Top 5 Ways To Save Time

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - When it comes to time, who amongst us couldn't use a little more?

Lorraine Brock, founder and president of Get Orgnaized!, said that the foundation of getting organized and staying organized is time management. The key, she tells her clients, is to not just plan to do something, but schedule it and put it on a calendar.

"They are normally overwhelmed when they call," Brock said. "They are ready for a change. They are ready for us to tell them a solution to get organized."

There are also simple changes, Brock said, which people can make that can add up to huge time savings. So, with Brock's help, here are the top five ways to save time.

1. Checking your email every time that a new message pops up often wastes more time than the minute that it actually takes to read that email. There is also the time that it takes to refocus on what you were doing. Instead, experts recommend setting an alarm to check your email just every hour or 30 minutes.

2. Use your smartphone to actually make calls. We have become so accustomed to emailng and text messaging that we forget, we can often get the answers that we need much faster by simply placing a phone call.

3. Most people have an exact time when we need to be at work. However, to maximize your time, it is equally as important to have an exact time that you leave work. Experts said that knowing when you are going to clock-out will increase your overall productivity throughout the day.

4. The minute rule. The idea is that, if you can do it now in less than a minute -- such as putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher or putting a load of clothes in the dryer or taking out the trash -- then do it now. Many people tend to put these smaller things off, which only wastes more time in the long run.

5. According to a recent study, the average family spends 66 minutes each day preparing meals. To save some time, grill. It is much faster than cooking on the stove or in an oven. To save even more time, cook enough for two meals.

Bonus: Another way to save time while preparing meals, and at the grocery store, is to use an internet meal planner, such as emeals.com. Brock said that she recommends these online tools to all of her family clients. Most online meal planners provide simple recipes along with a detailed grocery list sorted by section.