Do you often feel like there are just not enough hours in the day for everything you need to do? Are you always going to bed wishing you’d got more done, or had made more of your day? Then it sounds like this guide is the one for you.Read on for a handful of ideas for making the most of the hours in your day!
Use the nighttime for sleeping!If during the day, you haven’t got as much done as you’d hoped, you might be tempted to do it at night. This, however, is very counterproductive. Yes, you can stay up late to finish tidying your house, or do that work project. But by doing so, you are only making yourself more tired for the next day. You are taking away from your body the precious hours of sleep it needs to recharge. Staying up late on night might help in the short-term but in the long-term? You are likely to regret it. Instead, use the nighttime for what it is meant to be for- sleeping! Aim for between six and eight hours.
Wake up one hour earlier each dayIf you constantly feel like there aren’t enough hours in your day, how about you make some more? On the weekends, do you wake up at 10 am? Then try waking up at 9 am? It might only be a small adjustment to wake up one hour earlier. But it could make a huge difference.
Delegate some jobsIf many of the household jobs are falling on shoulders, there are two ways to delegate them. The first is to hire some external help. Have somebody cook in every Sunday afternoon and prepare family meals for the rest of the week. Alternatively, how about looking into house cleaning services? Doing so means that one of the biggest time-sucks in your life is passed onto something else. You’ll be able to regain the time you’d have usually spent on cleaning, and be able to use it for other things. The second option is to delegate within your family, or the other people you live with. If you are sharing a house, everybody in the house should be helping out. Except babies, perhaps… they can provide the entertainment! Once a week, gather everyone together and give them a room to clean. Or put people in charge of different jobs. One kid can walk the dog, your partner can do the ironing, and your dog can finally learn to sleep in their bed, not the sofa!
Find time to exerciseNow, this point might seem counter-intuitive! Surely, taking time away from elsewhere to exercise means fewer hours in the day? True… but what is important here is what the exercise does for you. Rather than feeling exhausted afterwards once you get into your stride, you will have more energy than ever. This increased sharpness, concentration, and focus will help you to speed up other tasks. Rather than a presentation at work taking two hours to prepare, without sluggishness, it may only take you 30 minutes! This frees you up to get through your work faster, and maybe even get home earlier!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
These are good tips! This is something that I struggle with quite a bit!
These are really great tips. I need to be more productive during the day. I would like to start exercising again.