I took Econ AP solely because I took Honors Civics and didn’t have a choice. If you took one in the “honors” category, you had to do the same with the other. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty, and I didn’t even attempt the AP test. Yet, if there is one thing that I still remember to this day, it’s the concept of “Opportunity Cost….” the basic premise that asks “Does the time it takes to do ‘x’ outweigh the price it wold cost to have ‘x’ done for you?” It stuck with me, and it’s a concept I apply to my life almost daily…..

Yet, when I became a mom, it took on an entirely more significant role in my line of thinking. Time became much more valuable, for various reasons…. I had less of it + I wanted to spend it more focused on the things and people I love. Saving 4-5 hours a week to catch up with a girlfriend, snuggle with little miss, or have a date with TJ became much more important to me. In speaking with a lot of others, it’s important to them too. So, today I’m sharing the 4 ways I save several hours every week…..

1. Meal Planning: This can be done to various degrees depending on how much time you really want to save. For me, purchasing pre-chopped veggies (there’s that opportunity cost concept), buying all the groceries I need on Sunday, and planning out the meals we want to have throughout the week saves me tons of time. Being able to just grab some pre-shredded chicken, or grilled turkey burger, pre-chopped veggies, and toss them into a salad, saves me time on a daily basis. It also eliminates stress during the week as I try to put together a healthy lunch for myself and Harper… kinda removes the guess work and gives me about an extra 20 minutes each day.

2. On-line Grocery Shopping: My girlfriends have been swearing by this for years, but I discovered it during last year’s Christmas season. It was a stormy few days right before Christmas, and just the thought of battling the crowds with a baby stressed me out. I weighed out the cost and decided it far exceeded the stress of heading out in the rain to the crowded stores with a baby. So, I made my first on-line grocery purchase and was sold. It must have saved me, and continues to save me, a couple hours a week (and that’s a lot of time…. a park date with your little one, a lunch date with your boo, a work-out, or a coffee session with a girlfriend….).  Recently I was introduced to Uniquely J, which just launched as a brand of Jet.com, which sells everyday essentials at an excellent price point and great quality. They currently offer cleaning products (which are made from plant-based ingredients and free from harsh chemicals), coffee (fair trade + organic), organic sauces + oils, BPA free food storage, and SFI-certified paper goods all in cute packaging and with the “natural” lifestyle in mind.

A few favorites for our family include this salsa (sooo good with non-gmo sweet potato chips + bell peppers), sriracha sauce (delish in our Asian inspired rice bowls for dinner), gallon storage bags (excellent quality, and actually stay sealed….), paper napkins (which seamlessly cleaned up some of the salsa that spilled on little miss’ jeggings….), and this fragrance free all purpose cleaner to clean up our post snack and mealtime messes. It was a seamless delivery service, and ordering on-line was a cinch.

3. Outfit Plan: For years, I have notoriously wasted time in this category… and by years, I mean since elementary school. It got to the point where my mom suggested that I plan my outfits before the week started (with room for minor alterations given weather….). Solved that problem fairly quickly. I still do it to this day, though maybe not with as much rigidity. On a Sunday evening, I sit down and think about what I want to wear each day…. then I jot it down. If I’m not feeling that specific outfit on that particular day, I swap outfits, but it still saves time since everything has been “planned out.” I’d say this saves me about 20 minutes a day…

4. Delegate Social Media Time: This is a huge one for me, and a time sucker for sure. One of the ways I have maneuvered around this is by allocating time to scroll through social media channels. I have four blocks of time…. before Harper wakes up in the morning,  when she goes down for a nap,  right before she wakes up, and the last time is right before I shut down for the evening (and by “shutdown” I mean not look at my phone 30 minutes before bed). It has significantly reduced the amount of time I waste looking at my phone, and increase my level of presence with my family.

I’d love to know the ways that you save time too… since I’m always looking for a few extra minutes here and there! 

Thank you to Uniquely J for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.