“There aren’t enough hours in the day.”
If those words are frequently slipping from your tongue between rushing your kids to school, attending (debatably unnecessary) work meetings, running after-work errands, and supervising the “everyone pick up your toys” scramble at the end of the day, we feel you. Sometimes 24 hours goes by as if it were 24 minutes.
While we don’t have a wand that magically grants you more hours, we may be able to help you uncover 10 extra minutes. That might not seem like much, but if you spend just 10 minutes a day in the HelloJoey app listening to the podcasts, reading the articles, and practicing what you learn, you’ll be investing in a solid parenting foundation and a deeper understanding of your kids that may end up saving your sanity — and, in the long run, saving you time, which is your most precious commodity.
We’re not exactly time management experts, but many of us juggle parenthood with full-time jobs and a boatload of extracurricular activities, so we’ve learned a thing or two along the way. Our gift to you: 10 ways to create an extra 10 minutes in your day.
Get up 15 minutes earlier. It might feel tough at first, but your body will adjust, and eventually you’ll grow to love that quiet time with a cup of coffee or tea when you go through e-mails, check social media, or listen to your next HelloJoey episode. A few minutes of calm in the morning can be a gift.
Make good use of waiting time. Don't go to the doctor or sit in the carpool lane without taking something to do. Make necessary phone calls, fill out paperwork, listen to a podcast, read an article, or buy those plane tickets. You can accomplish a lot waiting for a medical professional — or your kids.
Have your child do their homework right after dinner. If they’re doing their math problems at the table while you’re cleaning up after dinner, you’ll be right there if they need help. You’re supervising but also getting your dishes clean. (Of course, more important than being efficient is being effective when it comes to homework. Get tips on how to set your child up for successful homework time here.)
Collaborate with other parents. Arrange a carpool for your child's ballet class or soccer practice to cut down on driving time. Swap childcare with other parents for things like Target runs or general errand-running (because we all know stuff like that goes way faster without kids in tow).
Be decisive and move on. Every minute spent waffling on a decision can slow down your ability to act. For example, rather than spending six hours researching the best round-trip airfare deal — only to save a few bucks in the end — give yourself 60 minutes to comparison price shop, then hit purchase.
Turn off technology. You don't have to power down all day — or even most of the day, but take a tech break during the part of your day when you’re most productive. Don’t check e-mail, social media, or text messages. You’ll accomplish more in less time.
DVR your TV shows and skip the commercials. You can save 15 minutes from an hour-long program by doing this.
Loosen up your “clean house” standards. If you’re a neat freak, this may be hard to do, but it’s okay if you don’t Wet Jet your floor every night after dinner. One way to manage this is to pick a specific task for each day: vacuum on Monday, bathrooms on Tuesday, hard floors on Wednesday, etc.
Re-think your routines. If you’re like most people, you drive the same route to work each day — but have you considered other routes? Use Google Maps or Waze to see if you can shave 5 or 10 minutes off your commute time, especially if traffic is unpredictable. For an even bigger time-saver, look into public transportation options so you can get things done while on the move.
Limit multitasking. It's a common misconception that multitasking will allow you to get things done faster. While some things can be done simultaneously, like talking on the phone while watering your plants, it’s usually better to focus on one task at a time. That’s just how our brains work best. If you do one thing at a time, it will actually maximize your productivity and help you get each task done more quickly.
App tip:
HelloJoey is broken up into kits, or specific topics (Picky Eating, Bullying, Screens, etc.), and within each kit are blocks. After you listen to a block’s audio episode — roughly 10-12 minutes long — there are activities to help you apply what you’ve learned.
If 10 minutes is all you’ve got, no worries. You can save the activities you want to revisit to "My Pouch" and come back later when you have another 10-minute chunk of time to give them a try. Take a look.