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Thursday, 15 November 2007 06:00 |
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It’s that time of year when living a balanced life becomes an
even bigger challenge. You have work, housework, family
responsibilities, and you want to get out and enjoy the summer.
The key is to plan your day. Allow a certain amount of time
everyday for each thing that needs tending to. Use spare minutes
wisely.
Here are some tips to help you manage your time so you have more
time to play!
Get up a few minutes earlier if you have to so you have time to
plan your day. Write down everything you want to, or need to
accomplish. Plan dinner and make sure to take the meat out of
the freezer!
Don’t plan elaborate dinners. Simple dinners made with lots of
fresh fruits and vegetables are perfect for summer, keep your
energy levels up, and keep dishwashing down! If you are short on
ideas, take a look at Cooking With a Thin Attitude. It’s full of
great fast healthy dinner ideas.
Write down all the errands you need to do today. Can you get one
done on the way to work? On your lunch hour? Can you order
online? ConvenienceNet.com is full of handy resources to save
you time.
While dinner is cooking, check your email, or do an online
order, or pay bills online. You can accomplish a lot in little
ten minutes chunks of time.
Allow up to half an hour a day for housecleaning. If you do this
faithfully, your house can be really clean. No more spending
your Saturday cleaning house! You’ve got better things to do. If
you need to find out how to clean your home quickly and easily,
check out Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak.
Buy clothes that are wash and wear. You don’t want to have to
spend time running to the cleaners or ironing, do you? Make sure
you get the clothes out of the dry and hung up and/or put away
right way so you don’t have to worry about wrinkles.
Get a wash and wear haircut. Or at least one that takes less
than 10 minutes to style in the morning and that will hold up
all day. Use products that will cut down frizz and hold your
hair in place. I have naturally curly (unruly, rebellious) hair.
I use L.A. Looks frizz control gel before styling, and Pantene
Flexible Hold Hairspray after to keep my hair looking good all
day.
Girls, use waterproof mascara and eyeliner. The shave minimizing
lotions work great too. I haven’t had a male volunteer to see if
they work for reducing facial hair growth. Any volunteers?
If you end up with small bits of light laundry, and darker
clothes, but not enough for a load of each, those color grabber
sheets really do work – except for red clothes. The ones that
seem to run forever. Nothing seems to work for those L. Don’t
chance mixing reds or new denim with lights. But aside from
that, you can get away with mixing with the color grabber sheets
as long as they can all be washed in the same temperature.
Make it a point to get outside every day. I take a walk with my
daughter and the puppy every night that she’s home. We get out,
enjoy the weather, get some exercise, and talk – away from the
distractions of TV, radio, telephone, or computers. Sometimes
we’ll swim or go to a friends house for a barbeque.
You really want a drastic way to increase your time? Not many of
you will do this one- Disconnect your cable TV. You’d be amazed
at how much time the television takes away from your life. While
not many of you would be brave enough to not have TV in the
house at all, at least turn it off once in a while and go do
something! Don’t watch life on TV – go live it!
If you’re working at home – don’t forget you have a life too.
Find ways to be more efficient. Don’t read junk emails. Don’t
wander around the net checking out this and that. While you’re
working, be working. When it’s time to spend time with your
family and tend to your life – get away from the computer and do
it.
Plan time off. Time that you will not work. Time that’s just for
fun. Yes, work is important. Yes, your goals are important. But
time off is also important. When you take time to play- you’ll
actually come back refreshed, full of new ideas, and more
productive.
Use these tips to manage your time, and have a great summer!
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