Do you need some time saving tips so you have time to ride more?
Finding the time to do everything in life can be hard. Time management is such a valuable skill for everyone. The following time management tips can help you organize your life so you can have more free time.
Especially if you have a demanding job, a horse, family, kids, and a multitude of other commitments. And as I know from experience, finding the time to ride in all of that can be especially difficult.
Learning to manage your time is an important and valuable skill for accomplishing more in your life. Many days, it feels like you need more hours in the day. This post can help you learn how to save time so you feel like you can accomplish more and have more time to do the things you want.
Use these tips to manage your life and spend more time doing what you love – riding!
1. Plan Ahead
Probably one of the best time saving tips that there is – be the person who plans ahead. This goes for every part of your life.
Planning ahead will save you time and money. Having goals and plans for every day, month and year of your life will make it much easier to work for what you want.
First of all (possibly most important to you), plan when you’re going to ride so you are ready each day. Do you go to the barn in the morning? Or maybe after work? Either way, make sure you set aside that time each day. Then you can pack what you need to go straight to the barn.
Don’t forget to bring along anything your horse needs – a bottle of fly spray, his supplements or possibly your freshly washed saddle pads. Make grain and supplements ahead of time so it is ready to feed or leave at the barn each week.
Next, you need to be a planner in your everyday “normal” life too. It can be hard to juggle a horse, your family, your kids, a job, keeping up on the housework, etc. So make sure you know where you need to be and what you are doing on any given day. This also makes it easier to squeeze in riding time when it seems difficult.
2. Use AutoPay to your Advantage
Put your bills on auto-pay so they are taken care of even if you forget!
Paying board each month is something that we have to do but putting it on autopay will eliminate the task of doing it each month. Some barns take credit cards and others will only take checks. With your online banking, you can set up an autopay (ie a check) to be mailed wherever you want.
You should also set up auto pay for every bill you have so you don’t have to pay each bill individually every month. Auto pay saves you time and money.
If you sometimes forget to pay bills, autopay can also save you from forgetting and getting late fees or interest charged.
3. Don’t be afraid to say no
Is this a time saving tip or a life hack? It sounds odd but saying no to certain things will give you so much more time in the day!
It can be really difficult to say no. But work, friends, family, and our horses all ask for things constantly.
Whether it is a friend asking to do something fun, adding another project at work, or trying to squeeze in an extra horse to your training schedule. It’s ok to say “no” to anyone and anything if they will prevent you from keeping up with life and keeping the commitments you already have.
I’m not saying you should say no to everything, but don’t be afraid to prioritize your time so you can spend time doing what you want. Riding your own horse should be a priority in your life and make sure you don’t take on too many other life responsibilities that you cannot care for and ride your horse.
4. Do the Worst Task First
The best way to tackle a full day of things to do is to start the day with the worst tasks, then it makes the easier things go more quickly and seem more simple.
For example, if cleaning the stalls is your least favorite activity of the day, do it first thing in the morning – before you go to work, before you get to ride. Just get it done. On the other hand, if you have multiple horses to ride and one is more sensitive and difficult to ride, hop on that horse first so you are focused and not tired yet.
Use this tip for your job as well. I’m sure there are parts of your job that you dislike more than others. Start the day by accomplishing the things you don’t like to do. Getting the not so fun tasks done makes you feel accomplished and the rest of your day will feel easier.
5. Keep a schedule
Keeping a schedule is so important for managing your time. And learning time management is one of the best time saving tips.
Some people like their phone calendar, while others prefer a paper planner (That’s me!)
You need to keep track of your commitments so you can manage your time more effectively. If you don’t utilize a calendar, you’ll forget about important things you need to do. Keep up with a digital or paper calendar so you don’t miss appointments or deadlines.
Don’t forget to include your horse’s appointments in your calendar of choice. Your horse could have vet, farrier, chiropractor, massage or other appointments that you don’t want to forget about!
6. Meal Plan/Make a Shopping List
Eating healthy can be difficult, especially when you are low on time. Most of us have horses, jobs, kids, family, etc etc.. It can be so hard to cook and make time to eat well. But planning your meals and making a shopping list each week will save you time and money.
Related: The Simple Steps to Meal Plan for Yourself.
If you make one grocery store shop, it will save you time and money if you don’t have to go back. Leftovers will also save you time to have something easy to eat for lunch or dinner.
Packing a lunch for work will save you time and money. I suggest packing it the night before so you just have to grab your lunch in the morning.
7. Put Down your Phone
Our phones can help organize us but they can also be a huge time waster.
Playing games and spending time on social media can waste away the day. Limit yourself to a specific amount of time per day, and don’t exceed that time limit. There are apps that can help you with this as well if you don’t have enough self discipline.
Delete apps that waste your time and don’t be afraid to put down your phone so you can apply yourself to what you are doing in the moment.
Putting down your phone is so easy – one of the best time saving tips that you can do today!
8. Have a “to get rid of” box
This goes for both your tack room and at home. If you keep a box or bag of items to give away or sell, it is easier to stay de-cluttered. Make sure you drop it off at Goodwill or sell items on Ebay or Craigslist regularly. Don’t let the stuff sit in your car (I may have done this a few times!)
9. Put things away
This sounds so simple, but put things away where you found them (or where they go). This goes for your home and at the barn.
Did you know that Americans spend an average of 2.5 days per year searching for lost or misplaced items? Try to improve this statistic by having a place for each thing and always putting it away.
Close gates that you open, put your tack away where it goes, and cleaning your tack regularly are all things that will save you time in the long run.
At home, put your keys in the same place every day, keep your pantry clean and organized, keep chargers in one place, and put away laundry as quickly as possible. These are just a few examples of things you can put away consistently at home.
Put your stuff away where it goes so you don’t have to look for it later and it will keep you clean and organized.
10. Establish Routines
Establishing routines can save you so much time because you know the order you are going to do things and how you’re going to get them done.
You can create routines for feeding your horses, for cleaning at the barn, for getting ready in the morning, etc.
Take a few minutes in the evening to choose your clothes for the next day. If you lay out your clothes, you will save yourself from indecision the next morning. Pack your lunch the night before. Pack your riding clothes or workout clothes the night before so you are ready to stop at the gym and/or barn on the way home. It’s a waste of time to go home if the barn is between your work and home.
Use routines to save you time and make sure you accomplish everything you need to in a day.
11. Buy in Bulk and use Auto Delivery
You can order almost anything on Amazon and put it on auto delivery. Dog food, horse treats, laundry soap, household supplies, etc.
Smartpak will auto refill their Smartpaks so you don’t have to keep reordering supplements.
Buy your hay and bedding in bulk so you don’t have to keep going back to the store. Since our recent truck purchase, we now buy pallets of the horse bedding we use (wood pellets and shavings). We have enough of each to last almost an entire year, so now I don’t have to go to Big R every month to buy 4 bags at a time!
Don’t let yourself order too many things that you don’t need, but auto delivery can be very helpful for a busy person.
12. Turn off the TV
This is such an easy time saving tip that everyone should learn to do it. Turn off the TV.
TV can suck away hours or even an entire day away if you let it!
Turn off the TV to save yourself some time in the day. Not to mention the electricity you will save by not watching TV all the time.
Did you know that the average American spends 4.6 hours PER DAY watching TV?? Even if you only spend a fraction of that, think about how much you could get done if you turned off the TV.
If you struggle to get everything done in a day, make sure you aren’t spending time staring at a screen.
There are many things you can do to manage your time and “save” time every day. A huge part of saving time is planning ahead. Organizing and planning your life will help you save time every day.
Use these time saving tips to give you more time to do the things you love. Which, to be honest, is probably riding your horse. Or just hanging out at the barn.
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