Seven Ways for a Busy Mum to Save Time

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

{This is a collaborative post}

Any mum can tell you that it can be relentless trying to keep the home running smoothly, the kids happy and dropped off to all the places they need to go and also to work or volunteer as well.  Or maybe you're busy supporting your husband behind the scenes as his work takes him out of the house for long hours or periods of time.

Whatever your family situation is, when you are looking after a home, children and possibly pets too, things can get really manic and we all need a few ideas of how we can streamline and be more efficient with our time. Just think how great it would be if you could put aside a couple of hours a week from your chores to spend on yourself, doing whatever you fancy. Maybe having a nice long bath, a coffee with a friend or a trip to the pilates studio.

Do your shopping online

Let's start simple, shopping online is a real timesaver and it can also be a money saver too, which is a win: win situation. If you find a supermarket that you like, you can set up your shopping list and add it to the cart each week and then just add or drop a few items to make sure you have everything in for your weekly menu. 

You can choose the time that suits you and your shopping arrives right at your front door. I then have a trundle truck by the door that I unload the shopping into and can wheel it into the kitchen, and get the kids to help me put it away. Depending on the age of your children you can either make this a fun learning activity, talking through the colours of the vegetables, or perhaps counting items, or with older children, they can earn screen time credits or pocket money by being helpful.

Batch Cook

You know what they say, cook once and eat twice, or if you are really good at batch cooking, maybe even eat far more times. Everyday family meals like bolognese, hot pot, chilli, curry, soups etc can be cooked in great big batches and then either frozen as individual meals or maybe in a portion size big enough to feed the whole family - whatever suits you best. 

I have a friend who spends one Sunday afternoon a month preparing meals for the whole month for her family. She says it is the best thing she ever started and proves a real-time saver, as all she has to do on a daily basis is maybe cook some rice or veggies to go with the main course that just needs reheating. Of course, you have to have a super big freezer to do this, but if you have space and enjoy batch cooking then why not?

How to Save Time in your Busy Schedule

These days, it can seem like just about everyone has a busy schedule that they have to stick to day after day. There are certainly plenty of jobs that require you to be on the ball around the clock, but saving time and creating more space in your schedule is almost always possible. It might not seem that way right now, but there are lots of little things that create extra time saving opportunities.

When you add up all these small amounts of saved time, it can create quite a lot of time saved by the end of the month. So it’s time to start looking into some of the various ways in which you can save time in your busy schedule and make your family’s busy life that little bit more laid back and relaxed than it is right now.

Stop Putting Things Off Until Later 
It’s so easy to open a bill or letter and then just throw it onto a big pile of things that you need to deal with later. But you will actually make more space in your budget in the long-term if you sort things out now and get back on track with your bills and other similar pressing matters. If you take the easy option of putting things off until later, that might seem comforting right now, but it will only come back to bite you and cause you more problems later on, which isn’t what you want.

Learn More Keyboard Shortcuts 
If you do a lot of work on your computer or you’re on a computer a lot, you should try to learn more keyboard shortcuts. These will help you get the most basic and important things done more quickly than you otherwise would. Of course, if you don’t feel like you need them, that’s up to you. But if you do try to pick up more shortcuts, you will get through so many situations much more quickly than you’re used to, and that can speed up your entire working day.

Woman saying no image thanks to Khaoniewping from Shutterstock

Turn Things Down When You Don’t Have the Time 
There is nothing wrong with being able to say no when you're simply not able to complete tasks that people ask for you. Your own workload should always take priority over whatever else is going on in the business, unless you get a request directly from the boss to do a particular paid. By turning things down, you will make your life simpler and more basic, and it works really well when it comes to adding more spare time to your schedule.

Would You Use an Online Pharmacy?

Image thanks to Assured Pharmacy

I have to be honest I've never considered using an online pharmacy before. I'm lucky to have enough time to go to the doctors, get my paper prescription and then head to the pharmacy but when I think back to working full-time and the restrictive opening hours of GP practices, it was quite a different story then. Also what about if I was a man with a sensitive problem, like erectile dysfunction. I'm sure I'd want help but I don't think I'd either A, want to miss work to go and see the GP or B, have to talk about this issue face-to-face to my doctor.

Can you trust an Online Pharmacy?
This is where an approved and reputable online pharmacy comes in handy. you can get the medication you need, without having to go out of your way and with minimal embarrassment factor. When I mentioned this to a couple of friends they were both worried that they'd receive substandard medication, or that it would come from aboard or not be legal in the UK but I was able to reassure them.

I've been checking out AssuredPharmacy.co.uk, who are approved by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) and have a GMC (General medical Council) registered doctor issuing their prescriptions. I particularly liked that I could (within moments) check online that that the MHRA registration is current and that the prescribing doctor - Dr Roisin McHugh is currently registered and able to practise medicine.