How to free up more time at home with time management tips

Using some simple time management tips will add 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there and help you discover the proper utilization of your time that you can never have imagined.

Top Tips

Prepare the night before

  • Make use of your time preparing lunches, backpacks etc. the night before. Get things ready– documents, car parking change, and shopping lists before ending the day out. In many ways, clutter costs much! It drains you of your time and energy. Organize things by putting keys, handbags and other items in the same spot.

Time management tips for the kids

  • Have kids’ backpacks hang at a designated spot and encourage them into the habit of doing homework immediately after school and loading their bags for the next day before they go to sleep.

Create a routine

  • Create a daily routine to streamline your day. Don’t waste time pondering over pointless things or it will end up becoming a habit. Overcome procrastination by identifying that you are beginning to delay important tasks for unnecessary ones over and over again. Determine these time wasters- the TV, the chitchat, or spending too much time checking on emails or social networking sites.

Create a list

  • Have a list of tasks that need doing around the house with a note of how long they take to do.  Keep this list handy so that when you find you have 5 or 10 minutes spare, you can scan the list for the smaller tasks and tackle them quickly.  You will be amazed how much you can get done in a commercial break on television.  Use this time to quickly wipe over the bathroom, empty waste paper bins or dust a room.  Don’t just stand by the kettle waiting for it to boil if making a cup of tea.  Use these couple of minutes to clean the inside of the microwave.

Work with your energy levels

  • Maximize the time when you are at the highest energy level. Learn to multi-task at this time. But do not let your downtime pass you by. Instead, take time to relax. All work and no play will surely make you very dull! Your time and energy are priceless and you need to be firm in setting limits.

Delegate

  • No one person can do everything so let older kids help you with simple things like preparing lunch boxes, emptying the dishwasher or starting a load of wash. Delegation is also important for proper time management, which can play an important role in moulding your kids.  Keep a chart where they can gain stars for the tasks they help you complete.  These stars can then be exchanged for rewards when you deem they have accumulated enough.

Finally, remember that everything need not be done perfectly. We are, after all, humans and our homes should be just that, a home, not a showroom.

So try following these simple time management tips at home to help you waste less time and energy and feel less stressed or even no stress at all!