Get Errands Done Quickly - 8 Time Saving Tips

By Author: Jesse Whitehead
Total Articles: 130
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Many of us are so busy these days that it's hard to find time to do errands or complete our to-do list. There's no need to feel overwhelmed however. Getting your tasks done is a matter of planning and organizing your list and daily schedule in an efficient manner. Learn how to manage your to-do list and get errands done quickly by using the 8 time-saving tips listed in this article.

1. Keep a running list of things you need to buy such as groceries and household supplies. By adding errands as you go, you won't have to add much to the list by the time you're ready to go shopping.

2. Take your errand or to-do list with you wherever you go. When you have your list with you, you may find a little time to fit in something scheduled for later in the day or week.

3. Group errands together so you can get several things done in one trip. You'll save you a lot of time if you can do your shopping at a central location such as a shopping or business center that has all (or most) of the stores and service providers conveniently located in one place.

4. Do errands when traffic is light. Whenever ...
... possible, try to do your errands when traffic is light and the lines are short. Best times are usually between the hours of 9 AM and 3 PM on weekdays, because this is when most people are at work or in school. Other good times to do errands are generally evenings and all day Sunday, because of generally lighter traffic and fewer shoppers.

5. Use proximity. Along with grouping errands together, try to shop at stores and service providers that are in close proximity to your home, work, or en-route between home and work.

6. Schedule Back-to-back appointments to eliminate additional trips. When you have appointments and errands that are at several different locations, schedule them so you can go from one to the next with a minimum of time and travel.

7. Early appointments. Try to schedule appointments early in the morning. This is especially a good idea for doctor and dentist appointments, hair and nail appointments, etc., as these are the kind of appointments where you can be delayed by a patient or customer that is ahead of you. By getting tasks done early, you will still have the rest of the day left to do other things.

8. Get Your Family to help with errands. If you have a long list of things on your list, get your family members to help out. Divide up the tasks among the family members, and make it their responsibility to get them done by a certain time. For instance, if you have 8 things on your list and there are 4 people in your family, dividing 8 by 4 (8/4) gives each person only two errands that they have to do. This takes some of the load off of your shoulders, and also gives each family member ownership and satisfaction of contributing to the family.
Jesse Whitehead lives in the San Joaquin Valley of California with his family. He enjoys writing articles on a variety of different subjects. His newest interest is in tub shower faucets. Learn more about tub and shower faucets and wall mount faucets at WallMountFaucet.org