Bonus Minutes: Find Extra Time in Your Day

You have more time than you think when you begin to use your wasted minutes as Bonus Minutes. By trying these innovative ideas, you’ll discover how much time you really have in your day and exactly what you’ll be able to accomplish when you use your Bonus Minutes to your benefit.

Re-Think Your Activities.

I prep food for the week on the weekends so when I come home from work, I can just look at my Meal Ideas List and pick what to make for dinner.  This saves me about 5 minutes per night, which doesn’t sound like very much until you think that it’s about 30 minutes saved per week or 26 hours saved per year–that’s more than one full day saved by not deciding on dinner in the moment!

Break Tasks Down into Mini-Tasks.

If you have a large task to do, it’s much easier to accomplish your goal if you break the task down into mini-tasks that can be completed in 15 minutes or less.  Think about “Plan Vacation” as a task, who has the time to sit down and do this for hours? But, do you have time to look online to compare hotel information on your Smart Phone while you’re waiting in line? Could you make a list of clothes to bring so you’ve packed perfectly?  When you start to think of the details, it makes the larger task much easier to accomplish.

It’s the Little Things.

Every morning while I’m making my breakfast, I unload the dishwasher.  It takes about three minutes for my oatmeal to cook in the microwave and cool.  It also takes and about three minutes for me to put everything away each morning, and then I know I don’t have to worry about that task when I come home from work.

Always Be Prepared.

I pack a few tasks in my bags each morning, save reminders to my phone throughout my day, email myself links/sites to visit  and take pictures of activities to do try when I have time.  While I’m waiting in line, I’m able to pull out these items and work through some of the tasks on my Smart Phone or from my packed notes/tasks.

Don’t Wait for a Big Block of Time to Appear.

I have a large list of tasks that I’m trying to accomplish this year and I’m making good progress because I’ve used my available minutes.  This week, I printed my iTunes workout playlists so I can review and update as I’m waiting for meetings to begin, I brought the kids “sellable” clothes storage tubs into the living room to process and tag while I’m watching TV, matched and sorted the kids socks while I was waiting for pasta to boil and reserved books online at the Library while I was waiting for pictures to upload.  You can find these minutes anywhere–just use the tiny ones you have to work toward your larger goal.

Double Up When You Can.

I walk my son to school every morning.  And yes, this does usually take longer, but I’m also getting my exercise as part of my employer’s wellness program pedometer contest.  So, I get to spend time with my son talking every morning to school and I get exercise and fresh air.  Win, Win, Win.  Find things you can do that complete two goals/tasks at once.