Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.
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Good morning and Happy Thursday, friends!
About a month ago I signed on with Clever Girls Collective, a network of social media-savvy women that offer opportunities to blogger to share stories, ideas and offer insight on a variety of different topics. When I received an email informing me about the opportunity to blog about shortcuts I take to make my life easier, I jumped at the chance to address the topic.
As you know, I work full-time, maintain this time consuming and totally fun blog and try my hardest to live a healthy life fueled by fitness and nutritious foods. Sometimes I feel like my plate is about to overflow but, for the most part, I am not too stressed!
Even with a bunch of commitments on my plate, I think my lack of stress can be attributed to the following “shortcuts” I follow daily:
- Workout in the Morning: Getting to the gym after a crazy day at the office can seem impossible… especially when dinner has to be made and you want to spend quality time with loved ones. By waking up early to squeeze in a workout, I check something important off my to-do list at the beginning of the day which allows me to feel accomplished right off the bat. Waking up early to workout can make it feel like extra time was added to the day, and nothing ever gets in the way of an early gym session!
Time to Sweat!
Work it Out!
- Pack Lunch the Night Before: I pack my lunch for the following day while I’m making dinner. This saves me time in the morning and also saves money since I rarely go out to eat.
- Utilize a Slow Cooker: I am a huge fan of crock pot recipes. I love throwing a bunch of stuff into the slow cooker in the morning because it allows me to arrive home to an already-cooked delicious dinner after work. The crock pot does all the work for me while I’m at the office which saves me lots of time in the kitchen in the evening.
Crock Pot Salsa Chicken
- Prep Food on Sunday: Though it’s a total pain, I will often take about 30 minutes on a Sunday to chop vegetables to use in my lunches and dinners throughout the week. Since chopping vegetables is a pain in the tookus, taking care of this annoying prep step ahead of time saves me time during the workweek. Having pre-chopped veggies on hand also helps with my vegetable consumption since I’m much more likely to incorporate them into my meals if half of the prep work is already complete.
- Tackle Two Things at Once: On days when I have and extra long to-do list, I’ll set out to accomplish two tasks at once. I’ll take my dog for a run, checking her exercise off my list while simultaneously fitting in my workout. Doing the dishes while dinner is cooking rather than waiting in front of the TV is another great way to get two things done simultaneously.
Workout + Gettin' the Dog Some Exercise = 2 for 1!
Now it’s your turn to share!
What are your best time-saving tips?
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Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
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I haaaaate veggie prep! But you have a good idea I can put to use.
Great tips!! I feel like i’m getting most done when I can do 3 things at once! lol… dinner in the crock-pot, laundry in the washer, which gives me the ability to do a third thing like fold clothes, vacuum, workout, bathe the kids, etc.
🙂
Sleep often gets in the way of early morning workouts, but I’m able to work out in the morning on the days I don’t work. And I get off at noon, so I am able to fit my workout in, in the afternoon if I change immediately as I get home and head right back out to the gym!
I like to prep my clothes and the bag for the next day. Also, doing stuff while the dinner or lunch is cooking on the stove is great, like, when my sauce is simmering, I wash the dishes, tide up the apartment and things like that.
Like you, I prep my lunch and breakfast while I’m make dinner and I pick out my outfit when I change out of the previous day’s work clothes! I just have to grab and go in the morning (when I hit the gym to workout early!)
Great tips! I definitely love to use the crockpot, the salsa chicken looks delicious:)
Prepping veggies on Sunday is a great idea. Do you ever find that they’re not as fresh toward the end of the week? Or do you pack them in water or something to keep them fresh and crunchy?
I use all those same time saving tips, I also set out my workout and work clothes the night before as well.
omygosh, this is hilarious. I had to read the first and last sentence of this post like 3 times to realize what was going on.
Truly, props to you for joining something you believe and for figuring out a way to get some $ out of all the hard work you do for this blog.
But this was still a shock to my brain! to see a blog, one of the few things on the internet that I still consider private — private like a diary, and private as in not a publicly shared company — become so, you know, youtubed or whatever. Sponsored. Ads. everywhere! shocked me.
haha I love the picture of you in the pink tank in front of the mirror – it’s like your waiting to say “well hello there”