3 Ways to Free Up Your Time and Cut Back on To-Do’s

Let’s face it – life can get busy. Do you ever find yourself saying, “I wish I didn’t have to go to the grocery store” or “I’d love to pay someone to do the yard work for me”?

What if I told you that you could? You could free up some of that time in your busy schedule and spend it on doing the things that are actually important to you.

There are new apps and programs launching all the time that allow you to do just that.

Let’s look at three ways you can free up your time.

Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping seems to be one of those things you love or hate. There isn’t much in between. If you’re one of those people who (like me) would rather not have to fight the checkout lines on a Saturday to get food for the next week, listen up! You don’t have to anymore.

Meal Subscription Services

Try signing up for a meal subscription service like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron.

With a meal subscription service, you’ll have pre-portioned meals shipped right to your home with all the ingredients you need as well as recipe cards.

Hello Fresh allows you to create a meal plan based on how many people you need to feed, your dietary restrictions and your schedule. They post 15 new recipes each week, so you’ll always have variety. They also ship and package their food in recyclable material and provide tutorials on their website on how you can handle them responsibly.

Blue Apron, much like Hello Fresh, allows you to create a plan that fits your dietary needs, household size and schedule. They also pride themselves on high-quality, fresh ingredients, noting that they only use sustainable seafood; grass-fed, pasture-raised beef; and non-GMO ingredients. So you can feel good about the food you’re buying.

Grocery Delivery Services

If a meal subscription plan isn’t right for you (unless you’re feeding a few people, they might be more than you’re wanting to spend for convenience), try a grocery delivery service like Shipt.

With Shipt, you can create a grocery list using their app or their website. You set the time you want your groceries delivered, and then a Shipt driver will go shopping at your local grocery store and bring the groceries to you. They’ll even deliver the same day, in as little as one hour!

A subscription to Shipt is $99 a year, and you get free shipping on all orders $35 or more.

Household Maintenance

After working all week, it can be hard to get work done around the house on the weekends. Luckily, you don’t have to (if you don’t want to). Services like Task Rabbit will pair you up with someone who can take care of household tasks for you.

Task Rabbit offers:

• General cleaning
• Deep cleaning
• Help moving
• Furniture assembly
• TV mounting
• Handyman work
• Packing/unpacking
• Yard work
• Minor repairs

How It Works

First, you select what kind of task you’re looking for. Next, describe what you need to be done specifically. For example, maybe you want some general cleaning. Simply make a list of all the things you would want to be swept, dusted or vacuumed. Add whether you need any clothes washed or if you need the dishes done. Then, set a time to have the task done.

Finally, Task Rabbit will show you “taskers” qualified for the job. You can review each option and their pricing. Choose the one who best fits your needs, and they’ll arrive at the scheduled time. Once the task is complete, they are paid through the app, so you don’t need to worry about having cash on you.

Safety and Insurance

Wondering if having a stranger come into your home is safe? The people who work for Task Rabbit go through extensive background checks and identity checks, and each task is covered by insurance for up to $1 million in damages.

Appointments, Reservations and Research

Have you ever wanted a personal assistant – someone who could look up hotel prices for you or schedule your doctor appointments? These seem like small tasks, but when you think about how many small tasks you have to think about in a week, they can really add up.

Let someone else take the research part off your hands so you can focus on the decision-making part.

Services like Fancy Hands let you make these quick hit requests for just a few bucks. According to their website, a request is 20 minutes worth of work. You can make live requests that are answered within one minute or standard requests, which are answered in 24 hours or less.

If your request requires more than 20 minutes of work, the assistant working with you will calculate how many requests would need to be created to fulfill your request.

The basic plan is $30 a month and includes five requests. If you’re using Fancy Hands to help run your business or side hustle, they also offer a professional package for $75 a month and 15 requests or a premier package for $200 a month and 50 requests.

Put More Time Back on Your Calendar

Whether you cut out the grocery store, get some extra help around the house, hire a personal assistant or all of the above, you can put more time back in your week. How do you automate your life, and what do you do with the extra time? Let us know in the comment section.

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