5 Essential Tips For Being More Frugal With Your Time

If you’re constantly in a state of time famine, this post is for you. We’re all familiar with being financially frugal, but have you ever thought about being frugal with your time? Time is not a renewable resource: Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever and we can never ever get it back — which is why it’s so important to be thrifty in how you spend it. Here, I’m sharing five of my favorite ways to take charge of your days. Try them out and you’ll be feeling rich in no time.

Trust me when I say this: Learning how to say no is absolutely life changing. Saying yes to tasks and commitments that you don’t really want to do eats up your mental, emotional, and physical energy and leaves little time for your personal priorities and self-care. Your time is precious. Protect it fiercely.

Time is not a renewable resource, but your money can be, in a way. So if you really hate cleaning out your garage or running certain errands, consider paying someone else to do those dreaded chores. Yes, this will make a small dent in your budget, put it leaves you with more precious time on your hands to spend with loved ones or just get some much-needed rest. That my friends, is priceless.

Just like financial investments, investments in time can pay off big. Doing things like automating your bills, training a new assistant, or setting up an organizational system each require a small investment of time upfront, but will pay you back in dividends of extra free time later on.

Batching similar tasks together is a huge timer saver. Try meal prepping all of your meals on Sundays so you don’t have to cook throughout the week, run all your errands in one afternoon, or set a specific time in the day to respond to emails. Batching will save you time and increase your productivity tremendously.

Creating more time in your life requires you take a really close look at every single thing on your to-do list, especially unfinished projects that have been sitting on the list for what feels like forever. Uncompleted items drain your energy and distract you from more important things, even if you’re not actively working on them. If something (non-essential) on your list no longer fires you up, just cross it off forever. Feel the weight lifted off your shoulders. It’s liberating. Shorter to-do lists will make you feel more in control and you’ll end each day feeling satisfied rather than stressed and overwhelmed.

What strategies do you use to take total control over your time?