Would you like to finish your to-do list and still have time to relax in the evening? I think that all of us would answer yes!
For my first few years of motherhood, I felt completely overwhelmed. How was I supposed to spend time with my children, keep my family fed and clothed, clean my house, and work outside the home? I wore myself out with my “all work no fun” routine.
About a year ago I decided that I needed to change my system. I wanted to guarantee myself a relaxing evening after the kids went to bed so that I could recharge and dedicate myself to things that helped me grow as a person.
That meant that instead of mopping the floors at night, I wanted to read a book, listen to a podcast, watch a movie with my husband, or write. I had my goal in mind, but how could I bring this change about?
Enter one simple secret to getting more done:
Minutes add up.
I realized that I had many small chunks of time throughout my day that I was not using wisely. If I had a spare five minutes at work or home, I often spent time on unnecessary e-mail, Facebook, and blog hopping. These activities didn’t help me accomplish my goals or feel relaxed.
I decided to redeem the minutes. So, I made list of different jobs or activities that I could do in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. Then, whenever I had a small chunk of time, I could do something from the list. This would help me get more done during the day so I could relax at night.
Your list may look different, but you may find a few ideas here that you can use.
Things You Can Do in 5 Minutes
-Unload the dishwasher
-Pray the Morning Prayers or Evening Prayers together as a family
-Do 5 yoga poses for a minute each (Take a look at this helpful book if you need some inspiration!)
-Start a load of laundry
-Make the bed
-Take dirty sheets off the bed or put clean sheets on the bed
-Tidy up one room
-Wipe down counters in the kitchen or in the bathroom
-Chop vegetables for dinner
-Get down on the floor and build a castle out of blocks with the kids
-Sweep the kitchen floor
-Do 20 push ups and 20 sit ups
-Water the plants
Things You Can Do in 10 Minutes
-Load the dishwasher
-Read a book with the kids
-Clean all the mirrors in the house
-Put away a load of laundry
-Weed the flower bed
-Read a chapter of the Bible
-Wipe down baseboards
-Mop the kitchen floor
-Do a 10 minute Pilates video (this one is my favorite!)
-Write a thank you note
Things You Can Do in 15 Minutes
-Clean the bathtub
-Fold a load of laundry
-Listen to the Daily Reading and Saint of the Day on Ancient Faith Radio
-Read a chapter of a book
-Run a mile
-Take a shower
-Play a board game with the kids
-Watch one video in the Make Over Your Mornings course (My absolute favorite motivational time-management resource!)
-Vacuum the house
-Sew on a button
-Mend a tear in an item of clothing
-Make 10 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to put in the freezer
-Organize your desk
Now whenever I have a few minutes, I can use my time more productively. By doing these chores and activities in small chunks, I avoid burn-out and make time for myself in the evenings.
What could you do in 5, 10, or 15 minutes?
(Linked to Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Thrifty Thursday, Frugal Friday.)
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Sometimes it seems like my day is so busy, I stop home, have time to grab food and a random 5 minutes, and then I’m off again. This is a great plan for those days. Thanks for sharing! Hello from Thrifty Thursday.
Melissa, I understand those crazy days! I’m sure as my kids grow older, too, that we will have more days like that. Thanks for stopping by.
If I do nothing else in a day, I do 15 minutes of something. Honestly, as long as I am consistent about doing that, my house stays reasonably clean.
I like that. “15 minutes of something.” I’ve started doing a small homemaking project each day, and I’ve been amazed at how much of a difference it is making in the house.
I’ve been amazed at how much I can get done in the time it takes the Keurig to make my cup of coffee or for the microwave to heat up my lunch. Even 2 minutes add up a lot faster than you realize. I’m also much faster at emptying my dishwasher than I realized. 🙂
(visiting from Frugal Friday)
I totally agree! I often clean up my kitchen while waiting for water to boil for tea. I can make lunches, empty the dishwasher, or sweep the floor in that amount of time. Crazy!
This is such a great suggestion. I am so guilty of throwing away those little chunks of time. And you’re right, it really isn’t restful or relaxing to fill in those gaps with online activity like it is to have the end of the day open for me to choose what I do. I’m going to try this idea and see how much more I can accomplish!
I hope you do, Carolyn! I’m not always the best at using my time wisely, but when I do, I’m always amazed at how much time I have in the evening.
Sarah, these are great ideas! I definitely don’t take advantage of those little bits of time as well as I could, and having a list of them ready to go would be really helpful! Thanks for the idea, I’m going to have to try it out!