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Time is a valuable resource, and in our busy modern lives, it often feels as though we don’t have enough of it. Thankfully, there are ways that we can become more time-efficient. In this post, I will be sharing 6 simple hacks that will save you a little bit of time in your everyday routine. These extra minutes will add up and you will find yourself having more time to get stuff done, or relax!
6 Simple Time-Saving Hacks For Your Daily Life
1. Use shower gel while you have conditioner on your hair
This is a way to save time in the shower when you are washing your hair. First, use your shampoo, then apply conditioner. Whilst the conditioner is on your hair, wash your body with shower gel and shave if you had planned to. That saves time compared to using shower gel first and then having to wait and do nothing while your conditioner is on your hair.
Related post: Hairburst Shampoo, Conditioner and Elixir – My First Impressions
2. Leave dirty washing-up water in the sink
Often, pans need soaking before they can be washed. When you finish cooking a meal, you can soak your pans in the old washing up water whilst you eat. This saves you from running the sink again (which saves water too) and also means the pans may be ready to wash up straight after your meal, unlike if you had waited until after the meal to start soaking them. Once you’ve finished your meal, you can drain the old washing up water and use fresh water to wash up – which you can then leave until the next meal.
3. Do quick tasks straight away
If you think of a quick task that needs doing, do it straight away if possible rather than writing it on your to-do list for later. This will save you the time it takes to write it down!
4. Don’t check your to-do list between every task
Chances are, you can remember most of the things on your to-do list for a particular day, especially if you wrote it that morning. You don’t have to go and check things off your to-do list every time you complete something. Just move on to the next task, until you can’t remember what else is on your to-do list. Then you can go and check it and tick off everything you have done.
5. Don’t check your emails and social media so regularly
I have a habit of checking my social media and emails every time I open my laptop. I do this first before I get onto the task I actually opened my laptop for. This is a waste of time and unnecessary unless I am expecting an urgent email or I really haven’t checked things for a while. I’m trying to cut down on this by only checking emails and social media 3 times a day – after my meals. Do you have this habit too? If you check your phone too often, consider turning off notifications for everything apart from text or instant messaging. Everything else can wait.
6. Buy in bulk when you shop
We all have certain things that we buy again and again, such as shampoo, supplements and some food items. Next time you are shopping, if your budget allows, buy a large-sized item or buy several packs. This way, you won’t have to go shopping as frequently so you will save time. The same applies if you are shopping online.
How do you waste, or save time?
Do you have any bad time-wasting habits that you need to kick? Or do you know any other time-saving hacks that you would recommend? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
Related post: Ways I Have Organised My Time Over the Years
I’ll be honest, we were bad for buying as we need things versus buying in bulk before this whole COVID situation hit the world. Having to adjust to living in a lockdown, we realized that we couldn’t be making regular trips to the grocery store like that. It forced us to step back and take the time to plan for buying in bulk and, now that we’re getting used to that, I think it’s a habit that’s going to stay!
I have also had to re-think my shopping habits since COVID started. Buying more online has made me think about the environmental impact of all those deliveries, so I’ve been trying to combine my purchases into as few deliveries as possible. Saving time is a bonus!
Some great tips in this post. I have recently taken to putting my phone in another room so that I can fully concentrate on my tasks and I always get them done quicker!
Rosie
That’s such a good idea! I often put my phone on silent (completely silent, no vibrate) when I’m trying to get things done, but the temptation is still there to look at it!
For us, dirty washing water in the sink is also used to water plants! That way you save water and you multi-task disposing of the water AND watering plants!
That is such a good idea, I might start doing that myself!