7 Ways to Make Your Life More Productive

Let’s face it. When you have the awesome responsibility of caring for someone extra special, you don’t have a lot of time to get things done.  You need to be productive and skillfully manage your time.

When you are productive, your stress load is lightened because you worry a lot less about getting things done.

Here are 7 ways you can make your life more productive:

• Plan your work and your pleasure days by putting first things first.

• Keep your home clutter free by doing something each day to keep it clean. (ex: file/shred mail as it comes in)
• Schedule several appointments in one day (ex: dentist, doctor, blood work)
• Plan meals a week in advance.  Cooking on the weekend is a good idea.  You can freeze the remainder of your meals. For the remainder of the week, you’ll only need to thaw and reheat.  This will save you tons of time.
• Shop your wardrobe.  This is something I learned from Jill Chivers, founder of My Year Without Clothes Shopping.  It will save you money as well as open up new possibilities from what you already have in your closet. You’ll also save your sanity. No more waking up mornings in search of the perfect outfit.
• Check your emails toward the end of your days.  At the very least, don’t check them before noon. You’ll get a lot more done this way as email tends to suck away your time. (ex: refreshing constantly to check for new emails)
• Use traditional and modern tools for scheduling. In other words, put it in your PDA and in a good ole fashioned paper planner.  This way, if you can’t find one or the other, you’ll never be in the dark about what you’ve got planned next.

With a little planning and creativity, your life can be more productive.  What a big deal this is for those of us who are raising special needs children.