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Greg44
8-19-11, 8:21pm
On Simple Living we have often talk about "found money" i.e., money saved, earned, etc.

This last week on vacation I was reading Don Aslett's book, "For Packrats Only". I get a real kick out of some of the stories he tells. One reason he said that people don't "declutter" is the lack of time.

This concept was on my mind while on vacation. I would like to do more with my life than work/eat/sleep/repeat. Sometimes I feel like I hardly have time for the basics. I have friends who go golfing on their days off. GOLFING? Who in the heck has time for that?!

But we all have the same 24 hours and some of us are much more efficient than others in using that time for the best. Have any of you felt the same frustration? Where have you found extra time to accomplish more?

Big or small where do you carve more time out of the day? :help:

treehugger
8-19-11, 8:41pm
I think it comes down to priorities. Spend some time tracking what you do each day (just like tracking expenses) and then decide what you need to keep, what you can do away with, and what you want to add into your daily activities.

For most people (not saying this is you), I think the easiest way to "find" time is to quit watching TV.

That said, I am not a high energy person, and I need a certain amount of downtime in my schedule to feel sane (reading, watching movies, just hanging out). I could certainly get a lot more accomplished each day than I do, but, hey, then I'd be exhausted.

Kara

fidgiegirl
8-19-11, 10:16pm
Sometimes I am too worried about making every second "productive," even on days off. The world wouldn't end if we did all the laundry on Sunday and into Sunday evening, but I want to stretch it out unnecessarily over Saturday and Sunday. Or so what if we don't get x project done this very day off? It will be there for the next one. So some of finding time to go golfing is just going out and doing it. I'm trying to do more of this myself, but I come from a growing up of always 1001 projects to be done around the house and living in a perpetual state of remodel so either you do that or you avoid doing it by vegging out in front of the TV or falling asleep for a nap so that you "run out" of time (not a conscious behavior, but that's what happens, anyway).

People-in-general "you," not "you Greg." :D

Tradd
8-20-11, 12:06am
For me, having an apartment with a dishwasher and an in unit washer & dryer have made all the difference. I LOATHE doing dishes by hand and I hated having to spend several hours at the laundromat (not to mention the noise level was awful).

fidgiegirl
8-20-11, 12:23am
I also think Internet is a big huge time suck for me. I'd likely be much happier if I picked up a book. My list to-read is very long! :)

Proud of us tonight, though . . . instead of vegging out poking around online we went outside and had a fire. Really nice night for one. We've had so few fires this year, and not really for any good reason. It was super enjoyable.

We have smartphones now, and are still feeling out how to use them. I might start deliberately leaving mine at home. Otherwise I'm compulsively using it. We went to dinner, and DH was parking the car, and I had to tell myself about 3 times that I didn't have my phone and just to enjoy that. Might experiment with this more.

Greg44
8-20-11, 12:46am
I have been poking around the freezer meals thread and I can see that would be "found time" it doesn't take much effort to make extra for another meal or two or for some lunches. I mean you already have the mess!

herbgeek
8-20-11, 9:17am
I think the key is not so much in finding big blocks of time to do big things, but to use those little blocks of time between things that we all have wisely.

Being a visual person, I keep a lot of projects out in sight, so when I have, say, 15 minutes before I need to leave the house, I can do /something/. I particularly do this with herb/gardening/food preservation projects. If I keep the house too tidy, then I forget about these pending projects and they don't happen (or the food/herb deteriorates so I can no longer use it).

I also don't watch much TV, and for the most part try to do some sort of craft project like knitting, for the times when I do watch TV. I also keep a pile of books on my nightstand, and while it takes me forever to get through books 10 or 15 minutes at a time, there is a sense of progress.

Miss Cellane
8-20-11, 9:37am
Some of my found time is the time I spend waiting--waiting for the kettle to boil, the pasta water to boil, the cookies to bake, etc. This morning I put the kettle on for tea. While waiting, I unloaded the dishwasher and dish strainer, washed the cat food bowls and refilled them, let the cat out on the deck, let the cat back in. While my tea steeped, I stripped the bed (most mornings I make the bed but today's laundry day), opened all the shades to let the light in, turned off the window fans and rinsed and refilled the cat water bowls. This has become so much of a routine that I don't even think about it--and I get to start the day 20 minutes after I get up with a bunch of chores nicely finished.

While cooking, I will clear off the counter, or fold laundry, or sort the mail, or neaten a drawer or shelf. It's to the point where I'm waiting for something to boil or the timer to go off and I just start looking around for something to do. If you are trying to declutter your house, these little 10-20 minute blocks of time are ideal--you can declutter a small area without getting overwhelmed.

Another thing I do is to try to be efficient. I've experimented with chores. Instead of cleaning one room from top to bottom, I've found that it's faster if I vacuum the entire place all at once, then spend 15 minutes a day dusting and tidying one room a day. Hauling the vacuum out daily doesn't work for me. Cleaning the whole house all at once doesn't work for me. Doing little bits daily does.

Cooking--make more than one meal at a time. Saves time cooking and with cleanup.

Eliminate or reduce chores. Things like change the sheets every other week instead of weekly. Eliminate the newspaper subscription to save time and effort on recycling. Do errands one or two days a week instead of daily. Ditto with food shopping and laundry.

The goal of all this is to have one hour every morning and one to two hours every night where I can sit and collapse and do exactly what I want, even if that is to just sit there staring off into space.

pinkytoe
8-20-11, 9:42am
Hate to say it, but the internet is where I waste way too much time. One morning I didn't turn it on and went about some neglected chores on my day off. I was amazed at how much I got done.

Mrs. Hermit
8-20-11, 10:07am
I agree with the idea of fitting the chores into the "bits" of wait time. But then I have to consciously plan time for the experiences/projects that I want to get have done. If I don't, more chores and other events of daily living overwhelm the time I "found". For example, I have to decide when in my day I will get my writing done, rather than just waiting for a moment to do it. I have to choose which Saturday we are going to the air show in order to make it happen.

Greg44
8-20-11, 10:32am
Finding bits of time I think is a really good suggestion. I have been using this at work. I may have a small project that needs to be completed, but it is at the end of the day. Now I look at the clock and think I should be able to get that done before we close - and I do.

Before at the end of the day we salesmen are just standing around talking.

Zoe Girl
8-20-11, 11:12am
I have done the little bits of time for a long time, now I need some bigger chunks of time. I already do not watch TV or go out much, but I work 7 days a week so that is really hard to manage. Some of my weekend shifts go 930 to 7 and so there the day is gone. I have started to request at least one weekend day off a month to keep up with things around the house. During the week I often do not need to be at work until 930 and that make a big difference. Working until 6 rather than 5 is not such a big deal,but have a couple hours after I take my son to school in teh morning can be productive.

Simpler at Fifty
8-20-11, 12:38pm
I work from home on Tuesdays. I get my laundry done during my breaks and lunch. I have 1 hour of 'extra' time at home since I do not have to drive.

I recently started a part time job in addition to the FT one. DH has picked up some of our 'homework'. He vacuums, puts laundry away, unloads the dishwasher, does the dishes and cleans the toilets. He has always done the grocery shopping and the cooking. I work 2 nights a week and do nothing on at home those nights. The other nights I clean and find I get more done because I do not procrastinate. It really has been eye opening to see how much time I wasted in the past.

JaneV2.0
8-20-11, 1:35pm
I'm with Herbgeek. I surprised myself by finding out how much I can get done in five-minute bursts. TV is not a time-sink for me, as I rarely just sit and stare at it. Usually I half-watch while surfing or picking up or working on something else. It's a rare program--with compelling visuals--that requires my full attention.

Sad Eyed Lady
8-20-11, 1:47pm
IMO the biggest time waster is work! I have always said it just gets in the way of things I want to do. Seriously, I guess in this day and age the time wasters are T.V. and Internet. I am not a T.V. watcher, as JaneV2.0 said, it's a rare program that compels my attention. Our TV is rarely on except for the news, one 30 minute British comedy weekly, and then the rare program that one of us wants to watch. However, I do find myself at the computer more and I have to remind myself it is a beautiful day outside, I am wasting it setting at a computer. My most recent found time is getting up earlier. I have never been a morning person, but lately for the past few months I have been waking up earlier and on my days off I look at how much I have accomplished and think "Wow, it's only 10 o'clock!". Previously, I may have still been sitting with my coffee at 10 a.m. and nothing else done. Not that something has to be going on all the time. In fact, as I am nearing leaving my work except for one day a week, I am trying to "slow down", enjoy what I am doing at the moment and not racing ahead (in my mind) to other things. So far, I am making progress!

Fawn
8-20-11, 1:47pm
For me the following work:

1) No TV in home.

2) Teaching kids to do their own laundry, clean house, mow grass etc. This was time consuming in the beginning, but now saves me lots of time.

3) Learning to say "no." With 3 kids in 3-4 activities each, I have curate the time I have carefully. I recently turned down a work project because I have had too much overtime lately. The kids can't take on a new activity w/o letting on old one go.

4) I do not sit down between rising at 5am and whenever I get the dishes done (usually 7 or 8pm. After that I can take on a small project or rest on the couch w/ a book before bed.) You can get a lot of small stuff done, if you don't sit down.

5) Minimalism. Fewer items to care for = less time spent taking care of them. (to a point...if I only had one work outfit, I would have to wash it every night-not time efficient.)

6) The Book of Lists. I have a small spiral notebook I carry with me that has 1) ongoing to-do list 2) grocery items, listed by store purchased 3) Target/hardware store list 4) misc bits of info I need to have handy. This keeps me from making multiple trips because I forgot something.

As for people who have time for golf or other things that I don't.....I remind myself that this very busy time with my teenagers at home will only last a few years. After that, I will have plenty of time to golf, or paint, or sew clothing by hand, or travel, or garden, or get drunk on the couch.

Gives me something to look forward to. !Splat!

edited for typos

JaneV2.0
8-20-11, 4:30pm
Shalom Poet--Amen! I never felt that what I did to make money had anything to do with who I am; it was just indentured servitude. And it took up way too much time--twelve hours a day including commute. I'm glad I was able to escape relatively early.

frugal-one
8-20-11, 6:53pm
Every April 1 I sit down and make a list of things I want to do for the summer and plan dates to work on large vacation plans. I then schedule it on the calendar. I make hotel reservations or whatever. It turns out that if I do not schedule it.. it will not happen. The time just gets away. I have been doing this for at least 7 years and have checked many items off my "bucket list". If I know we are going somewhere I fit in the work. People have time for golf because they MAKE time for it! Works for me!

rosarugosa
8-21-11, 10:00pm
The internet is definitely my biggest time thief. For the next few weekends, I think I'm going to try just checking SLN and my "must-read" blogs in the AM with coffee, and then shutting off the laptop and putting it away. I suspect I'll end up accomplishing more (both productive and leisure) and feeling better about my weekends.