4 TIPS TO FINDING MORE TIME

We all get overwhelmed by our day to day routines/commitments/responsibilities — so much in fact, it feels like we rarely find/make time to practice self-care, exercise, hang with loved ones or make a proper meal, leading to feeling even more over everything. While I know I struggle from time to time like anyone, I have learned most of it doesn’t have to be so hard and much of it comes down to how we are managing our time.

I’m not here to tell you what you’re currently doing is wrong or that I’ve discovered some secret to living life perfectly (def haven’t’ + I don’t even have kids yet :/)…. but I would say I do have an intense desire to create a life I truly love and to develop the good habits that depend on it. It’ll always be a work in progress, but along the way I’ve acquired some tips that have helped me find more time throughout the week.

Weekends for us, have always been about getting things done on Saturday and Sunday was usually a day to relax, recharge and get ready for the week ahead. Lately I’ve been putting more energy into my weekends and it’s been really starting to pay off once the week rolls around. I’ve noticed the more prepared I am on the weekends, determines how smooth the week will go. We’ve both been working so much lately that our days are long and we don’t have extra time to take care of a lot of these things during the week (if we want to eat well, sleep well and be able to rest and spend time together) when we actually do get home. Here is a list of a couple things I now handle on the weekends, that help take the load off of my week days.

4 TIPS TO FINDING MORE TIME:

Meal Plan & Prep:

I use to fly by the seat of my pants, not-really-planning out our dinners, just kind of ‘winging it’ every night. It was both torturous and bland and didn’t make for an enjoyable dinner. It wasn’t until we started ordering from Fresh Prep a year ago that I really started getting into learning how to cook properly. It worked out perfectly bc it allowed me to cut down on grocery shopping, buying more ingredients than we’d need, and spending more money on food that we’d end up wasting. Once we did the calculations, it made sense for us and we were in.

Since having ordered (2 meals per week) for one full year I’ve learned how to make so many dishes and we’ve kept track of which ones we like the most (Falafel, Ginger Beef, xxx) so I can recreate them through the week. Many of the meals involving patties or falafels, I’ll prep on the weekend and freeze until we want them. Huge time saver and they’re soooooo satisfying.

Schedule:

I like to set a loose plan for each week. I fill in (my day planner) any important meetings or calls, brand visits or pulls that I know are happening 100%. I set aside a set time for email, posting to social media, updating my blog & channels, pitching new ideas, workouts, my smoothies — I book it all in, right where I can see it. As the week progresses, of course other things come up or get shuffled around. The number one thing that helps me keep my sanity and feel organized is to know my schedule and what I want to accomplish this week. Keeping that in mind, I consult my calendar and see how I can make it work. Usually I find I just need to make the time.

Deep Clean:

Not something we all ‘want’ to do on our precious weekend but something that has to be done eventually. Instead of leaving it to loom over me all week I do a deep clean every weekend. Since our space is small it takes no time. There’s honestly nothing more satisfying and rewarding than a freshly cleaned house, ready to take on the week. Not to mention the immense sense of accomplishment you feel knowing the dirty work is done and you can sit back and relax & enjoy. Once you’ve done a deep clean, the maintenance is easy.

I took the deep clean one step further and purged each of the rooms in our home. There wasn’t anything that was particular ‘messy’ but areas that definitely could have used this a long time ago. You don’t realize what you’re storing in your house until you really go through everything by item. I started in our closet, took everything out and made a big pile so I could physically see everything I own. It was actually such an eye opener and made me realize how much of it I didn’t use or need. If you need inspiration I’d recommend watching Marie Kondo’s Tiding Up on Netflix. She goes through the whole process and is responsible for my breach of insanity this weekend when I took apart our entire home. Anything that no longer served me I donated to local charities and thrift shop and the rest got neatly organized.

Organize:

I went on a HomeSense/Ikea spree this weekend and came home with lots of storage solutions, clear drawer organizers and containers to keep office & cleaning supplies and smaller miscellaneous items in their place. I’m putting together a post now talking about which systems I got and how I used them in my space now, launching later this week. Now that I’ve gone through our home and donated items we no longer need or use and neatly organized everything else I can go through my week without feeling distracted or overwhelmed by things that need my attention. It feels so good knowing everything has been handled and is in good order.

I hope some of these tips were helpful! If you have any for me I am all ears!!