On one hand, I’m really happy that Daylight Savings Time starts today! It means the sun will be out later, and summer is just around the corner. On the other hand, however, I’m really irritated that one hour of my time essentially disappeared in the middle of the night!
Well, I’ve put together a way to get my hour back through some simple and easy tips.
Time Savings Tips
Here is how my time savings breaks down:
15 Minutes – DVR! When I watch my hour long shows that I DVR, they only take 45 minutes to watch since I skip the commericals!
12 Minutes – Dedicated Email Time. I stole this one from a “work more productively” tip book, but I find it to be very value added. The saying goes that if you are constantly checking email, you are less productive. If you dedicate one or two times a day to check email, and not do it outside those times, you should gain an additional 12 minutes!
10 Minutes – Keep Your Essentials Together. By this, I mean keep everything you need everyday, such as your wallet, purse, keys, phone, etc, in the same spot each day. By not having to fuss about finding stuff, you can save yourself about 10 minutes. This can be especially helpful if you have to get up early!
9 Minutes – Grocery Shopping with a Plan. I’ve never tried this, but I’m going to this week. Supposedly, if you divide your grocery list into four areas: produce, dry goods, meat, and dairy, and don’t leave each area of the store until you’ve picked up everything on that part of your list, you can save 9 minutes in the grocery store. Oh, and don’t shop while you are hungry!
6 Minutes – Multi-level Housekeeping. If you have a 2 story home, you should stock a separate set of cleaning supplies in a caddy on each floor. This will save you from running around up-and-down, and shave 6 minutes off your cleaning time!
5 Minutes – Cut to the Point! If you follow a lot of blogs and other websites, you should sign up for their RSS Feed or Newsletter. So, instead of tracking down each site and seeing what is new, you can get everything in a single place from all your sites. For example, you can sign-up for The College Investor RSS Feed by Email!
3 Minutes – Trash Efficiency. If you are working in the kitchen, put the trash can out and available for use, or use an old grocery bag for trash. By having the trash handy for peels, egg shells, etc, you save time by not having to go outside or to the garage often!
Total time saved: 1 Hour!!!
I hope this takes a little of the sting out from skipping ahead one hour!
Readers, do you have any time saving tips to make the transition easier?
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This post was written by...
Robert – who has written 317 posts on The College Investor.
Robert is the founder and editor of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to young adult and college student finances. You can learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Great list. I love it. Although I usually save my hour by watching 4 hour long shows. Alternatively, I can watch an entire 4 hour football game in 45-60 minutes saving myself 3 hours total. The only problem is when Payton Manning goes a little quick on the no huddle offense.