Tips to help optimise your schedule for work, family, and yourself
Between spending all of your time managing work and home duties, things can fall through the cracks sometimes. You may find that you have little time available to cook from scratch, squeeze in some exercise, or even catch up on personal emails. So amid the prioritised tasks, how can you organise your daily routine in such a way that allows you a little more time for the things you keep putting off?
Upgrade your meal strategy.
Preparing meals and doing the washing up can take up hours each day. Instead, prepare your meals in bulk during the weekend, enough to last you and your family through the week. You can easily prepare meals that can be safely frozen, like soups and pasta dishes. To maximise the cost savings as well as time savings, try to plan around ingredients that are in season, or that you anticipate being on sale.
Outsource some of your chores.
With technology advancing everyday, there are an increasing number of services available to help you be more efficient. And such efficiency needn’t be limited to the professional realm—tech companies are even bringing it right to your front door. So if you could use some help with tasks like grocery shopping, you can easily enlist the help of Instacart or any other online grocery retailer. If you’d like something more local, check out your nearest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) options for a weekly delivery of fresh produce.
For mothers who need a little extra help taking the dog to the vet or other surprise additions to their routines, you can find a quality care person on Care. Plus, they even offer child care and house sitting for those times you need a little vacation!
Use the buddy system.
For all of the activities that your children are involved in, chances are that you’re their chauffeur. And driving to and from soccer practices, bake sales, and birthday parties can take a lot of time. Reach out to other parents whose children share some of the same activities and see if they’d be willing to do carpool shifts. That way, you’ll cut your chauffeuring time in half (at least!), and get some time to yourself. You can also swap home activities and chores with dad. For example, trade off on the cooking schedule, or let each other have a break from entertaining the kids once in a while.
Get a move on.
Exercise can be one of the hardest things to fit into a rigid routine. You may think that the only possible time you could accommodate it is early in the morning or late at night. However, those options mean that you might be forgoing some much-needed sleep, and there’s no shame in prioritising that over exercise. So if those options don’t work for you, try to fit some workout time into your lunch hour. This doesn’t need to be vigorous gym-style exercise, either. It could be a pleasant walk around the neighborhood with a colleague. Or perhaps you can work on your yoga in the garden outside of your building. Whatever you choose, it’s also a great way to unwind and relieve some stress!
Above all of this, though, remember that you can say no to taking on new responsibilities. Try not to spread yourself too thin when it comes to requests from your employer, friends, or even your family. It’s okay not to do absolutely everything that is asked of you all the time. Keep the well being of your family a priority, but don’t forget about your own.
By: Mary Frenson
Mary Frenson is a Marketing Assistant at Checkdirector.co.uk, a new source of information on UK companies. Mary is always happy to share her marketing ideas and thoughts on business issues. In her free time she enjoys handicrafts.