious minutes, believe me.
Sleep. Something about a well-rested person counts for two. And with two, you achieve more than alone. Logic.
Set the alarm. Sometimes you completely lose track of time. Work with a timer for time-consuming tasks. This way, you give measured attention to something, without minutes ticking away.
Organize more. A good preparation is half the work. I really can't help it, but if there's a proverb about it, there must be some wisdom in it. If you have to scramble various last-minute productions from your brain, you waste those free hours afterward.
And be realistic. Do you think a quick errand takes twenty minutes? Make it thirty. An hour for lunch with a friend? Make it an hour and a half. This way, you won't be caught off guard timewise and won't have to rush from one place to another. With those few minutes of reading, you've gained hours this week. You're welcome.
