Don't Waste Time

My grandma always said, "There just aren't enough hours in the day." I remember wondering what in the world she meant by that. I had plenty of time. Now I know. When she learned that I was having my first baby, she said, "Your life is not your own." She was right about that one, too. But, that's a whole 'nother post.
Anyway, my WFMW tip is Don't Waste Time. Sounds simple. Here are a few examples of ways to "lasso the time" and squeeze some more productivity out of your minutes. I keep a laminated map in the bathroom with the U.S. on one side and the world on the other. You might as well learn your geography while you're sitting there. We have many audio tapes that have a variety of topics put to music; bible verses, states and capitals, and multiplication tables to name a few. We can learn and memorize these things in the car or kids can listen to them during quiet time. One more example is that I have my older children teach and demonstrate things to my younger children. Julia practices the sign language alphabet with Natalie, Ben reads to his sisters, Erica and Audrey will demonstrate a cooking or cleaning skill to each other.
When there is a need to learn something and we have discretionary time (okay, going to the bathroom isn't really discretionary time!) I try to find ways to combine activities to seem like we have more hours in the day. Grandma would be proud.
For more tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer