Skip These to Save Time
Feature Points:
- Cut corners on some projects to help save time
- Let your children help with housework and chores
- Be especially mindful of how much television you watch
Cutting corners may only save you a few minutes here and there, but that time quickly adds up. No one says you have to practice these habits forever; just long enough to get you through your online program and on to a life with more time to spare.
Below are things you can skip to allow you to spend your time tackling more pressing needs.
Say "Bye-Bye" to…
Making Your Bed
Guests rarely see your bedroom. Therefore you can focus your cleaning efforts on the main parts of your home.
You can always pass the bed-making duties to your children. It won't look perfect, but it'll be good practice for them. Or you can just skip it entirely. You can resume making your bed when life is simpler.
Using Glass Dishes
You set the table, then eat off the dishes, then wash the dishes, then put them away, just to start back over again for the next meal. Although it might cost you a few pennies more, using disposable dishes can save you a lot of clean-up time.
Drying the Dishes
Why waste time busting out that dish towel and drying the dishes. Just strategically stack them up and let air take over. You may have to deal with them sitting their longer, but who cares? You'll be busy studying anyhow.
Cooking from Scratch
You may have culinary skills that would impress even Rachael Ray, but now may not be the best time to demonstrate them.
Cooking from scratch takes a lot of time by shopping for the ingredients, preparing the food and cleaning up what usually ends up being a very messy kitchen. Even if the food isn't as good, it may actually be worth your time to use prepared mixes and foods. You can wow your family with that to-die-for homemade chocolate cake after you get your degree.
Doing a lot of Laundry
No, you shouldn't just let the clothes pile up for weeks at a time. But people these days have a tendency to throw clothes in the wash when they could really be worn one more time.
- Do you really need to wash your jeans after just one night out?
- Do you need a new towel after every shower?
Not usually! Our habit of throwing everything in the hamper right away comes from being too busy to take the time to hang it up. By doing so you are actually wasting more time (and money) by doing more laundry than you need to. So save yourself a load and hang that towel up on the hook.
Ironing
By promptly removing clothes from the dryer when they are done you can avoid wrinkles on most items.
For those shirts that do require a quick brush with a hot iron, just stick them in your closet for now and iron them as the need arises. Then for the time-being just plan on wearing your wrinkle-free clothes.
Answering the Phone
No, you aren't expected to become a hermit, but you can waste a lot of time on the phone if you don't screen your calls. With a tight schedule it's best to let your voice mail take messages and then call people back when you are doing tasks that don't take much thought like folding laundry.
Better yet, make email your preferred choice of correspondence and you'll never have to worry about a long-winded talker on the other end.
Repeatedly Checking Your Email
Unless there is something pressing you are waiting for, you don't need to constantly check your email. You waste precious minutes each time you log on and this is an easy way to get distracted and off schedule.
Plan on checking it a few times a day like morning, noon, and night and handle your replies right then.
Running Unnecessary Errands
Schedule all of your errands and stick to it. Driving to a certain part of town multiple times a week when you can do it all in one trip is a huge waste of time. With a little bit of planning you can streamline your errands and save valuable time as well as money on fuel.
Writing Your Address
When you mail your bills every month, save yourself the trouble of writing out the return address on each envelope. Get some pre-printed address labels, and stick them on each bill, letter, and card you mail.
Cleaning What Isn't Visibly Dirty
When you are busy in a distance learning program you can't expect to win "Housekeeper of the Year."
When you are limited on time you may just have to lower your standards and forget about perfection. Sometimes "good" is good enough. Stick with cleaning just what is visibly dirty and get back to a regular cleaning routine when your schedule lightens up.
Watching Random Television
Of course you should set aside time to watch your favorite shows. But when they are done, turn the tube off.
Watching random television does nothing for your viewing pleasure and quickly sucks your ambition right out of you. Make sure that your time in front of the television is deliberate and you are watching only shows that you really enjoy.
Jennifer Applin is a freelance writer and will soon be the mother of six young children born within a 5-year span. Her writing focuses on strategies for busy parents to juggle it all.
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