While warming up my water for some Chai Tea last night I decide to unload the dish-dryer because my favorite mug is buried at the bottom and in doing so a thought wandered by: What else do we do to consolidate time?
For example, I'm always doing some sort of craft (knit, crochet, sewing, braiding, collaging, stamping...) while watching TV. The biggest thing there is I can't stand wasting time if I could be doing something productive. Or I listen to a podcast like This American Life while I wash the dishes.
So this got me thinking: What else do I multitask?
- Laundry while at home doing other chores around the house (like dishes or cleaning). I set a timer on my phone or the microwave to alert me when an hour is up (which is the general running time of a load of laundry).
* Then I fold the laundry while watching a movie. Makes it more enjoyable :)
- Normally I tidy up the kitchen while my coffee brews.
- Read blog updates or my email while videos render (or digitize) at work.
- Write Thank-You notes whenever I have a little downtime on the road (driving my gentleman, babysitting, doctor's office). Once I'm done with wedding Thank-You's I'll go back to knitting, reading torn-out magazine articles or maybe a novel again :)
- I don't know if this counts as multitasking, but it does save a lot of wasted time: I keep a running list of all the errands I have to run (drop something off, returns/exchanges at a store, purchases, pick-ups) and tack them on to an appointment that I have near the same area. So if I have to drive to the North end of town, I bring all my items for errands in that part of town and map out the least-back-tracking route. (Maybe this is a little OCD but I feel so accomplished at the end of the day when it only took a few extra minutes to add these errands onto the drive to or from an appointment).
What do you multitask? Any suggestions for me? I'd love to hear them :)
For example, I'm always doing some sort of craft (knit, crochet, sewing, braiding, collaging, stamping...) while watching TV. The biggest thing there is I can't stand wasting time if I could be doing something productive. Or I listen to a podcast like This American Life while I wash the dishes.
So this got me thinking: What else do I multitask?
- Laundry while at home doing other chores around the house (like dishes or cleaning). I set a timer on my phone or the microwave to alert me when an hour is up (which is the general running time of a load of laundry).
* Then I fold the laundry while watching a movie. Makes it more enjoyable :)
- Normally I tidy up the kitchen while my coffee brews.
- Read blog updates or my email while videos render (or digitize) at work.
- Write Thank-You notes whenever I have a little downtime on the road (driving my gentleman, babysitting, doctor's office). Once I'm done with wedding Thank-You's I'll go back to knitting, reading torn-out magazine articles or maybe a novel again :)
- I don't know if this counts as multitasking, but it does save a lot of wasted time: I keep a running list of all the errands I have to run (drop something off, returns/exchanges at a store, purchases, pick-ups) and tack them on to an appointment that I have near the same area. So if I have to drive to the North end of town, I bring all my items for errands in that part of town and map out the least-back-tracking route. (Maybe this is a little OCD but I feel so accomplished at the end of the day when it only took a few extra minutes to add these errands onto the drive to or from an appointment).
What do you multitask? Any suggestions for me? I'd love to hear them :)