MOMS are the busiest people in the world. Saving time is hard. Whether we’re rushing to work, rushing home to make dinner, or rushing to pick up the kids and take them to practice, we all seem to be short on time. Here are ways to help you add a few more minutes to your day.

Make breakfast ahead

Since you’re likely trying to reinforce to your family the importance of eating breakfast, resorting to a protein bar in an effort to save time isn’t doing you any favors. A great way to ensure you’re getting a good breakfast is to premake breakfast sandwiches. Over the weekend, crack an egg into each cup of a lightly greased muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes at 175 degrees C. Place the eggs onto English muffins with cheese and your breakfast meat of choice, and then freeze to heat up during the week. Or freeze fruits and vegetables in bags or food storage containers to blend into smoothies during the week.

Organize toy cleanup

To make toy cleanup a breeze and save on the sorting time, put a picture of each type of toy on stackable storage bins. This way, all of the dolls go in one bin while the Legos and the blocks go in another. Besides making the playroom more organized, it can also encourage each kid to get involved in cleaning up since even the youngest can help sort the toys based on the bins’ pictures.

Time yourself

One of the best ways to save time is to time yourself, especially if it involves any mundane tasks such as chores.

Get ahead of events

Take note of all upcoming events (birthdays, graduations, anniversaries) happening in the month ahead. Then buy all of the cards and any gifts in one swoop, saving time and multiple trips in the weeks ahead. The same practice can work if you prefer not to leave home. Just keep your list handy, and do all of your online shopping at once at the start of the month.

Delegate smartly

One surefire way to save yourself an easy 10 minutes is to stop trying to do everything yourself. Whether it’s asking your husband to pick up the dry cleaning or trading off carpooling with the neighbors, you’ll breathe easier when you can outsource at least one task a day. And don’t forget to use your kids wisely. Even if it means having to take the time to teach them how to do laundry or load the dishwasher, it will benefit everyone in the long run.

Limit distractions

With the modern conveniences of technology, a bevy of time-wasting distractions are usually close behind.

To keep yourself from going down the WeChat-browsing rabbit hole, schedule time each day to turn off the Internet and put your phone in your desk drawer so you won’t be tempted to peek at it every time the screen lights up.

Prep on Sunday

On Sundays, create a meal plan for the week to make the daily “What’s for dinner?” question obsolete. Once you’ve gotten the week’s dinners figured out, pick out your clothes for the week as well. Preparing as much as you can on Sundays and then taking a few minutes each night to prepare for the next day by organizing backpacks, lunch boxes and after-school practice gear will save you a guaranteed 10 minutes each morning.

Keep a time journal

While it may take some time at first to jot down how you’re spending your days, it will help you identify where you might be wasting time — which will end up saving you a lot of time in the long run.

Keep a journal for one to two weeks to give yourself a general idea of how you’re structuring your days. Then, pinpoint some of the “black holes” in your schedule that are eating up your time. Just being aware of your tendencies to spend more time than you’d like on certain activities will save at least 10 minutes every day.

(SD-Agencies)