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Admittedly most of struggle with increasing workloads. Getting through a regular day isn’t as straight forward anymore as it was maybe ten years ago. With the increased pressures we face every day, it only makes sense to find ways that help us hack our days to keep some sort of mental balance.

The sooner we take back control, the more we can eventually relax and enjoy life.

A definition of “hack” was found to explain:

one who works hard at boring tasks

It starts at the beginning

Before we even attempt to try a day hack we need to look back and write down the biggest hurdles we face every day to get things done. Perhaps they are:

• doing the washing
• paying bills
• cleaning up the house
• feeding the family
• write correspondence
• finish tasks for work
• etc.

Either way, most of us have certain things that are part of every day. If not, we do have at least a weekly schedule that prompts us to act on these things.

The problems start when we lack will

Let’s face it, we don’t really get excited to clean the house or wash the dishes. Nor do we feel that paying bills is a task we can’t wait to perform. Trouble is, that since most of us hate to do all the necessary things we need to, we often fall behind and as a result start stressing out when we realize we just missed an important deadline.

You probably felt like this many times in your life before.

But how do we turn boring tasks into an exciting experience?

Claim back the excitement in your day

To claim back your day and start to have some measures of fun despite all the hard work we do and the responsibilities we have, we can do a few simple things. These things will serve to have us relaxed, instead of stressed out at the end of every day. Not only will we be able to gain back some valuable time, but often we’ll sleep much better as a result.

Which will give us more energy to get even more done!

Start off by:

1. Planning for the week ahead. Plan you meals, shopping and when to pay bills. The best day to do this would be Sunday evening, involving the whole family and turning it into some fun night including pizza, soft drinks and the works if you will.

   This will also allow your children to make valuable contributions on how to get more done with less fuss. As a result you will all get more valuable quality time during the week and feel much more happy.

2. Before you leave the house each morning for work/school spend 30 minutes to clean up. Get the kids to clean up their own room and reward them with “brownie” points if they do. Those points can then be accumulated to earn them a cinema ticket or similar. It doesn’t have to cost the world.

   As for you, you’ll love coming home to a clean environment and if you do this regularly your house will always be clean (but still lived in).

3. Choose a set day to pay your bills each week. Often they are due on a Monday (at least here in Australia they are). So use Monday mornings before work to pay them. Even better, to save more time put them on automatic payments.
4. Divide work between family members. Even if mum/dad is a stay at home mum/dad, it doesn’t mean she/he will have to be everybody’s slave at the end of the day. She/he too deserves a break and some time to herself/himself.

   Get the kids involved! The sooner they learn to clean up after themselves, the better they will fare as young adults - plus you’ll get to relax more instead of running after them all the time.

5. Do all you shopping at once. Shopping is an essential necessity. Some of us love it, others don’t. But instead of running to the shops every night to pick up this and that, plan ahead and shop weekly. You will not only save time but also money by buying in bulk.
6. To save time cooking you can prep meals ahead of time. Sometimes when we cook a certain meal, it would be beneficial to cook more and freeze for another time.

   Or else you can do all the prep work on one day of the week. Chop and cut all your vegetables, store them in snap lock containers in the fridge and when it is time to cook you will be done before you know it.

The more ways we find to work smart at home, the more we can enjoy time off work at the end of every day. In a world that is increasingly putting more and more demands on us this has never been more important.

Perhaps you’d like to share your own tips on you hack your days for more personal time.

Monika Mundell is a passionate freelance writer and pro-blogger. Her extensive knowledge about the Internet allows her to work with many clients worldwide, serving their needs for better web content. Her passion to write is reflected in her blog Freelance Writing. Learn more on her Portfolio site.

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