Women & Co: Give Yourself the Gift of Time: 3 Time-Saving Strategies

By Jacqueline Cadogan, Marketing Operations Manager, Women & Co.

What would you do with an extra ten minutes today? What about an hour? We all know time is a precious gift. No matter how we spend them, the hours, minutes and seconds seem to fly. As a result, we're constantly looking for new time-saving strategies. Are you looking for ways you might be able to shave a few minutes off of your daily routine? Keep reading to learn how ladies just like you get through their to-do lists with time to spare.

"Take advantage of your evening hours." -- Angie, 35, mother of 2, Richfield Park, NY

With busy schedules both in and out of the office, many women face the daily challenge of juggling competing priorities. For tips on how to bring calm to the chaos, I recently sat down with Angie, a 35-year-old mother of two from Richfield Park, New York. Since Angie has a busy office job, she spends her mornings and workdays focused on her job. But how can you maintain razor-sharp focus at work with a family of four? Her advice is take full advantage of your evening hours to ensure calm, peaceful mornings. How does she do it? Strategic-yet-practical multitasking. For example, family dinner is a top priority in Angie's household, but so is a nightly check-in with her mother. To maximize her family time, each night when the family sits down to dinner, Angie opens up her laptop and uses that opportunity to connect with her mom via Skype. Once the kids are off to bed, Angie makes time to enjoy some entertainment and squeeze in a few daily chores, prepping baby bottles and making the kids' lunches while watching TV or listening to the radio.

"Use technology to simplify your life and save precious time." -- Lauren, 30-something mother of one, New York, NY

As a working mom who regularly utilizes technology to increase workplace efficiency, Lauren is always searching for new techie ways to shave time off of her daily tasks and errands. Case in point: as a devout e-shopper, Lauren purchases groceries online through FreshDirect.com, saving herself a weekly trip to the food store. But recently, life got even simpler. Lauren discovered the FreshDirect app which allows her to shop from her previous orders. To reclaim some time (that would otherwise be wasted in line at the grocery store) on the weekend, Lauren uses this handy mobile technology to order her weekly groceries while she waits at her daughter's ballet class each Saturday.

Lauren also saves time by avoiding ad hoc trips to the store to pick up various household items. For basic baby and childcare needs, she hops online and heads to diapers.com. And instead of lugging a 40-pound bag of dog food all over the city, Lauren buys pet food and other supplies at wag.com and they're delivered right to her doorstep. Similarly, Lauren logs on to soap.com for dish soap, toothpaste, toilet paper and all sorts of other household items.

"Sync your family's personal and professional calendars." -- Barbara, 40-something mother of 2, New York, New York

For a full-time employee, wife of one and mother of two, the calendar can be an invaluable tool. That's why Barbara spends time on the front end logging important dates on the kids' school calendars as well as her and her husband's office holiday schedules into the family calendar. Then, every Sunday night, Barbara and her husband dedicate 30 minutes to discussing the week's logistics. They use the time to align schedules, coordinating office happenings, school events and important family activities. A weekly check-in helps avoid miscommunications and the day-to-day stress that often comes with scheduling conflicts.

About the Author:
Jacqueline joined Women & Co. in 2001. As Operations Manager, she works toward making sure members receive the full benefits of membership. Jacqueline's goal is to improve Women & Co.'s existing applications as the membership grows and changes. Jacqueline is a graduate of Lehigh University with a BA in Science, Technology and Society.

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