We can all use a great hack or tip to help make life easier. Most times, the best tips are ones that are easy to implement! This article has tried and true practical tips that will save you time and frustratio. There’s also a free printable to help you manage your bills so you avoid (ugh!) late payments.

A Good Hack is Like Gold

Don’t you love a good hack? Sometimes it’s the simplest thing that can change everything! I’m always looking for new and better ways of doing things!

Before I recommend a hack, I ALWAYS try it first. Not just for two days, either! I give it a good spin so that I really know if it works. So much information on the Internet is just recycled advice that doesn’t work for anyone.

In this episode, I talk about some of my favorite hacks — even one that was a total failure! Sometimes you can learn the most from mistakes. I’d rather make the mistake for you. LOL.

Listen Here

Listen below to the podcast and then in the comments of this post, let me know what you think. Which hack will you try? Do you have a hack to recommend? I would love to share more hacks, so tell me your favorites!

An Attitude Shift

Although this podcast episode is about hacks for making your daily life run smoother, I also include important advice for shifting your attitude.

Whenever you’re doing something that feels heavy and burdensome, ask yourself, “Is there an easier way?” All of the hacks I share in the podcast came from asking myself that question.

Instead of feeling frustrated and upset when things don’t go well, shift your energy by learning from the experience so you can discover a better way.

My Favorite Hack

My favorite hack from the episode was inspired by CleanMama.Net. She created a homework caddy that she filled with supplies for doing homework. It had pencils, crayons, scissors, everything you can think of that would be needed for doing homework. Here’s a link to her post.

How many times does a kid need a red crayon to do her homework? Not green, not pink, it must be red! Or she needs tape and you can’t find a single roll. This used to happen all the time in my household! I loved the idea of a homework caddy since it keeps everything in one place so there’s no more crying or frantically searching for that missing red crayon.

The best ideas you learn from, and then adapt to make your own so it works with your family.

To use the caddy idea for my kids, I bought two homework caddies (one for each child) and bought special beautiful supplies to put in them.  The homework caddies didn’t have old, broken crayons or dried out markers. They had beautiful new supplies that were FUN to use.

When giving them to my very excited girls, I kindly made a rule that the homework caddies could ONLY be used for homework! This helped make them feel even more special. The kids loved to pull them out and use their favorite supplies when doing their homework.

Also, when the caddies came out, it signaled that homework time had started. Homework time stopped being a struggle most nights and instead, it became a normal part of our evening routine. Win win!

Pay Your Bills On Time

Another of my favorite hacks is so simple, it feels like it’s cheating. 

A few times last year I was busy and forgot to pay my utility bills on time. Happens to the best of us, right?

After the third time in about two months, I knew I needed a system. I created a simple bill pay printable that I keep in my daily binder.

The printable is crazy simple but it keeps me from forgetting to pay my bills since it’s very obvious if I missed one.

The printable is available for you to download for free so you can keep track of all your bills and pay them on-time.

How do I Download My Free Printable?

Click on the picture above to download. If you are new to this site and need the password, sign up below and you’ll get it right away, so you can download your file and start getting more balanced!

Start Slow!

I always want you to enjoy the podcast, but also to implement the ideas into your life. After you listen to the podcast, decide which hack would work best for your family. 

Don’t pick five ideas; pick only one! (I know, it’s hard to do that when you want to do everything right away!)

The key is to start with only one, but to start working on it right away! The longer you wait, the more likely you are to forget about it.

Write your top “pick” in the comments below or in the Facebook group so that you’ll help solidify it in your mind.

It’s A Community

You’re not alone in trying to balance it all! Come join our friendly community Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/balancedworkingmomscommunity/

In the group, you’ll get regular doses of encouragement. You’ll be asked to share your wins (which changes your focus to what went RIGHT instead of what went WRONG), you’ll get tips and tricks, and most importantly, you’ll be part of a community.

I can’t wait to meet you!

What’s your Take-Away?

After you listen to the podcast, I would love for you to write your take-away in the comments below! Which new hack are you planning on trying first?

Wishing you lots of joy on the journey to better balance.

XO,
Rina