6 Life Admin Hacks That Can Change Your Life
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned”
–Benjamin Franklin
We’re always looking for better, more efficient ways to do things. Time saved on admin tasks means more time to spend on the things we actually enjoy. Here are a few of our favorite efficiency hacks.
Online shopping
For something like grocery shopping, which must happen often, online shopping is a massive time saver. Not only do you save the time you would spend getting to the store, but you’re also less likely to ‘browse’ around — which means you won’t buy things you don’t need. Want to be even more efficient? Type up your shopping list beforehand and copy and paste it into the multi-search function on the grocery store’s website. Eventually, you’ll have it fine-tuned down to just a few minutes.
Money management
Money admin is something that’s easy to put-off because it can seem daunting. But there are a few simple things you can do to slowly get on top of it.
Scheduling a regular block of time to do your budgets and manage your finances is a helpful place to start. Use an app like You Need a Budget. It’s much easier than trying to figure things out on your own — which can just add more confusion and frustration. Commit to transferring a small amount from every pay check into a savings account and your savings will grow slowly but surely, even if it’s just by $10 a month. You could even do fun challenges like ‘no spend Saturdays’ to help get your finances in a healthier space.
Finally, if debt and money is something that concerns you and is making you feel more nervous and overwhelmed, local charities can offer you free advice and help, so call them.
Meal prep
With busy days and heavy workloads, it can sometimes be challenging to eat healthy, well-balanced meals. Planning ahead and prepping some of the food on the weekend means it’s more likely to happen. Start by going through your fridge and pantry to make a menu for the week. And then prep vegetables and cook meat so it’s ready to go. If you’re looking for more ideas, one Pinterest search for ‘meal prep’ will throw up all the tips you’ll need. (Check out some of our recipe ideas here.)
Learn from the best
Learning from others is a sure-fire way to discover new methods but also save time. They have already made the mistakes and figured out the best way to do things, so you don’t have to. Here are a two of our favorite experts:
Jamie Oliver (JamieOliver.com) is known for his quick, delicious meal ideas. You’ll find all the recipes you could want on his website.
Marie Kondo (KonMari.com) — the queen of tidying up and organization. Kondo’s philosophy is to get rid of anything that doesn’t ‘spark joy’. Easier said than done, but if you want more insight into her methods — which are taking the world by storm — check out her Netflix show ‘Tidying Up’.
Weekday house cleaning
Try and set aside time every day to tackle one thing on your cleaning list. That way when the weekend arrives you should have a fairly clean home and won’t have to spend your Saturday and Sunday scrubbing toilets. Wondering where to start? Set your alarm for 30 minutes and spend a ‘power half-hour’ working your way clockwise around a room, dusting, cleaning and spritzing. The right tools, like a good vacuum cleaner and the right cleaning products will save you loads of time in the long run. Take a look at Mrs. Hinch (Instagram) for some great cleaning tips.
Book that appointment
It’s amazing how long certain things can languish on our to-do lists. Booking a dentist appointment never seems to have priority. Keep a running list of all appointments that need to be booked and set aside an hour at the start of every month to just get them done. Add them to your calendar with reminders so that you won’t forget.
See all our productivity topics here. Check out our articles on simple ways to feel relaxed, starting a low stress lifestyle, daily things you can do to feel calm, and keeping relaxed during your day. Or simply scroll down.
