It’s the new year, and of course THIS is the year that we are going to own it on all accounts….or so we hope! But sometimes you need some cheats up your sleeve to make that happen in this busy mum life. So today I’m sharing these top life hacks from Suki Wood, Virtual Assistant at Pink Spaghetti – which provides Personal and Virtual Assistant services –  to help you nail 2019!

Hacks for you

Always be photo ready

Short on time and need to look gorgeous in an instant?  Try this tip – paint on a bright shade of lipstick and dot a little on the apples of your cheeks for an instant uplift. Remember the golden rule, lips or eyes, do not draw attention to both!

Keep your kit on!

Early morning gym class? Go to bed wearing your workout clothes! Yes, that’s right, that will avoid time getting your kit ready and even better beat the battle of the wills. After all, you’re going to have a shower.

Daily sun salutations

If  you do not get the chance to fit in a full workout, start your day with Sun Salutations. There are so many physical and mental benefits including; great skin and hair, improved digestive system through to creating more flexibility in your muscle and joints. Aim to do three each morning for a productive start to your day.

Ask for help and don’t forget to laugh

This is a very simple tip, one I think is so important, especially during the grim month of January. Sometimes as busy mums, we forget the simple things, like chatting and laughing. If you’re feeling a little low, call a friend, watch something funny (laughing is known to reduce blood pressure and stress hormones!) and ask for help – you may be surprised at how supportive your network of mums is.

Hacks for work

The Pomodoro Technique

Do you find it hard completing tasks? Focus on 25 minutes of work, then take a five minute break.  Repeat this four times, and take a 15 minute break. Work like this for a week, to truly start to master it.

Struggling to agree a date in the diary?

For those people who always get landed with the organising, and spend their lives trying to match up dates or times people are available, you will love Doodle! Easy scheduling for personal or business reasons.

Practice the 80/20 rule

The rule suggests that to get 80% of results, you need to do 20% of the task – sounds like a good deal! This is one of the most useful time management rules and worth remembering when projects may seem overwhelming. This helpful rule is also known as the Pareto Principle.

Publicise your company

Use free listings sites such as; Google Places, Yell and Free Index. This may mean your business will appear on the first page of Google search results. If your listings are set up correctly, they will include links to your website, your company logo and a short description of your business for free!

Track your time

For effective time management you need to know what you’re spending time on – try using an app to track your time, I like Toggl as it’s simple to use and free. Great if you are also working for a client and need to record hours worked.

Delegate, Delegate and Delegate

– not sure what to delegate? Ask yourself:  1. What are my repetitive tasks? 2.What do I NOT enjoy doing? and 3. What do I NOT know how to do? Then ask for help.

Hacks for around the home

Recycle it!

Recycle old wrapping paper by passing it through a shredder, then you have colourful strands of paper to use to line gift boxes and bags.

Swap your ice cubes for frozen berries

To keep your festive tipple cool to drink – substitute ice for frozen berries. You can use any fruit, grapes, raspberries, pomegranate. Not only will it keep your drink cold – it will also add a touch of festive cheer.

Want another use for those bad plastic straws?

Use them to hull strawberries, they’re the perfect size, and stop you from faffing around with a knife.

Planning your child’s birthday party?

Invite parents with children who share birthdays within a few weeks to your own child, to share a birthday party. Most parents are very happy to share the responsibility, not to mention the costs.

Plan you weekly meals

Yes, I know it’s a good idea to plan your weekly meals, if you don’t know where to start, get your children’s opinion first! Ask them to put together a plan of what they would like for their dinner each day – turn it into a game, pretend they are putting together the ‘specials board’ for their favourite eating venue.

Well I don’t know about you but I feel like I could rule the world this year after reading that! Talk about cheating your way to efficiency and looking like you’ve got this…and those of you who follow my blog regularly know that my motto in life is “fake it ’til you make it’.

And now for the exciting bit!

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