I would have to say that my favorite productivity hack would have to be the way that I get my children (plus skis poles and other assorted gear) to the ski lift. It is affectionately known by some as the “shred wagon” it’s really nothing more than a fat tired electric bike with a children’s trailer attached to it but it has made countless days and at this point whole seasons much easier to accrue.
It really is easy to see how it has made their lives better.
I also keep a text thread to myself going and it is an easy way to keep track of things that come up through the day.
I think ground coffee will save me some precious soubhiye time
Great article. I love time saving and efficiency tips. I have 2 for grocery shopping. I write my grocery list in the order of aisles in the grocery store so that I can walk through one time with no doubling back for missed or forgotten items. Also I started using Apple Pay on my watch during the pandemic so that I don’t have to pull out my wallet or card at the check out. Oh! One more. If you do the self check out learn the codes for produce that often don’t have stickers on them such as bananas or onions.
I hope I can say this without getting kicked off the site, but paparazzi are the scum of the earth. I'll always remember sitting in the movie theater in 1988 watching NYPD detective John McLain kicking some serious terrorist ass. I'll also remember Bruce Willis as the smart ass private eye on Moonlighting and the loveable bank robber in Bandits ( if you haven't seen the movie you should. It's fantastic). The thought of his current frailty and vulnerability being exploited for profit makes me angry. Leave him alone.
The children laying out their clothes the night before school is a tremendous time saver. I credit this habit to my husband who started it and it has made our mornings much more efficient with getting the kids to school on time.
I draw boxes - looks like a house - only for things that are Home tasks. Circles (round like tires) stand for Errands, Dollar Signs for items I need to purchase, Question Marks for things I need to research, a little swirl that stands for a needed phone call. This was a major productivity booster for quickly scanning my To Do list! AND even better than the "boilerplate emails" is the feature in Outlook that allows you to Insert a "Quick Part." I save all kinds of routine replies as Quick Parts, and have saved oodles of time.
My wardrobe consists of dark t-shirts during warm months and dark hoodies during colder months. No logos…just plain. I wear nothing else. Even for work. Clients and colleagues have gotten so used to it that caricatures of me in my signature outfit even started popping up in my industry. Lol
Also, I don’t shave my head, I buzz it at home with my own clippers. Countless primping and barber shop hours saved.
I arrive 2-3 hours earlier than the suggested time for flights. Always. I plop down and do my work at the airport…no stress, never late…the airport has been great for 20+ years.
I used to have shoulder-length hair which takes me about 15-20 mins. to fix, plus make-up in the morning, total of 30 minutes, prior to leaving the house for the office. One summer, I decided to have my hair cut to a "bob", then to "pixie cut", which is much easier to manage. No hair dryer involved, just comb and that's it. I saved at least 20 minutes total daily. I've been doing it for years now.
My productivity hacks: We receive flyers in our mailbox every week. I never look at them. If I need something, I research that product instead. I don't need the temptation to look at the flyers and buy something just because it is on special. I grocery shop according to the stuff I actually need, never using flyers for that either. If something is too expensive, I just don't buy it. If something is reasonably priced and has a good shelf life, I buy more.
I ask my electronic device like Alexa or Google to do math for me so my hands don’t have to leave the keyboard. For example, “Hey Google, what’s $276 times 340 hours?”
I actually won a promotion once because I explained how one of the two refrigerators in our office suite dispensed water to fill my bottle 3 seconds faster than the other. Using the faster filler 3x a day 250 days a year gives me an additional 4 hours in an average work year… one could conceive/write/launch a pretty decent strategy to win in that amount of time.
Doesn't save as much time as shaving my head would, but during the pandemic shut down I learned to cut my own hair. Three years later, I'm still doing it. Also, I listen to books while walking, cleaning, cooking, etc instead of reading. I really like when the author reads their work because I get just a little more of their meaning from their voice inflections.
I stopped folding laundry. (My least favorite chore anyway !) I have two baskets. One clean- one dirty. Things I don’t want wrinkled get folded: namely pants. Tshirts? They go under dress shirts 90% of the time. Dress shirts go straight onto a hanger. Socks and underwear? Don’t make me laugh!! Nothing needs to be put in drawers or searched out from drawers. Saves a bunch of time and a fair chunk of sanity
I saw Serafina had this tip in her family as well - laying all my clothes out the night before. I also shave at night when I am more relaxed and less stressed to get out the door.
As soon as I wake even before bathroom I decide what I’m wearing that day from the skin out including socks and shoes I don’t know how much time I’ve saved but definitely have added serenity to my life
I would have to say that my favorite productivity hack would have to be the way that I get my children (plus skis poles and other assorted gear) to the ski lift. It is affectionately known by some as the “shred wagon” it’s really nothing more than a fat tired electric bike with a children’s trailer attached to it but it has made countless days and at this point whole seasons much easier to accrue.
It really is easy to see how it has made their lives better.
I also keep a text thread to myself going and it is an easy way to keep track of things that come up through the day.
I think ground coffee will save me some precious soubhiye time
🙏
Great article. I love time saving and efficiency tips. I have 2 for grocery shopping. I write my grocery list in the order of aisles in the grocery store so that I can walk through one time with no doubling back for missed or forgotten items. Also I started using Apple Pay on my watch during the pandemic so that I don’t have to pull out my wallet or card at the check out. Oh! One more. If you do the self check out learn the codes for produce that often don’t have stickers on them such as bananas or onions.
I hope I can say this without getting kicked off the site, but paparazzi are the scum of the earth. I'll always remember sitting in the movie theater in 1988 watching NYPD detective John McLain kicking some serious terrorist ass. I'll also remember Bruce Willis as the smart ass private eye on Moonlighting and the loveable bank robber in Bandits ( if you haven't seen the movie you should. It's fantastic). The thought of his current frailty and vulnerability being exploited for profit makes me angry. Leave him alone.
The children laying out their clothes the night before school is a tremendous time saver. I credit this habit to my husband who started it and it has made our mornings much more efficient with getting the kids to school on time.
I draw boxes - looks like a house - only for things that are Home tasks. Circles (round like tires) stand for Errands, Dollar Signs for items I need to purchase, Question Marks for things I need to research, a little swirl that stands for a needed phone call. This was a major productivity booster for quickly scanning my To Do list! AND even better than the "boilerplate emails" is the feature in Outlook that allows you to Insert a "Quick Part." I save all kinds of routine replies as Quick Parts, and have saved oodles of time.
My wardrobe consists of dark t-shirts during warm months and dark hoodies during colder months. No logos…just plain. I wear nothing else. Even for work. Clients and colleagues have gotten so used to it that caricatures of me in my signature outfit even started popping up in my industry. Lol
Also, I don’t shave my head, I buzz it at home with my own clippers. Countless primping and barber shop hours saved.
I arrive 2-3 hours earlier than the suggested time for flights. Always. I plop down and do my work at the airport…no stress, never late…the airport has been great for 20+ years.
I used to have shoulder-length hair which takes me about 15-20 mins. to fix, plus make-up in the morning, total of 30 minutes, prior to leaving the house for the office. One summer, I decided to have my hair cut to a "bob", then to "pixie cut", which is much easier to manage. No hair dryer involved, just comb and that's it. I saved at least 20 minutes total daily. I've been doing it for years now.
My productivity hacks: We receive flyers in our mailbox every week. I never look at them. If I need something, I research that product instead. I don't need the temptation to look at the flyers and buy something just because it is on special. I grocery shop according to the stuff I actually need, never using flyers for that either. If something is too expensive, I just don't buy it. If something is reasonably priced and has a good shelf life, I buy more.
I ask my electronic device like Alexa or Google to do math for me so my hands don’t have to leave the keyboard. For example, “Hey Google, what’s $276 times 340 hours?”
I actually won a promotion once because I explained how one of the two refrigerators in our office suite dispensed water to fill my bottle 3 seconds faster than the other. Using the faster filler 3x a day 250 days a year gives me an additional 4 hours in an average work year… one could conceive/write/launch a pretty decent strategy to win in that amount of time.
Doesn't save as much time as shaving my head would, but during the pandemic shut down I learned to cut my own hair. Three years later, I'm still doing it. Also, I listen to books while walking, cleaning, cooking, etc instead of reading. I really like when the author reads their work because I get just a little more of their meaning from their voice inflections.
I stopped folding laundry. (My least favorite chore anyway !) I have two baskets. One clean- one dirty. Things I don’t want wrinkled get folded: namely pants. Tshirts? They go under dress shirts 90% of the time. Dress shirts go straight onto a hanger. Socks and underwear? Don’t make me laugh!! Nothing needs to be put in drawers or searched out from drawers. Saves a bunch of time and a fair chunk of sanity
You guys are great haha , thank you!
I saw Serafina had this tip in her family as well - laying all my clothes out the night before. I also shave at night when I am more relaxed and less stressed to get out the door.
As soon as I wake even before bathroom I decide what I’m wearing that day from the skin out including socks and shoes I don’t know how much time I’ve saved but definitely have added serenity to my life