Blog Post 64: Time-Saving Hacks
It’s a school holiday week, so we thought we’d do something fun - time-saving hacks! Type C people often don’t take enough time for self care, so we reached out to our community to crowd-source their best time-saving ideas to make more time for ourselves. The response was tremendous! If you have anything you’d like to add, please email us at typectoolbox@gmail.com or comment on our Instagram posts this week.
Grooming/Getting Dressed
Get my nails cut very short when getting a manicure so polish chips less/manicure lasts longer.
Put on makeup before the kids get up in the morning.
Finish my nighttime routine (taking off makeup and brushing teeth) with the kids so that I don't have to do it just before I go to bed (when I'm exhausted).
Dry hair and do makeup at the same time - one hand on the hair dryer, other hand applies makeup!
Use dry shampoo so I don’t have to take the time to wash and dry my hair every single day.
Wash the top half of my hair only, it takes less time to dry and style.
Take a picture to refer back to when I’ve put together an outfit I like so I don’t spend too much time figuring out what to wear.
Rotate through the same few outfits or even develop a “uniform” that only needs a few tweaks to stay updated.
Lay out clothes the night before so I'm not spending 20 minutes searching for them.
Dress smaller children in the clothes they will wear to daycare (preschool) the night before so you don’t have to deal with all that in the angst in the morning.
Groceries and Meals
Use Instacart to do my food shopping and delivery - gives me more time to spend on things I enjoy— like my horses!
Use Hellofresh meal kits.
Order two to three meals from a local at home chef/cook from their kitchen (they normally do a weekly menu and I always order 2-3 family meals) and also often an order of cookies = cheaper + easier + healthier.
Slow cooker - set it and forget it.
Make kids lunches at night to shave more time off in the morning for coffee/alone time.
Put leftovers in containers or Ziploc bags in freezer, even cooked pasta, rice, etc. and label with a Sharpie.
Cleaning
Don’t iron anything, life is too short!
Do small cleans frequently instead of a big clean once a week.
Be militant with kids about cleaning up after themselves.
Do one load of laundry every day so it doesn't pile up and is not such a chore.
Have partner and/ or kids empty the dishwasher the night before instead of the morning (when I have to do it).
Run the dishwasher whenever it’s half full overnight, or after a meal when I just want it empty later in the day - instead of waiting for a full dishwasher, I plan for an empty one.
Roomba is my best friend - I try to leave it running in one room at least two or three times per week; it’s great to come home to a clean space.
Buy all white sheets and towels so I don’t have to worry about matching them.
Household/Time Management
Every Thursday, I put together a weekly calendar and post it on the fridge (even including little things like new Invisalign tray reminders, dog needs monthly pill, birthdays, who is driving where, etc.). Keeps people from asking me all the time!
Spend a few minutes each evening to prepare for the next day. I save a lot of time and also have better sleep!
Take time to plan and schedule tasks - with a good plan and structured day, you will save time.
Schedule my children for dog walking time slots each day to ensure it is the expectation and part of the routine I can rely on! For example, I never want to do the last walk and since they are up late, they can do it.
Time for self care first thing in the day otherwise it doesn't happen!
Put everything (bills, etc.) on auto-pay.
Do one personal "to do" every day so that the personal list does not become so overwhelming. It can be as small as making a doctor appointment to doing a quick Amazon shopping run to paying a bill or filling out school forms. I realized I just let the personal list pile up to the point it was too much and then stole my weekends or took the joy out of them entirely.
Exercise
Do balancing exercises for core stability when brushing my teeth or waiting for the dog to do her business.
Walk for two miles everyday during lunch with a coworker. It allows me to get my exercise in during the day - and is also great for mental health!
When I walk my beagle early every morning - he walks slowly/stops to sniff things, and I take this time to do some lunges and if he is stopped I do some squats! Feels good to be able to get in some lunges & squats for me, and thereby a little bit more of a stretch/workout!
Better Quality of Life
Take the "crazy" out of crazy times. I know the high stress and therefore non-joyful times in a day or in a given week. To make that less so I do advance prep so that these times are at least a little better. So for instance, in the evenings before a school day, outfits are out, snacks packed, books bags in place, etc. This includes even the adults and teenagers! Or for trips, we are staging items for packing in a bedroom for a couple of weeks so we are not doing it all the night before.
Get off social media!
Decide what you actually care about - and what your kids actually care about, and spend your time doing that instead of what you “ought” to be doing.
Spend 10 mins for language learning (Duolingo) before the kids get up in the morning.
Task bundling: combine something you don’t like doing with something you do enjoy to make the task easier. Example: Listen to favorite music while cleaning.
Another great tool is a bedtime routine for better sleep. Most of us have a morning ritual but at night it is anything goes. Instead, make it a set ritual; watch TV, warm shower, read a little with a candle lit, whatever it is. The habit will kick in and signal to body it is bedtime and it really is a better rest. It is similar really to what we did with babies to get them on a sleep schedule☺️