Learn: Three Ways I Save Time

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?

—Henry David Thoreau

Though I haven’t read much of Thoreau’s work, I have to admit: lately, his words are speaking to me. The man who went off into the woods to live intentionally, I feel, has a lot to say to us in 2018. Not that we should all become hermits living in nature, but rather there is something powerful about stepping out of the current of our culture. To put down our phones, and figure out the best path for us as individuals outside of the many predetermined expectations we’ve been given. And, strange as it might seem, time management plays an important part in this.

Our culture and technology has made it increasingly easier to live mostly “on the go” or looking at a screen, leaving us completely distracted. Days and weeks go by, and the dreams we’ve had since we were kids are put off, or lost. Our values for how we want to live, don’t match up with how we’re actually living. And daily, we are missing opportunities to take steps toward the lives we know we want. All because we feel too busy to change.

Now, I wish I could say I have figured it all out. I wish I could tell you the three ways I save time, are all you need to get to the place you want to go. Only, we all know it’s not that simple. The goods news though, is that it isn’t too complex either.

Today, I want to share with you three ways we save time on a weekly basis—not because I believe it will change your entire life. But, because I believe even small changes can make a big difference. Check them out, and feel free to share any special ways you save time, as I believe we have much to learn from each other.

Meal Planning & Eating Leftovers

This one is probably the one that makes the biggest impact. Once a week, Tony and I sit down and plan all of our meals. Then, in one trip to the farmers market and one trip to the grocery story (usually)—all our food shopping is done. When we go to make a meal, we have all the food we need. Then, we make four or five larger meals that feed us for dinners and lunches for the entire week. That means, every time we’re pulling out leftovers, we’re saving time. Not only that, but we’re saving money on all the meals we’re not eating out andwe’re eating healthier foods.

Working Out At Home

Though there are some great benefits to going to a gym (getting a trainer, meeting friends to workout, fun classes, etc.), we’ve found working out at home saves us time and money. Going for a run in our neighborhood, or finding twenty minute workout video’s to stream online, mean there is no transportation to the gym, and no excuse that it takes too much time.

We don’t have Netflix

For some of you this may seem extreme, and believe me there are shows I hear about that sound so good. But like keeping our favorite snacks and desserts (mostly) out of the house, not having the ability to watch as many shows as we want, whenever we want, saves us a lot of time. Also, it has made it easier for us to focus on week nights where we want to work toward our creative dreams. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not living under a rock. We have limited cable, which means we can watch some shows on demand, on the weekends.