Life hacks
I don’t have everything figured out. I don’t necessarily know that best way to do things—I just know what I have tried and what sometimes works for me. Thought I’d spend some time sharing my life hacks, and hopefully you can swap some of your own with me.
Email. I am a disaster with email. At work I get hundreds a day. I am overwhelmed by it. Here’s how I try to unbury myself. First, I designate time to sort through it. In my case it’s 3 times a day at the office. And when I do sort through it, I work through them with 3 types of actions in mind.
Quick response. I find the more I can minimize my to-do list the better, so if I can get it off my plate immediately —yay! I file it in a folder so I know it’s done.
Backlog. For bigger projects or tasks or asks, I add it to my to-do list, then designate time in my calendar to work on it. I keep it in my inbox until it’s done as a reminder. Then I file it away.
Do nothing. I can’t tell you how much stuff lands in my inbox that makes me wonder why am I on this list? I don’t answer them. I file them in a folder to remove my inbox clutter and move on. If I notice a pattern I might create a rule. Let me be clear, my nature is such that I want to acknowledge or thank someone, but if you have no ask of me, then I let it go.
Weeknight dinners. I simply am not home in time to shop, chop, measure and fire up a meal and get it on the table. I live in Brooklyn so the options for takeout/delivery are unlimited. But it gets expensive and frankly it’s not that healthy. I try to have a plan for the week, and bang out prep on the weekends. My kids are picky eaters, so I have to get creative with recipes and put in some sneaky ingredients. Here’s some of my go to recipes.
Sunday night roast chicken, potatoes and carrots. I then take leftovers and mix it with chicken broth and then during the week I grab a pre-rolled pillsbury pie crust and make a chicken pot pie which I can have my husband put in the oven for dinner. A second meal out of the same Sunday dinner is homemade chicken noodle soup (I use the bones from the chicken to make soup stock, and throw in leftovers and lots of noodles.)
Chicken tacos. Sunday afternoon I chop tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and then squeeze in some lime and put it in a mason jar. I have my husband cook up some ground chicken, then mix some of the salsa with an avocado for homemade guacamole. Add some shredded cheese, rice and tortillas and my kids are super happy for dinner. It’s also fast with the prep work.
Homemade marinara sauce. My sister-in-law is an incredible cook, and she once said how easy it was to make tomato sauce. I had just gotten a farm share box, and decided to give it a try. I love doing this. First, because I sneak in all kinds of veggies into it, and second, it becomes a staple for other things. I make a big batch and freeze it in small containers. Sometimes I add ground chicken to make a meat sauce with pasta. Other times I take the marinara and use it on homemade pizza. Another great hack is I mix equal parts marinara and chicken stock and make a non-dairy tomato soup. It’s delicious! I’ll quickly whip up grilled cheese sandwiches and my kids are happy campers.
That’s all for now. I actually have to get cooking as it’s the weekend! Let me know if you want actual recipes for things, and of course please do share you own life hacks!
