One - Do your food shopping online. This takes me literally 15 minutes to do online, and as a result can save me over an hour of my precious time. Pick a delivery slot that suits you, they will drop everything at your door (or even in your kitchen with some companies) and I also am less likely to buy stuff I don't need so I'm saving money too. Result!
Two - Associated with this is meal planning. I use meal planning on and off, and I just need to get into good habits of doing this regularly. No more time wasted wondering what to cook for dinner, just consult the list and get cooking! The meal plan will also assist with a quicker online food shop.
Three - Banking online also saves time. I had to get £20 to my friend for a ticket she bought for me, and in a couple of clicks it was with her rather than me going to the bank to get the cash and drop it off at her house.
Four - Get organised the night before. Look out the uniforms (do any ironing - this is me, I iron what I need when I need it!), shoes etc; get the rucksacks ready and look out the packed lunch boxes and plastic Tupperware all ready to be filled. Trust me, this saves plenty of time the next morning so that I can enjoy a relaxed breakfast with the kids before starting the day.
Five - Wash you hair in the evening. This isn't for everyone, but I rarely have time to wash my hair in the mornings because it takes so long to dry it (although this has improved with my new Parlux hairdryer!). I wash my hair once or twice a week, more if I'm exercising (which hasn't been much lately!).
Six - Clean and tidy the house, little and often. It's easier and quicker to keep on top of things rather than let everything slide and have to gut the house from top to bottom. I'm learning this the hard way. At the weekend I literally did nothing. The most I achieved was to paint my nails and dye my hair (well, R dyed my hair for me!). I did zero laundry, zero cleaning, zero tidying... as a result I have loads to catch up on and it's taking longer to do as a result. I created a cleaning schedule, which you can find here, and I just need to try better to stick to it. I'm going to print it and stick it to my fridge.
Seven - Also associated with the house - have a place for everything. I've now been in my new house for a year and I'm nearly at the place where everything has a home. There's a drawer for puzzles, there's a box for DVDs (one for the kids ones and one for the grown-ups), there are hooks for the kids to hang their jackets and bags, there's a storage basket in the hall for hats, gloves etc., there's a basket for lunch boxes and Tupperware...
Our coat hooks
Eight - Lists, lists and more lists. I *love* a good list. I currently use the notes app in my iPhone for this, although I'm lusting after a Filofax. There's something satisfying about physically scoring an item off your list and seeing your progress rather than electronically deleting it. As soon as I remember something I need to do, I jot it down. May not seem like a time-saver but in the long run this means that I don't forget things and does actually save me time wracking my baby brain (despite the kids now being 3 and 5 years old!).
Nine - Delegate and learn to say no. I get invited to a lot of events and I've started having to say no. It makes me sad, but I can't be everywhere and I can't do it all. Tonight for example I have a good friend who is attending an event on my behalf. You'll find out how she gets on soon as she's going to write me a guest post to share with you all. I've also been delegating housework to R & the kids. Makes my life much easier when we all help out and lets us have more quality time.
Ten - Switch off you phone. I can easily get distracted my tweets or emails. If there is something important you need to get done and focus on, then just switch it off. You'll get your task done much quicker. And switch off the TV too whilst you're there.
Please do share with me your tips - your comments always make me smile :-)
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