This article provides 5 time management tips to help you organise your home and avoid many hours of wasted time. You should include each member of your family in deciding how they can best contribute or benefit – and at the same time educate them to think how they too can use time more productively.

Time Management Tip 1. Monitor the "dead" time you spend watching TV. Now of course the TV is an excellent resource and a great way to relax and unwind. However the TV can eat up valuable hours that with hindsight you might wish you had spent in other ways. Most people have no real idea how much time they spend in front of their TV. You need to be aware of the extent to which the TV schedules are arranged to keep you in front of your TV. With the exception of the few networks that do not carry advertising (such as the BBC) they want you to watch for as long as possible so that you see as many advertisements as possible. It can be an eye-opener to learn how much TV time you spend either watching advertisements or waiting for them to finish to resume watching the programme of choice. Make a note of this for a few days – it is likely to persuade you to record much more television and use the fast forward button through adverts. The trick for good time management is not to watch more programmes, which almost by definition will be of less value to you, but to spend less time in front of the TV.

Time Management Tip 2. Learn to de-clutter effectively. For most people spring cleaning is appropriately named, undertaken just once yearly without realising just how much time is wasted in between by working and living in disorganised and cluttered surroundings. It is a much better approach to organise everything you do in a way that builds in spring-cleaning on an ongoing basis to ensure that everything is readily to hand. At home this can be achieved by following the maxim – a place for everything, and everything in its place. Make sure that you fit easily within the accommodation you occupy. When cupboards approach full capacity – then it is time to get rid of something. As a fall-back position, dispose of any items which have no sentimental value and have not been used for more than 15 months – which means a complete year and one repeated season since last used. Save time and money by only buying what you have space for!

Time Management Tip 3. Save time on making grocery lists. By having a computer generated pre-populated shopping list handy in the kitchen you can compile a shopping list with the minimum of effort. Simply tick the item when you know that more is going to be required when you next go shopping. This removes the need to compile a shopping list from memory and the need to spend time examining food cupboards. Do not use a wipe clean kitchen board - you cannot take that to the shops. If you use this list properly you would make fewer impulse purchases – and so save money also.

Time Management Tip 4. Organise your freezer so that items are stored in a logical way. For example if you have an upright freezer then take items for use from the bottom drawer first. Place items that are bought last in the top compartments and rotate the drawers so that the items bought longest ago gradually migrate towards the bottom. In this way you can save time and money by ensuring you know which items are nearing the date at which they should be eaten - without the need to sift through the entire contents to examine expiry dates.

Time Management Tip 5. Teach your children how you are required to organise and use time wisely – and how they must also learn to do so. Allocate jobs to children according to their age and ability. Keep a list of household jobs and who is responsible for them visible in the kitchen. Everyone can then tick off a job when it has been done. Children not only like to tick off their tasks when they are done, but also learn how much a parent has to do to keep a house running smoothly. If possible, rotate jobs between children –in that way they learn more and jobs do not become monotonous too quickly. Children normally have a keen sense of fairness - or perhaps it is better to say they are keenly aware when they feel unfairly treated, so job rotation is a good idea. Involving children in this way is a great way to instil a sense of responsibility, mutual support and cooperation – and so save more time.

In common with all time management tips, you and your family will benefit only to the extent to which you consistently apply the methods recommended. Involving your family in the ways suggested will provide a gentle way to educate and introduce the need for personal time management discipline. It is important for younger family members to learn these lessons in time management is a comfortable and relaxed way that is possible by following these suggestions.

Brian Hazell.