What are your favorite efficiency and productivity hacks? They could be home or work related!
January really puts me into an efficiency mindset
What are your favorite efficiency and productivity hacks? They could be home or work related!
January really puts me into an efficiency mindset
persimmon / 1479 posts
A few I use:
Work:
1. Handle it once rule for email- if I can respond then and there I will.
2. I turn off email when writing/deeper work.
Home:
1. I lay out all my clothes for week on Sunday nights (and DD's too).
2. I try to do a weekly meal plan.
nectarine / 2400 posts
I also try to only touch things once - bills, mail, paper coming in the house etc. pay it right away, put it where it goes
I also work at a grocery store and will make a pick up order during work and grab it when I get off lol
persimmon / 1111 posts
For work, I answer an email immediately that I can resolve quickly. Otherwise I flag it. I sort my email with flagged stuff first, so I always see everything on my to-do list
At home, I meal plan and have pretty clear chore divisions with DH. We both know what we need to do and don't micromanage each other
nectarine / 2018 posts
Twice a day I set a timer for 15 minutes and I clean up/tidy up as much as I can before it beeps.
We keep baskets on the stairs for things that need to go up or down. Then whenever I am going up I take the basket with me and put things away. And same for going down.
Very detailed meal planning and pre chopping as many things as possible right when I get home from the store.
Make my grocery list based on store layout so I can shop quickly and only go down the aisles I need to.
One touch rule - if I can finish a task by only touching it once I do it right away. When I get home I always hang my coat up right away, rather than putting it on the bench and having to do it later.
Try to finish chores while doing other activities - when DD is taking a bath I clean the bathroom. Always clean the kitchen while I am cooking or while waiting for water to boil for tea.
And lists, so many lists. Most on my phone, some on paper. But I make lists for everything. It helps me remember things and makes it easy to share with DH what needs to be done, purchased, or addressed in some capacity.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
My gmail auto-sorts incoming mail into folders.
My gmail app lets me delete with one swipe.
Spring-Fall I just wear short-sleeved dresses, no matching or multiple pieces involved. I have 30 that I just cycle through - whatever is closest to the left is what's "next."
My kids change into a new outfit before bed, and that will be their outfit for the next day. We don't do pajamas. We do comfy clothes in general, like no jeans.
pomelo / 5621 posts
@DesertDreams88: I like the dress plan!
I try and buy most of my kids clothes in neutral colours so it is easy to dress them.
I like to meal plan and I make lunches while I clean up dinner. If I’m really on top of things I’ll plan one or two meals a week with enough leftovers to freeze for another time.
persimmon / 1419 posts
In addition to the one touch rule I use the 2 minute rule for chores—if it’s going to take 2 minutes or less do it right away, which for us means no more baskets on the stairs and so many little things just done all the time.
This is controversial, but at work I don’t waste time deleting emails. I sort into folders based on importance and a lot of things, like one word “thanks” emails or coworkers on soap boxes, stay unopened. Not deleting means I have a great archive if I ever need to search back for something to refresh my memory as well.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
For socks, we buy just 2 solid colors per person. No need to match them all after laundry and be annoyed by missing socks.
nectarine / 2461 posts
-Unsubscribe from all garbage/bullshit/marketing emails so they don't show up in the first place
-Teaching my 3-year-old that we have to clean up toys before bath time
-Tidy for 15-20 minutes after the kids go to bed (get to enjoy a clean house while I'm relaxing at night, not too tired to do it, start fresh the next day)
-Fold laundry while I'm watching TV
-What @catgirl: said about multi-task cleaning. I clean and wipe out our bathroom drawers and linen closet during my 3-year-old's bath as needed and wipe down/arrange kitchen drawers and cabinets during cooking downtime. I couldn't manage this with a baby (you're not going to leave your baby unattended in a bathtub!) but now that we're securely in toddler zone it's feasible.
pomelo / 5084 posts
I know this wouldn’t work for everyone, but I take half days every Friday that allows for it to run personal errands so the weekend doesn’t get eaten up with boring to-dos!!
pomegranate / 3355 posts
-grocery delivery service (has been worth every penny!!)
-meal plan weekly and prepare one or two of those meals on the weekend (for example we made chili yesterday and we'll eat it 2 times for dinner this week, once with butter bread and once over noodles)
-unload and repack DD's backpack as soon as we get home
-Pack dd's lunch using same items but mix it up a bit.. meaning we have a bunch of snack type items in the pantry every day I grab 2-3 of them and put it in with a lunchable or a pbj sandwich or a hot item in her thermos and a Tupperware of fresh fruits
-fold laundry while watching kids play in bath
-always put away all laundry after folded
-i put ds's clothes away as outfits so it's easy to just grab one and go
-DD wears dresses every day with leggings. I hang her dresses up for easy access and picking then she just grabs a pant and she's good
I could use a lot more! Thanks for starting this post.
nectarine / 2431 posts
@Ajsmommy: YES to grocery delivery service! Ours is 5 dollars for delivery and worth every single penny. They will call me if they are out of an item and ask for a substitute. Like, they were out of asparagus and asked if we would like a different veggie.
Ok, so I am no expert, but this is what we do:
-- grocery delivery
-- adult lunches are leftovers from night before
-- kid's lunches are made the night before
-- we have a smaller house (less to clean)
-- have a gardener
--dress DS in shirts and underwear he will wear next day, so we just have to change pants
-- only give 2 baths a week
--buying things like paper towels and toilet paper in bulk
--intermittent fasting: saves time on making breakfast for myself, money, and I've lost 10 lbs in 2 months
I will admit that I am TERRIBLE about cleaning in the moment (just not something I was taught,) so this is really helpful.
nectarine / 2431 posts
@LCTBQE: I wish; V is straight up rabid in the bathtub! Trying to climb out, unplug it, pull the curtain down, etc.
pear / 1565 posts
@crazydoglady: Yass to not bathing the kids daily! I mean during the summer we mostly bath daily/as needed but all other seasons we do not and I feel like it saves me so much time/energy!
I think mostly it's just systems, systems, systems. I clean up every single night so we rarely have to do any deep cleaning; for really deep cleaning I'd just hiring someone to do it annually. Now that the kids are "older" (5&3) I am getting more help cleaning up their own stuff, putting away their own laundry, etc. As much as I hate cleaning up after them as they play if we happen to be home all day, I find that doing that still saves me time afterwards to clean up a colossal disaster haha.
My best hack is probably I clean the shower when I'm in the shower I used to hate having to clean the tub until I just started doing that while I'm in there already!
pomelo / 5084 posts
@crazydoglady: Love the IF idea as a life hack! I’m going to read up on it and try after my January whole 30 is over.
nectarine / 2460 posts
One of the biggest changes that has freed up mental space this past year is I made a rotating meal plan. It's an ordered list of 20 meals that my kids will eat (at least part of) and take < 30 minutes of active time to get on the table and usually have 1-2 nights of leftovers. When it's time to hit the store I just look at the next two items on the list and that's what I get ingredients for. It's ordered so I don't have 2 nights of beef or Mexican or something similar in a row. And as an added bonus, I've made them frequently enough now that I've gotten even more efficient about it.
nectarine / 2018 posts
@JennyPenny: oh yes! We do something similar and it is great! I keep a list of go to recipes/meals and we cycle through them. I think there are currently 20ish on the list. But each week I also pick one new recipe to try, if we like it we add it to the regular list. I cook 4 or 5 meals a week and make enough for leftovers. And one meal a week I double and freeze for later.
olive / 50 posts
I don't sort laundry. everything gets thrown in together on cold wash. I do a load every 1-2 days. I have a laundry basket for each member of the family and everything gets sorted (not folded). My kids dresses/shirts get hung, then leggings/pants/undies/socks get thrown into their drawers. I was wasting too much time folding my kids clothes when it doesnt stay folded anyways.
apricot / 410 posts
@sckim: I stopped folding my kids laundry a while back too, and it’s been such a nice time saver!
persimmon / 1005 posts
One small thing is I treat Friday evenings like every other weeknight, in terms of getting ready for Monday. This helps Sunday night not be a sh*tshow. I get backpacks sorted and repacked, get snacks, get clothes for Monday ready, get anything I need ready, and then it’s just there waiting for Monday.
nectarine / 2460 posts
@LCTBQE: Here's my current list. I put the source for the ones that have online recipes.
Baked Ham with bread and cheese
Chicken Souvlaki with relish and yogurt sauce - dinneratthezoo
Burgers
Turkey Chili Soup - skinnytaste
Ham and puff pastry tart - ina garten
Alfredo with Bacon, Broccoli and Chicken - juliasalbum
Barbeque Pork - chowhound
Chicken Souvlaki with lemon rice - butterwithasideofbread
Steak
Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup
Tacos and Fiesta Rice - skinnytaste for rice
Tomato Tart - david lebovitz
Bolognese
Rosemary Chicken
Bean Salad - skinnytaste
Rotisserie Chicken
Beef stroganoff - skinnytaste
Crepes
Chicken Parmesan
Steak burrito bowls
persimmon / 1130 posts
Ugh, I’m NOT efficient with my time at all, but one thing I do well is meal plan. I just do it a week out. We buy everything we need the weekend before so I don’t have to run to the grocery store on my way home. It’s the only way I can get healthy food on the table!
clementine / 920 posts
Love these! I've never heard of the one touch rule but that basically explains how I already operate and it is so much more efficient.
Here are mine:
- Grocery pick up/ Target drive up
- Baby sleeps in clean clothes for the next day.
- Toddler outfits are set out at night.
- Pack my car with everything the night before. Anything that needs to stay cold goes in the garage refrigerator so I can grab on my way out the door.
- Weekly meal planning
- Share shopping and notes apps with DH so we can both add items to household lists
- Kids eat breakfast at daycare
persimmon / 1381 posts
These are some great tips. I've already started to implement some of them.
I don't have any tips that are particularly innovative--
-I meal plan weekly and try to spend an hour or so on Sunday chopping vegetables and getting as much dinner prep done as I can.
-I SAH and I start to get lunch ready while the kids finish breakfast. I load dishes into the dishwasher and keep the kitchen tidy as the day goes on.
-I try to eat the same lunch every day (usually a salad and soup I make on the weekend) so it saves leftovers for dinner later in the week.
-DH picks up my target order once every two weeks or so. This saves time AND money because I'm not wandering through target buying things I don't need.
-I do laundry on the weekend, kids laundry gets done every week and our laundry is done every other week. DH and I fold while we watch a show on Sunday night and I put clothes away Monday morning as kids wake up.
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