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Arete Warriors – spirit, mind, body strong
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Some tricks to make your life easier
Dear Reader,
Do you wish you had more time in your day?
If you did, what would you fill it with? Would you just put more on your to do list? Would you snuggle more with your kids? Read more? Exercise?
Before reading the rest, decide now. Truly.
Finish this sentence, thoughtfully.
If I had more time in each day I would _______________.
I wish I could hold you to that.
I’m going to give you some tricks to save you time & hopefully just make your life easier.
But I’m not doing it so you can just shove more busy-ness into your day. Prioritizing is probably the answer to all our time-woes honestly.
Let’s Prepare – the warm up
Go to bed & wake up 10 minutes earlier.
10 minutes can make a difference. Let’s be honest, those last 10 minutes of your day are probably not essential to your success or overall happiness & if you had even 10 extra minutes each morning, you’d probably be a lot less stressed.
Organize your day. Make lists.
Research shows that lists really do help us use our time more wisely AND reduce our stress in doing so.
A. If your brain is filled with the clutter of the million tasks you have to do, it will not function at an optimal rate &
B. if you can look at a list instead of asking, “What should I do next?” you’ll save yourself some time not having to remember.
I go a step further & have my lists (in my phone) organized into
- Office
- Home
- Needs/ Wants
- Errands
If I’m out & about & have 15 minutes before I have to be somewhere, I glance at the Errands list.
If I’m at my desk & have some time, I look at my Office list.
If I’m out shopping & see table cloths, I have a note in my phone that reminds me the size I need.
I honestly don’t know how people do life without lists.
Plan ahead.
Many swear by the Sunday, 1-hour meal prep system. I personally don’t do it. I just cook extra when I cook.
I try to look at our week & know how many nights we will actually be at home for dinner when I’m at the grocery store & grab enough meat & veggies for that many meals.
Izak is a 15 year old boy who is constantly looking for his next meal. I can see how many would just resort to having chips & other snack foods on hand.
We have chips, but we also almost always have cooked veggies & meat in the fridge for a quick meal. We make a big batch of rice or I buy the individual bowls of rice from Costco.
I did get the kids an InstaPot (also a rice maker) for Christmas but so far they’ve only made rice in it. I am planning to encourage them to look into how to use it as an InstaPot since so many swear this is a huge time saver for quick meals.
*Send me your favorite recipes will ya!? Maybe I’ll add them to the bottom of the next emails for everyone!
I do have a crockpot & love it but in the summers we mostly grill. Less mess & easy to make extra. Win. Win.
When I cut up veggies for Nadia’s lunch, I make enough for a few days worth. (She usually makes her own lunch & when she does, she does not plan ahead like this. That’s ok. We’ll get there.)
I choose to spend a little extra on groceries because healthy food & saving time are priorities of mine. Here are some examples of what’s in my fridge & pantry to make my life easier.
- individual hummus & guac cups from Costco (I put in the freezer & throw in lunches as the ice cube)
- low sugar greek yogurt cups
- grass fed meat sticks
- cheese sticks/squares
- low sugar cereals for busy mornings
- already boiled eggs
- I’ve been buying these individual meat packs from Costco
- individual bags of nuts
Empower your children with responsibility as they’re ready.
This one’s a doozy.
I think many of us fall in to the trap of feeling like we have to do everything for our family.
No. Your job is to raise responsible, self-sufficient adults.
Take an assessment of ways you could empower your dependents.
Simple example if you have young kids: Put the cups, plates, forks & spoons down low where your little ones can reach them. Maybe the next step is to teach them how to set the table for dinner.
I was constantly looking for ways to give mine more responsibility. It builds their self confidence & makes them part of the team. It feels good to be helpful, learn new skills & contribute. Don’t deny your kids these opportunities to build their self esteem.
Simple example if you have older kids: Teach them how to do their laundry. (My kids do their laundry. I help when/if I want to, but if they run out of clothes, it’s their problem to solve.)
We sometimes have a 15 minute cleaning party. Turn on some fun music & everyone pitches in for 15 minutes to declutter or clean. I’ve heard of people implementing this nightly but we have too many nights where we are not all at home.
Pay for help.
In exceptionally busy seasons, I will let Izak pick out some meals from FitFoods.
I’m not opposed to buying the premade meals from Whole Foods or Costco.
We’ve tried services like HelloFresh or BlueApron but just felt like it didn’t actually save us time in the end.
I’m weird & actually enjoy grocery shopping but many don’t. Have it delivered.
Get a robot vacuum like this one maybe.
Hire housekeepers. (So many will tell you, including me, that this is life changing.)
I have resorted to putting Izak in an Uber many times already. I haven’t done this with Nadia yet, but I have paid friends to drive her when I couldn’t.
Hire a handyman. I have a running list of things Izak can’t do & pay Bryan to come when the list is long enough.
I had amazing help when the kids were young. My first nanny got SO excited when I asked her one day if she could maybe help me with some things. She LOVED having a list & feeling more useful. I didn’t even call my next nanny a nanny. I called her my WIFE because she helped me so much with everything!
Put things where you use them.
I have an instant hot filtered water spout by my second sink in our kitchen. I often whisk up drinks there as I like even my pre-workout drink hot.
Making my morning hot drink used to take these steps.
- Go get my mug
- get the powder
- to the sink for the hot water
- back to the drawer for the whisker
- whisk
- to the other sink to clean whisk
- put whisker in the strainer
- put whisk away later.
A couple years ago I finally just put the whisker by that sink. That simple move has saved me time in what always seems to be busy mornings. Now I
- go get my mug
- get the powder
- go to sink for hot water
- whisk, rinse, & put back in its stand to dry.
Here’s another example.
I was forgetting to roll my foot on a rubber ball I have every day, because it was hidden away in our recovery bin.
Out of sight, out of mind.
I put that rubber ball by my shoes & now do it quick every time I put shoes on or take them off.
Other examples I can give you… I put some kitchen scissors in a drawer in my kitchen, a dust buster in my laundry room, & spray bottles of stain treatment by everyone’s laundry baskets.
Put replacement trash bags in the bottom of the trash bin.
If you have children who can never find their socks as you’re trying to leave the house, put a small bin of socks by the door.
Buy extra socks & underwear if you’re constantly running out.
Do it as you go, or in advance.
Often, the best way to prevent work later, is to just do it in the first place.
Like rinsing the dishes. If you wait, you’ll spend more time scrubbing.
Clean up one mess before starting another. Don’t let the clutter accumulate in the first place.
Clutter is like mental, physical & spiritual sludge. It truly slows you down, weighs you down & brings you down!
When you unload the Costco load of TP put some under each sink. Unpackage everything as you put it away so you don’t have to tackle it later when you’re in a rush.
Set up autopay on your bills.
Set up the things you buy often on Amazon as subscription. They’re often cheaper too.
MultiTask
I know. You’re surprised I would recommend this one but there are obvious advantages to pairing a mindless task with something productive.
I like to listen to podcasts or a book while I drive, fold clothes, or do dishes. Not ALL the time. Sometimes it’s good to just be present for the mindless task & I relish silence! But I have spent HOURS in the car this year driving Izak to & from his school (often a 30 minute drive each way).
I actually look forward to the drive home after dropping him off, or folding a load of laundry, when I’m listening to something good.
You could also go for a walk while listening. Or, call your mom & visit with her while you take a walk. Walking is underrated by those of us who think it only counts as a workout if we’re sweating. I am actually trying to pay more attention to my step count right now as the research just keeps pointing to its importance!
Invite your child or husband to join you for a task or errand to also get in some quality time.
Examples: I’ve given the kids little massages before bed while we visit about their days. (Also works wonders in calming them down to get to sleep faster).
Invite your child to do an at-home manicure with you (or go get one together).
If you have a hobby they may enjoy, invite them to join you & get some quality time in too!
Win. Win!
Say NO & get rid of it.
How much is on your schedule that you don’t want or NEED to do, but you feel like you SHOULD? Get rid of the “shoulds”.
Do a permanent schedule purge & learn to say no.
That goes for excess STUFF as well. We have purge sessions before birthdays & Christmas. “Make room for Santa.”
And finally, my favorite…
If you find yourself sitting on the pot, unable to produce the movement you were hoping for, twist.
Put your left hand on your right knee & twist yourself to the right like you’re trying to look over your right shoulder. Then do it to the left side. And again to the right if needed.
Your poo has to travel around a corner to get out (which is actually a genius design or we’d all be pooping at inopportune times).
Another option is to slide your kids’ footstool under your feet so you’re in more of a squat position. Or, you can buy a squatty potty.
Let’s Work – the exercise
There are 2 parts to your assignment this week.
- Implement any of these that may simplify your life &
- use the extra time you gain for what’s actually important.
