5 Life Hacks on How to Gain Me Time

By reading the about me section on my site you can imagine how busy I am. I have teacher tasks, student assignments, and mommy duties to complete daily. When I first decided to go back to school, I was drowning in the things that I had to do. I always felt like I never had time to just sit down and take a breath. That is the reason for these 5 life hacks on how to gain me time

After many days of feeling burned out, I had to create a system to help me maximize my time. Which in reality freed up some time for me to spend doing whatever I wanted. In the morning and at night after I have completed my homework is my alone time. Therefore, here are a few tips you can adapt to fit your life. Find the pockets in the day to grab you at least an hour to yourself. 

1. Creating a routine 

In order to control my anxiety and keep myself from becoming overwhelmed I had to create a routine for my family and me. I have a routine for pretty much everything. I have created an efficient routine that works for my house whole. For example, I try to make sure dinner is ready and the kids are eating by 6:00 pm. After dinner is bath time. I am not as time conscious when it comes to what time or how long the baths last. Typically, the kids have anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to play before it is bedtime. Bedtime is at 8:00 for the kids and they have a routine for that (LOL). By having routines the kids are a lot more responsive because they are aware of what is about to come next.

2. Creating a weekly menu 

Growing up, I remember my mom asking me or my dad what we wanted for dinner, and 9 times out of 10 the answer was “It doesn’t matter”. I know some of you are thinking “I can’t believe she even gave an option” (haha). Anyways, that same cycle started to happen in my house and it began to drive me crazy. I would wait until the day of to decide on what to cook for dinner. Or I would either forget to take the food out to prepare. These small challenges would ultimately delay our schedule causing me to lose the opportunities to have some time to myself.

Now let’s get one thing clear, I am no chef and I cook for convenience. I am also a very picky eater. Let me say it plain and simple COOKING IS NOT MY FAVORITE THING TO DO! However, it is a lot cheaper to do when you have multiple mouths to feed. Therefore, typically on Friday or Saturday, I will see what foods I already have and start preparing my menu from there. I like to use the things I already have before buying other things. On my menu, I will literally write pizza if I know I am ordering pizza. I will also put a question mark for some days which means we would eat out or have something quick like chicken strips and fries.

Here is an example menu,

Sunday – Steak, baked potato, & broccoli 

Monday– Chicken, rice, carrots

Tuesday – Tacos

Wednesday – Chicken alfredo 

Thursday – Hamburgers 

Friday – Pizza 

Saturday – ?

By having a menu, coming home and cooking will be an easier task. Which will help stick with the nightly routine. 

3. Ordering and picking up groceries

This tip piggybacks off of the second tip. I believe the person who created grocery pickup did it for me. First off, who wants to take two toddlers grocery shopping? Secondly, who wants to go grocery shopping after you’ve done many other things? Finally, how many times have you gone into a store and placed items in your cart that were not on the list? By ordering groceries I save time and money because it allows me to stay within my budget. 

Check out my post 5 Easy Ways to Save Money Without Getting a Second Income for more budget tips.

The menu that is created for the week is used to create the grocery list for the week’s meals. There is nothing worse than trying to cook and there are ingredients missing. 

4. Packing lunches the night before

This is also a part of my daily routine. After cooking and making sure everyone has eaten. I will pack lunches for the next day. The majority of the time I have leftovers for lunch and the kids only have snacks and a cup they have to take to school. By doing this simple task you can free up time in the morning to either sleep a little longer or have a few extra minutes to yourself before waking the kids up.

5. Picking out your outfits for the week 

I have so many friends and family members who have told me they decide on what they are going to wear in the morning before they go to work. Let me be the first to admit, I am too indecisive to wait until it is time to get dressed to choose an outfit. On Sunday nights I take out this expensive smartphone and go to my weather app and decide on outfits based on the weather and what I will have to do that day. I actually go get the things out and fold them so they are right there when I am ready to get dressed. 

I don’t know about you but my clothes are not always where they should be. Therefore, I don’t have the time or energy to look for clothes, that could possibly not even be clean, the morning of. In addition to getting my clothes out, I get the kid’s clothes out as well. By doing this, more time is freed up throughout the week to get important stuff completed early.

Keep in mind that these are the tips that work in my life. Take these ideas and adjust them to what makes sense for you. The ultimate goal is for you to free up some time so you can have a mental break and relax. Be sure to check out some of my other tips and soul care ideas.

Using these 5 hacks will help you gain so much time. Check out 5 Daily Me Time Ideas that provide Relaxation and Peace for things to do during your me-tyme.