How many decisions do you make in a day? The number of choices is probably much higher than you would expect. The average person makes 35,000 decisions a day! No wonder we often experience decision fatigue.
The amount of mental load created by mundane daily decisions is astounding. Your brain is constantly processing a list of to-do’s even when you don’t realize it. You can decrease your mental load and reduce the number of daily decisions you make by streamlining or automating your life.
Think about the mundane daily/weekly/monthly tasks that you do and decide if you can simplify or completely automate any of these tasks to manage your time more effectively. Whether it be your bills, meals, shopping, cleaning, or even getting ready in the morning, many of these tasks clutter your brain with unnecessary choices.
Here are 24 tips for how to automate your life so you can free up time and mental space.
Table of Contents
1. Set up Automatic Banking
One of the biggest ways to automate your life is to do online/paperless banking. I always had most of my bills on automatic payment, but a few years ago, I took the time to set up paperless statements and automatic payments for EVERY bill. This saves me so much time each month and I never have to worry about missing a payment again.
Also, because my statements are paperless, I have less paper clutter to organize each month which also cuts down on time. You can automate all aspects of your finances such as your savings account and HSA contributions, bill pay, your retirement account contributions, and more.
You can even automate other payments such as paying babysitters, tutors, landscapers, or house cleaners by setting up recurring payments through PayPal.
2. Clean Up Your Email
Do you get bogged down with countless emails in your inbox? Is there so much junk mail cluttering your inbox that you miss important emails? There are several things you can automate to combat this problem.
First, spend time unsubscribing to email lists and categorizing certain types of emails as junk mail so that you don’t have to sort through so many emails each day. After you unsubscribe, you can do a search for the exact email address to see all the emails from that person/website in one place. Then you can easily delete all of them with one click.
For emails that you still want to receive, but don’t want to clutter your inbox, you can set up an email filter. A filter will directly put any emails coming from a certain person or website into a designated folder. This by far has made the biggest difference in keeping control of my email.
I created folders for receipts, coupons, travel deals, and newsletters from bloggers that I follow. Now all of these emails go directly into the folders. This dramatically cuts down on the amount of emails that I have to go through each day.
You can also generate a list of common email responses, so you can easily respond to emails with just a few clicks.
Here is a list of more ways you can automate your email.
3. Automate Your Grocery Lists
Another way to automate your life is to automate your weekly grocery list. I typically buy the same things every week so keeping a weekly grocery list can save a lot of time. I print out several copies. When I’m ready to make my grocery list, I cross off items I don’t need or add new items I do need, but having a list to start with cuts down on time spent doing this task.
I also keep a running list of things I run out of throughout the week so I can be sure to purchase that item when I am doing my weekly grocery shopping.
4. Utilize Grocery Delivery or Pick up Services
I get most of my pantry items from Thrive Market. I have a favorites list on the website/app so ordering only takes a couple of minutes and it is shipped to my door for free in just a few days.
Grocery store pick-up or delivery services are another way to automate your grocery shopping. You can set up a favorites list to make ordering from your local grocery store pick-up service fast and easy.
5. Bundle Errands
Although it is efficient to use the grocery pick up or delivery services, I still do my own grocery shopping. I love buying my meat and produce at the local farmers market and going to my local health food store to buy any other necessary ingredients.
To make use of the time I am already out, I make my grocery shopping day my time for running other errands. Throughout the week, I keep a running list of places I need to go, and I make sure to go to all these places while I am already out getting groceries.
6. Use Checklists for Daily Life Tasks
You can make other lists, just like the weekly grocery list discussed above, to make daily tasks quicker and more automatic. Ideas of lists include your morning and evening routine, supplements or medicines that you need to take, lists for packing for trips, or your zone cleaning lists. You can also keep lists of all the ideas for packed lunch to simplify the daily chore of packing lunches for you or your children.
7. Plan Your Meals
Another type of list you can make to automate your life is a monthly meal plan. This will reduce the time you spend considering what to make for meals. Also, meal planning allows you to make fewer trips to the grocery store because you are less likely to forget important ingredients.
There are many different options for meal planning. One idea is to come up with 4 different weeks of meal plans and rotate between the 4 weeks plans each month. You can save even more time by creating a grocery list that corresponds with each week’s plan.
A really easy way to meal plan is to write down every meal you make for an entire month on a calendar. At the end of the month, you have a completed meal plan.
We typically eat the same basic types of meals throughout the week and then 1 day a week (or every other week) I will try a new recipe and if we like the recipe I will add it to our meal plan for later months.
8. Have a Default List of Breakfast and Lunch Choices
I tend to rotate between only 3 different things for breakfast and 5 different things for lunch. I have a list of my default breakfast and lunch options. This makes preparing school lunches and lunches for work much quicker. Sometimes I will even eat the same thing all week for breakfast and lunch. I do whatever my time allows for that specific week; but having a list of choices really helps.
9. Keep a List of Frequently Used Recipes
When it comes to meal planning, writing down frequently used recipes on a card or printing them to keep in a folder will free up a lot of mental space. This will save you from having to look up the recipe again the next time you want to make it.
I used to only save my recipes on Pinterest, and I would have to search my Pinterest page to find the recipe, and then when I found it, my phone screen would keep falling asleep as I was cooking, and I would have to get back on my phone and pull up the recipe all over again.
I have tried to get in the habit of writing down even the simplest of recipes. I always think I will remember all the details but inevitably I forget. Another benefit of saving recipes is when you get a collection of recipes that you really enjoy making, you can use these to quickly create a meal plan.
10. Meal Prep
Meal prepping can save a lot of time. The first way to meal prep is to prepare most of your food for the week in one day. This limits the amount of time spent putting the meals together on weeknights. You can roast vegetables, boil eggs, cook your protein, cut and wash all vegetables and fruits so they are ready to use, etc.
I used to go overboard with meal prep and it would take an entire day to prepare all the food for the week. Now I limit myself to 2 hours. I learned that I work more efficiently with a time constraint.
A second way to meal prep is by making double batches of meals so you can eat the leftovers for lunch or for the next days supper. This method doesn’t require much extra work, but it can save a lot of time.
The third method for meal prep is to choose basic ingredients that you are going to use all week and prep those main ingredients. For example, if my main ingredient is roasted chicken, I can start by roasting 2 chickens with vegetables. The first night, we eat roasted chicken and vegetables. The next night we eat chicken tacos. The third night we could eat a salad with chicken, or a wrap, or chicken salad sandwich. The fourth and fifth night I make chicken stock with the chicken bones and make a large pot of soup that we eat for the next two days. The soup includes the leftover chicken and a lot of vegetables.
There is 26 weeks worth of ideas of meal preps like this in the book Cook Once, Eat All Week by Cassy Joy Garcia. The book makes healthy cooking much easier. It provides a grocery list, ingredient substitutions for allergies, step by step directions for your meal prep day, and directions for putting the meals together each night.
11. Sign Up For Meal Kit Delivery Services
Meal planning and preparation is very time-consuming. If it is not something you enjoy doing, you can make your job easier by signing up for meal kit delivery services like Hello Fresh, Home Chef, Plated, Every Plate, and Blue Apron. These services will deliver all the ingredients and recipes you will need for your meals. All you have to do is follow the included recipe.
There are also some meal delivery services that deliver premade meals that you just have to reheat in the oven.
12. Automate Your Home
You can use gadgets and devices to control your WiFi, thermostat, home security system, sprinkler system, etc.
Utilize the programmable features on appliances such as your crock pot, coffee maker, or instant pot to set it and forget it.
Put your laundry in your washing machine in the morning and set the timer feature on the washing machine to start washing right before you get home so you can put the clothes in the dryer right when you get home.
13. Sign Up for Subscription Services
You can set up automatic shipments of household items and paper products that you use every month. This will not only save you time, but it will also save you money. Programs like Amazon’s Subscribe & Save gives subscribers up to 15% off their automatic shipments. It also offers free shipping.
The best thing about subscription websites is that you can decide how often you want to receive each item and they will email you a reminder a few days before your order ships so you can cancel the order if you don’t need it.
I have made several unnecessary trips to the grocery store, just because I forgot something like toilet paper. If you sign up for subscription services, you don’t need to think about it. It will arrive at your door for you.
Some ideas of things you can order through subscribe and save include diapers and wipes, toilet paper, paper towels, cotton swabs, deodorant, bath soap, dish soap, shampoo, trash bags, tissues, razor blades, supplements, feminine products, laundry detergent, toothbrushes and toothpaste, batteries, coffee, other drinks, and pantry items.
Think of things you already buy on a regular basis and see if a subscription service would save you time and money on these purchases.
14. Automate Your Pet and Plant Care
I have 2 cats and I find myself spending about 10 minutes every morning and evening giving them food, water, and cleaning their litter box. This is an area that I realized I could save potentially 20 minutes every day. That’s over 2 hours each week.
You can get automatic food and water dispensers and an automatic self-cleaning litter box. You can also order pet food and pet supplies such as cat litter through a subscription service like chewy.com.
If you forget to water your plants (like I do), you can even get watering globes that will water your plants.
15. Design a Cleaning Schedule
Doing household chores can be boring and a big time waster especially if you procrastinate. You can put your chores on autopilot by creating a cleaning schedule that requires short bursts of cleaning instead of having a cleaning day. One idea that I use is to group like tasks together.
For example, I dust everything in my house on Mondays, clean mirrors and toilets, and countertops on Tuesdays, vacuum on Wednesdays, mop on Thursdays, and do laundry on Fridays.
16. Declutter Your House
If you spend time upfront by decluttering your house and making sure everything has a specific space, this will also save lots of time when you are cleaning or tidying up your home. When everything has a place, your house will not only stay cleaner, but you will also be able to find things right away. Simple habits like putting everything back in its place after use will make it easier to always have a clean house with minimal effort.
17. Look for Problem Areas in Your Home
It’s also important to be on the lookout for problem areas. If you notice that you have a certain area in your house where dirty laundry piles up, then place a laundry basket there. If you find that there is a drawer that becomes a clutter magnet, place an organizer in the drawer to help deter you from placing things in the drawer that do not belong. If you notice that your child is leaving large messes with toys, then come up with a storage system that is easy for them to use and sort their toys. This will make it easier for your children to clean up after themselves.
18. Get a Robot Vacuum
Another way that you can automate your cleaning is with a robot vacuum. I haven’t tried one yet, but it is definitely on my wish list.
19. Utilize Notifications and Automation Apps
I automate reminders on my phone for important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, doctor’s appointments, etc. By doing this, I will get notifications on my phone to make sure I don’t forget about these important events.
You can also use automation apps on your phone to automate your workflow. Some popular automation apps include IFTTT, Stringer, Tasker, Yonomi, and Workflow.
Set up Chrome extensions such as Honey to automatically search and apply coupon codes when you are shopping, Grammarly to automatically proofread your work, and Pocket to save and read articles and blog posts to you.
20. Have Default Products and Routines
Find hair and makeup products that you love and make those your default products. If you have a large makeup collection, keep your daily makeup away from your whole collection so that what you need is easily accessible.
When you have your favorite hair and makeup products picked out, come up with a default way of doing your makeup and hair, and stick with it. When you get ready in the morning there will be nothing to think about.
In fact, creating a complete morning routine that you always follow can put this part of your day on autopilot and save a lot of time and mental space.
You can also find a few favorite workout routines that really work well for you and make those your default routines. That way when it is time to exercise, you don’t have to think about what to do.
21. Optimize Your Closet
Think about creating a uniform for yourself. Some of the most successful people are known for wearing the same thing every day. I am not saying that you should wear the same thing every day, but instead that you can create your own version of a “uniform.” To do this you need to optimize your closet to specifically meet your needs.
To optimize your closet, start by getting rid of clothes that are worn out and clothes that you never wear. Organize clothes by category and see if you have a certain type of clothing or a color palette that you are typically drawn to. Look into creating your own type of capsule wardrobe.
I am currently trying to move towards a capsule wardrobe. I think it will be very helpful to have a certain color palette of clothes so that all my clothes can be mixed and matched to make different outfits with the same articles of clothing.
However, the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe is too overwhelming for me at this time, so I did something different to streamline my closet. I tried every pair of pants in my closet and then put on every shirt that I thought would match the pants. If I liked the outfit, I took a picture of the outfit. In the end, I got rid of any shirt that wasn’t in the pictures as well as any pair of pants that only matched 1 or 2 shirts.
Now that I have a picture of every possible outfit combination saved to an album on my phone, it makes choosing an outfit very easy. I eventually want to print out these pictures and organize them in a binder to keep in my closet.
22. Pick out Your Clothes Ahead of Time
Picking out clothes the night before is helpful for some people, but I find that picking out clothes a week at a time is much more efficient. When I am folding and putting away all of my laundry on Saturday or Sunday, I take the time to pick out all of my outfits for the coming week. I look at the weather for the week and I look at pictures of outfit combinations. Then I set all of those outfits aside in my closet and even make sure I set out any underclothes and socks that I will need for the week.
I do the same thing for my daughter. She has a container with 6 plastic drawers in her closet. She will help me pick out 6 different outfits for the coming week and we put the outfits along with socks and underwear in each drawer.
Now when she wakes up in the morning she can get dressed without my help. We no longer have to search for the missing sock or have to find the pants that match with a particular shirt or dress, everything is ready to go and she can get dressed on her own! This one change has made a huge difference in making our mornings less stressful.
23. Shopping For Clothes
Clothes shopping can be frustrating and time-consuming. If clothes shopping isn’t your thing, you can use clothing subscription services such as Stitch Fix, Trunk Club, Le Tote, or Trendsend.
24. Automate Gift Shopping
Always be prepared for birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays by buying the gifts and cards all at once. Start by making a list of all the occasions/people you will need to buy gifts or cards for and then take advantage of after Christmas sales or other holiday sales to purchase everything at once. If this is too much of an upfront investment, buy gifts quarterly or monthly. When you have the gifts and cards ahead of time, it will prevent you from having to take last minute trips to the store.
To Wrap Up
Even basic ideas like the ones listed above will help make your life easier. Our brains are constantly being bombarded with endless choices. If we can automate or streamline some of these choices or tasks, we can clear up mental space for things that matter more. Get rid of option paralysis once and for all!
Many of the items on this list will take time to set up. Don’t be deterred by this.Think of automation and streamlining as spending a little extra time now to save exponentially more time in the future.
What did you take away from this guide to how to automate your life? Do you have any other ways that you automate your life? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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