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5 Ways to Carve More Free Time Out of Your Daily Stress

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Whether it’s that big project at work, the bake sale you’re in charge of at your son’s school, or trying to find the time to call the plumber, daily life is stressful!  If 24 hours just never seems like enough to fit it all in, here’s what you need to do:

1.  Order in a few dinners

Who says you have to cook a hot meal all by yourself every night?  By ordering in dinner a couple of times a week, you can spend more time with your kids or dive into the bathtub for a relaxing soak after a long day.  Luckily, the food delivery industry features plenty of original, healthy foods, in addition to the old standbys.

And, if you’re really pressed for time, you can pre-order your meal online a few hours in advance so that it magically shows up at your door at dinner time!

2.  Make a list of what’s really important

Is it spending time playing with your kidsReading good booksTraining for a marathon?  Whatever you want to do with your free time, write it down and keep the list somewhere important.  That way, you’ll remember to carve out some time for those things every day — even if it’s only an hour.

3.  Consolidate things whenever you can

If you need to buy some groceries, get gas in your car, and drop your clothes off at the dry cleaners’, do them all at once.  It’s a whole lot faster than if you were to do one errand each day.  And, by getting everything done at once, you can devote the rest of your week to other, more important things.

4.  Stop checking your email

For some people, this can seem just as drastic as stopping your breathing!  OK, so you can’t ignore your email altogether, but if you drop everything every time you hear your computer or smartphone go “ding”, you’re actually wasting a ton of time.  After all, you have to stop what you’re doing, read and respond to the email, and then figure out where you left off on your other tasks.

Instead, only check your email two or three times a day.  That way, you’ll spend less time stressing over it.  Plus, it will remind everyone that you’re not on-call 24 hours a day!

5.  Make the most out of your mornings

Thanks to a good night’s sleep, those few cups of coffee, and your early-morning jog, you’ve got a ton of energy, so you might as well put it to good use!  That way, once the afternoon rolls around, you’ll have checked a ton of things off your “to-do” list — meaning you’ve earned the right to enjoy some free time!

By ordering food online, prioritizing roles, consolidating tasks, avoiding emails, and utilizing morning time – you’re actively addressing stress, which in itself, can feel pretty good!