Do you often find yourself too busy to accomplish your goals? Are you wasting quality time with your family because your schedules are so full that you are too busy rushing your kids from one activity to the next?
If you can identify with having a busy family and less free time than you would want, continue reading and I'll give you seven suggestions on how to get more time back in your life. In this manner, you'll have time for the activities you love to do, as well as to spend valuable time as a family and maybe even for yourself!
7 Essential Tips for Any Busy Family
1. Delegate
I'm not sure when it was determined that parents should handle all household chores. If you manage your household entirely on your own, you won't receive a trophy. If you give other family members a job, you'll find that you have more time.
You underestimate the abilities of your children. They can easily perform basic household chores like making the bed, doing the dishes, and putting away the laundry since they can quickly navigate any technical equipment. These kinds of operations are all simpler than using a typical smartphone.
You can find this useful information in the article Age-Appropriate Duties: How to Help Kids Be Responsible if you're wondering what duties are suitable for your child's age. Your children will be more capable and involved in housework as they get older if you start them off early with tasks.
When they are young, start with small duties and tasks, and as they get older and more capable, increase them every year.
HIRE HELP
When it is practical, it is also beneficial to hire assistance; the return on investment in terms of your time is substantial.
Some common areas where assistance is requested are yard maintenance and thorough cleaning of the home. If you can't afford to get this done every week or even every two weeks, you might want to consider hiring someone to do it once a month.
The knowledge that your home will receive a thorough cleaning every two weeks will free up your time to concentrate on maintaining your property instead of performing labor-intensive, time-consuming tasks every day.
Naturally, a large portion of the picking up might also be divided among family members. It should be everyone's responsibility to tidy up after themselves. So that you don't end up being your children's maid, instill this in them early on.
2. Focus on Easy, Healthy Meals
It's not necessary for you to prepare every meal from scratch for your family to be healthy. This preparation work is done for you by other people and companies, and it can save you a significant amount of time.
A lot of businesses offer reasonably priced meal packages that can be delivered straight to your house. Check out this post from Buyer's Guide: Best Meal Delivery Services if you're unsure about where to begin or which company to choose.
In their deli/fresh food department, many grocery shops also provide options for freshly prepared meals. You can frequently pick up pre-made meals with this option, all you have to do is bake them in your home oven. You just need to spend a few minutes of your day to uncover the dish and place it in the oven because everything is already fully prepared.
3. Grocery Pick Up or Delivery
These days, the majority of grocery stores provide curbside pickup or delivery for a small fee—many of them are even free.
Walmart offers curbside pickup, which I utilize because it's simple and free. Everything has the same affordable costs as when you buy in-store. I just downloaded the Walmart app, filled my cart, chose my pick-up location when checking out, picked a time that worked, and paid for my order.
We've saved an average of two hours a week on groceries, toiletries, and household essentials by using an app instead of going in-store every week. That's 104 hours saved annually.
Now, when I remember I need something, I just add items to the app. I pick up one big order each week and check it out once a week. I no longer have to spend the hours I would have spent inside shopping to cross everything off my list.
To find out which grocery stores in your area provide curbside pickup or delivery, just search for "grocery stores near me that offer curbside pickup or delivery" on Google. All of the options that are closest to your house are listed.
4. Prioritize Activities
Because we are overscheduled, we frequently have very little spare time in our lives. We accept far too many invitations at once.
It could be necessary for you to all get down and talk about this matter. To ensure that everyone knows which of their hobbies is a priority if activities need to be cut back, each family member could identify one or two that are absolutely necessary.
After-school programs and sports are commonplace in the life of most families. It does not, however, imply that you must do every task at once. Maybe pick one sport to play during one season and a different sport the following.
For kids to be happy, they don't need to participate in two or three sports per week. Studies indicate that juggling too many activities at once is a major cause of family burnout.
Ascertain which family members' activities are more important or meaningful. Ask them to rank the less important activities.
It could be time to reevaluate or take a vacation from the piano if they have been studying for four years and they genuinely don't enjoy it. Playing an instrument or participating in a certain sport is not as vital as your family's mental health and welfare.
5. Use Lists and Calendars
A busy family life can be made easier by maintaining organization. Make use of a to-do list that you can access on your phone or carry with you during your everyday activities in a little notepad. You should be able to recall what needs to be done today and over the next several days with the aid of this list.
You are wasting time and mental energy attempting to remember things when you are unable to recall what you should be doing on a regular basis due to not maintaining a list. Make a running list to save yourself time and mental pain. Just write it down as soon as you remember something that needs to get done on the list to avoid forgetting.
For the same purposes as a to-do list, use a calendar. You don't waste time trying to recall if you have any appointments or when your kids have practice tonight, and it frees up your thoughts to worry about other things. Put it on a tiny calendar that you can carry around with you during the day.
You and your family will be able to stay organized and know exactly what you are doing every day with the use of a calendar.
6. Car Pool
You and your family can save a ton of time by joining a carpool. If you are a parent who finds yourself rushing your children from one after-school activity to the next, you might want to take a moment to observe who else is there engaging in similar activities. Families might be able to split up the driving and waiting.
For instance, each family could be able to commute two days a week if your child practices basketball four days a week. That would eliminate the need for you to drive to and from practice and the associated wait times for two of your evenings.
7. Use Wait Time Wisely
Everybody must wait at some point during the day. This time may be made the most of whether you are in the car line at school, in the doctor's office, or during your child's sporting events.
Take stock of your existing activities as you wait. Are you aimlessly scrolling through social media or using your phone to browse the web? In order to have extra time when you come home at the end of the day, you might want to choose to make better use of that time.
During the time you have to wait, you can use your phone to reply to emails, schedule future appointments, or complete chores on your to-do list. In order to give yourself more time at the end of the day, try to develop the habit of using your wait times for useful tasks throughout the day.
Final Thoughts
These days, everyone seemed to be getting busy and busier. We make decisions that lead to an excessively busy and overscheduled lifestyle. So that you can spend time together as a family, take some time to determine what is really important.
Time is ebbing away as your children grow up. Instead of spending more time on activities that might not have a lasting impact on your child's life, make sure to use some of that time together as a family.
