12 Time-Saving Tips for Busy Dads
September 04, 2011, By Tom McNulty 0 comments
Life has lots of moving parts, and all of them eat up the clock. As jam-packed as most guys’ lives are, that’s a real issue.
We have flights to catch, dates to impress, meetings to attend, dogs to walk, projects to tackle, deadlines to hit, tee times to book, and our favorite pursuit: being an immovable, Dorito-munching object waiting for the irresistible force of our wife’s honey-do list to hit.
But there are plenty of ingenious ways to create more “me-time”—or in your case, “you-time”—for everything we do. Here’s how.
First, cut the time-suckers
1. Overworking. Don’t get me wrong, working hard is the American Way. But face it: the more work you get done, the more the boss will give you. Just calm down and pace yourself—do what’s expected and do it well, but don’t overdo it. Type A males have a nasty habit of learning that, statistically, a man’s first heart attack is often his last. And we sure don’t want to lose any loyal readers like that.
2. Watching network news. For all the hype, the nightly news packs five or 10 minutes worth of information into a half hour…with commercials. Go online and get just as much news in a fraction of the time, and you get to choose the stories you want to read.
3. Over-joining. You have golf league, fantasy football, softball games, poker night and more. Your leisure time is killing you, and you’re creating more deadlines for yourself. Cut a few.
4. Writing checks. Switch to online bill-pay and save at least an hour a month, plus postage (44 cents a pop). And why, every time I shop, is there a woman checking out ahead of me writing a check for $2.59? Crazy.
5. Watching real time TV. The DVR and TiVo set you free: whip through commercials, compress one-hour shows into 40 minutes, and watch everything on your schedule.
6. Opening junk mail. Obvious junk? Recycle or trash it.
7. Overpacking. Packing light is an art, and many websites will help you. But a man can usually get along fine with just two of everything—shoes, pants, shirts, belts. Plus, they’ll have washing machines and clothing stores where you’re going.
