7 Time-Saving Tips for Better Productivity

Things your future self will thank you for.

I have been obsessed with finding new ways that can make me more productive for so long now. I am one of those people who look for new ways to be more productive and save time.

Over the years, I have implemented different productivity tips that I found have helped me save time throughout the day. This blog post is all about the time-saving tips that help you have better productivity.

You will learn productivity tips that will save you time that you can easily implement as a habit or your routine. This blog post is for anyone who wants to save more time (you have nothing to lose right?).

So, let’s get into this.

1 – 2 minute rule

The rule of thumb is this – if something takes less than 2 minutes to do, just do it.

For example, if it takes you less than 2 minutes to wash a dish, just do it. If takes less than 2 minutes to put something away, just do it.

When you think about it, the amount of these 2-minute tasks will add up throughout the day. When you tackle those two-minute tasks right then and there, you save time at the end of the day. For example, if you wash your dishes throughout the day, you save yourself from a big stack of dishes to wash once the day is done.

Plus, the 2-minute rule is a great way to get started on a task if you feel like procrastinating on it. So, to implement the 2-minute rule, simply just do the task right away. If you want to go further, put a timer.

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RELATED: Popular Productivity Tips: What Worked for Me and What Didn’t

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2 – Schedule & Create To-Do Lists Ahead of Time

We all know that it’s important to create a schedule and to-do lists to have a productive day.

However, it’s also important to do them ahead of time, a minimum of the day before. I schedule my week on a Sunday along with my to-do lists. But the night before each day, I create a to-do list of tasks I want to do and accomplish. This helps me have a productive week.

This saves you time because it allows you to get started on your day already. Typically, planning your schedule and creating your to-do list can take a short amount of time. However, doing these tasks a day before allows you to go to bed knowing what you’ll be tackling the next day. When you wake up the next day, you already know what you need to do, and what’s going on, and you don’t need to worry otherwise.

So, if you’re already creating schedules and to-do lists the day of, switch it to the night before by adding it to your night routine in some way. This way, you can just use the start of the day to just get… started.

3 – 2 minute tidy before leaving the house

Just like the 2-minute rule, before you leave the house, take 2 minutes to tidy everything up.

For example, if you use your dresser to do your makeup before you leave, that 2 minutes includes putting everything away. If you had breakfast before you left, use that 2 minutes to wash dishes and clear the counter.

Similar to the two-minute rule, this saves you time later on in the day. Also, it makes you feel better that your spaces are a little bit clean. Maybe it’s not a deep clean, but it’s still clean and neat enough that you feel good once you get home. For instance, it feels better to see a clean counter and a neat dresser once you get home, rather than a dirty counter or a messy dresser.

To implement this little habit, just habit stack between the habits you currently do before you leave the house. For example, after you get ready, take at least 2 minutes to quickly tidy up, before grabbing your bag to leave.

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RELATED: Habits for Better Productivity

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4 – 2 minute put-away once you get home

Just like what was mentioned above about what to do before you leave the house, this is what to do once you get home.

This tip is that once you get home, put on a timer for 2 minutes, and put everything away. This includes the clothes you are wearing that you’re changing out of, the items in your bag, and pretty much anything else you’re bringing home with you.

Again, this saves time later on in the day, and it also keeps your spaces neat. For example, it’s more efficient to have your clothes put away right away, as opposed to your clothes stacking up on a chair.

Similar to the other 2-minute rules, create a habit of putting everything away the moment you get home. It’s a pretty easy productivity tip for all areas of your life.

5 – Put Everything Away Immediately

Similar to the above tip, this is for throughout the day. Whenever you use something, put everything away immediately.

For example, when you are cooking, put everything away immediately. If you are on your desk using various items, put everything away immediately.

Just like what was mentioned in the previous tip, tackling these sorts of tasks throughout the day saves you time at the end of the day. This is because multiple of these small tasks will accumulate to more time by the time your day is finished. So the more small tasks like putting everything away you tackle, the less time you accumulate once your day is done.

This is also a habit to build and it takes time to remind yourself to instantly do it. But just like all habits, it takes time to make it second nature.

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RELATED: Mistakes People Make When Trying to Be Productive

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6 – Have Everything Ready to Go

This is where you have everything you need for the next day all ready to go the night before. This includes your outfit, your bag, and even your food.

Having everything ready to go the night before saves you time on the day. It saves you time from making decisions on what to wear and finding the things you need. It feels so much better to just grab your bag than trying to find what you need before you head out the door. And also, if you end up needing to rush, it’s one less thing to worry about.

This is a habit that is perfect to integrate into your night routine. One of your night routine mistakes is not using it as an opportunity to set yourself up for the day ahead. Having everything ready to go the night before is a great way to set yourself up for the next day.

7 – Think Ahead

I know that this one is kind of vague, but it’s pretty simple – think about how you can make life easier later on.

For example, it’ll make life easy early on if you have all your bags ready the day before. Another example is that it’ll make life easier if you tackle these two-minute tasks throughout the day. You also think ahead with the work tasks you have. For instance, if you have completed all the tasks you needed to do, what else can you do to make the follow-up tasks easier?

Constantly thinking about how you can be proactive with your tasks not only saves you time later on but also makes things more manageable and efficient. Things become manageable and efficient when you are always on top of things because you’re always doing those little tasks that make life easy later on.

This is another habit that takes practice and time to build. But, when you do build the habit of always thinking ahead, you make life easy for yourself.

Take a SMALL STEP

Here’s how to take small steps to start implementing these time-saving tips:

1. 2-minute rule, 2-minute tidy, 2-minute put-away, put everything away immediately – Use timers for tasks that you predict will take less than 2 minutes to do so you can motivate yourself to race against the timer (that can be effective sometimes).
2. Schedule/Create to-do lists ahead of time, have everything ready to go – Implement where you could integrate these habits into your night routine so you can set yourself up for success the next day.
3. Think Ahead – Have in the back of your mind “how can I make life easy later on”. This is one of those habits that take time to build, but a good starting point is having that phrase linger in the back of your mind.

To Wrap Up

This blog post has shared with you 7 different tips that can help you save time. From a few 2-minute task tips to habits you can implement in your night routine (e.g. preparing everything the night before, creating to-do lists ahead of time), you will thank yourself later several times.

If you want to get better with your productivity, I have a free mini e-book called Small Steps to Your Productivity. It’s available in the Free Resources Library which you can download here.

In the meantime, here’s to doing things that save time, and having our future selves thank us later.

-Lauren 🙂

P.S I suggest you read these blog posts next:

• Time Management Tips
• 10 Actual Ways to Make You Productive
• 5 Things That Also Count as Being Productive

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