7 Changes to Make to Set You Up For More Time

As moms, we do so much.  Between running kids to practice, getting our family fed, work schedules, and desperately trying to find 5 minutes to breathe, to say we feel overwhelmed is saying it all.

We wish we could just add more time to the end of most days.  Just a few hours more, please!  Isn’t that how we feel at the end of an exhausting day?  If only we could really get more time in a day when we need it.

We know that’s not practical but these next 7 ways are ideas on how you can make time when you feel like you have so little time. We all need this. I hope these ideas inspire you.

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7 Ways To Add More Time

Wake Up 1 Hour Earlier

I know you’re not loving this idea.  Right?  You think you can’t possibly get up any earlier than you already do.  You’re just not a morning person.

I get it.  Not long ago I felt the same way.  I was already getting up at 6:00 so 5:00 was never going to happen.  I was a night owl and loved my sleep.

But, do you know what I discovered?  I gave myself a reason why I wanted to get up early.  And I did it.  My why pushed me when it got difficult and I wanted to give up.

You can do this too.  It all starts with creating a habit.

Now, I know habits are hard to start.  Brutally hard.  That’s where our why comes in.  The first 10 days or so of starting any habit are the most difficult.  You just need your why for wanting this and it’ll push you when it’s hard.  Once you get through the first 10 days, the habit gets easier.  You’ll still need to push yourself when times get tough.  Remember your why and keep pushing.

After about 20 days, you’ll start feeling the rewards of the habit.  But don’t stop there.  Keep going until you’ve successfully done your habit for at least 30 days but probably longer.  Unfortunately, there’s no one size fits all with habits but just don’t give up until you’ve formed that habit.

Try waking up early for the next 30 days or so and you’ll feel the benefits of it.  Trust me on this.  I have more energy.  I’m more productive for that hour and for the rest of the day.  And I started exercising when I never cared for it before. It’s been a total transformation for me.

Just think, an hour of quiet in your home, you’re not rushed to get you, your kids, your spouse, and who knows what else out of the house. It’s your choice what you do with that extra hour. Be productive if you want or just take some time for yourself.

For the first hour when I wake up, I’m doing a morning ritual I learned from The Miracle Morning book written by Hal Elrod. I highly recommend this book if you want to improve your life. Here’s a post I wrote about this book and what it’s done for my life.

Track Your Time

Figure out how you spend your time and eliminate wasted time.  This could be found when watching TV, using your phone for non-important things, or any other wasted time.  You may not realize how much time you’re wasting on Facebook or catching up on your favorite show.

Be honest with yourself. If you want to add more time to your day, you’ve got to see where you could be wasting it.

Ask For Help

It’s hard sometimes to ask other people for help when we’re feeling overwhelmed.  But, there are things you can do to minimize your craziness.  If you’ve got kids in different practices after school, consider having a high school or college kid run them to their practices.  Use a meal delivery service (like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron) to get your food delivered to your doorstep with ingredients and directions to make each meal.  Ask a neighbor to get your groceries for you or order them online and have them delivered.

You don’t have to do it all. Simplify the things you can.

Swap Services

Is there anything you love doing and know a friend who hates it?  And is there something you hate doing but that same friend loves it?  Use this to your advantage.  Examples of these could be: swapping babysitting for cleaning or swapping cooked meals for grocery runs.  The possibilities are endless.  Bonus too if you can incorporate your friend’s task while doing your own like babysitting their kids while you’re already watching your own.

Talk with some friends and family members and see if there’s something you can arrange and hopefully take some time off of your busy schedule. And remember, you’d be taking on a task you already love doing so it won’t feel like a chore when you’re doing it.

Freezer Meals

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites that show how to make 10 meals in an hour (or different configurations like 40 meals in 4 hours).  Take an hour on a non-busy day (there’ll be some extra time the day before to get the groceries too) and make the meals.  Then, during the week on one of your enormously, crazy days, just dump your freezer meal into your crockpot in the morning and dinner’s ready when you get home at the end of the day.

The crockpot I own is amazing and it gets used all the time.  The lid locks if transporting food and I love that it comes with a probe to check meat temperatures to ensure it’s all done.  It takes the stress away from me at dinner time and that’s priceless!

Freezer meals are a huge time saver during the week when dinner time is usually hectic. Use this especially if you and your family eat out a lot. It’ll save you money, calm your craziness, and most times, be a healthier option.

Turn Off Notifications

We’re all guilty of this. We’re in the middle of doing something, like washing dishes or making dinner and we hear our phone ping. What do we do? We stop what we’re doing just to look to see what it is. And sometimes, it takes us away from what we were doing for 10 – 15 minutes or even longer.

If we turn off these notifications, we wouldn’t know an email came in or someone just replied to our Facebook post. And it wouldn’t take us away when we’re in the middle of doing something. When we set scheduled times to look at our phones, we’re commanding when we look at our phones and not the other way around.

Remember You

Life can be crazy and when it is, you probably feel it the most!  It’s overwhelming when you feel like you’re being pulled in every direction.  But it’s important to make time for yourself.  Remember you and take care of yourself.  It’s hard to care for others when you aren’t caring for yourself.   

We know it’s not possible to add more hours to a day but you can follow these 7 steps to make more time for yourself.

Remember, wake up earlier, track wasted time, ask for help, swap services, use freezer meals, turn off notifications, and take time for you. I know you’ll feel like you have more time when you do these steps. It’s time for you to start living a life that doesn’t feel so overwhelmed.

If you have any other ideas to make more time for yourself, please share them in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

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