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Do you ever feel like there simply aren’t enough hours in the day? 

You’re not alone. In our fast-paced world, time often feels like our scarcest resource. 

But what if I told you that with a few smart tweaks, you could reclaim 5-10 hours every week? 

That’s right, 5-10 extra hours that can be spent on whatever truly matters to you.

Ready to make that a reality? 

Press play and let’s make it happen.

In this episode we chat about:

• Why it’s essential to minimize context switching by batching your tasks (1:29)
• The power of technology to give you back chunks of time — plus: some must-have apps! (2:34)
• My simple but genius approach to meal prep (and why I always chop once, but eat twice) (5:28)
• The life-changing magic of AI for entrepreneurs (7:08)
• The importance of self-care in time management (and how self-care can actually SAVE you time) (7:47)

Episode resources:

• SheLaunch (join here)
• Mastering Your Mean Girl by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Open Wide by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Comparisonitis by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Time Magic by Melissa Ambrosini and Nick Broadhurst (book)
• Keeper (website)
• Things (website)
• Click up (website)
• Trello (website)
• Asana (website)
• Basecamp (website)
• Google calendar (website)
• Paprika (website)

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The following transcript has been automatically generated and not checked for accuracy.

[00:00:00] In episode five, nine, four, I’m going to be sharing with you five smart and simple ways to reclaim five to 10 hours each week. Grab your pen and paper and let’s dive in. Welcome to the Melissa Ambrosini show. I’m your host, Melissa, bestselling author of Mastering Your Mean Girl, Open Wide, Comparisonitis And I’m here to remind you that love is sexy, healthy is liberating, and wealthy isn’t a dirty word.

Each week I’ll be getting up close and personal with thought leaders from around the globe, as well as your weekly dose of motivation so that you can create epic change in your own life and become the best version of yourself possible. Are you ready beautiful?

Okay. So before we begin, you may have come across some of these strategies [00:01:00] before. But here’s the real question. Are you actually applying them to your life? Think of this as your nudge to not just listen to these tips, but to actively incorporate them into your daily routine. Remember, reclaiming your time isn’t just about knowing what to do.

It’s about doing what you know. So let’s turn these ideas that I’m about to share with you into actions and watch how your days transform, okay? So, The first one, the first smart and simple way to reclaim five to 10 hours per week. Number one, write this down, batch your tasks. Have you ever noticed how it takes a while to get into the zone of each time you task switch?

It’s called context switching, and it can be a massive time waster. Now, by batching similar tasks together, you reduce that time lost in transitioning. It sounds [00:02:00] simple, but it can have a huge impact. So try allocating specific days or blocks of time for similar activities, like emails or meetings or content creation or filming, whatever it is.

Now you can even do like Mondays is your content day or Tuesdays is your like CEO day, Wednesdays is like coaching and meetings day or whatever it is. Now this focused approach can massively boost your productivity and save you hours in your week. Okay. So that’s the first one. Batch your tasks. Number two, use apps for automation.

Now there’s an app for everything these days, so make sure you are taking advantage of them. Start with the low hanging fruit, like automate your bill payments. You can use scheduling tools for appointments or try productivity apps to keep your tasks in check. You can set up auto reminders for birthdays or automate regular purchases like toilet [00:03:00] paper or pet food or whatever it is so that you never have to think about them again.

Now, the idea is to let technology handle the mundane so that you can focus on what you love. So, I want to share some of my favorite apps for automating repetitive tasks, okay? Write these down, my friends, they are so good. The first one is Keeper. And if you have read Time Magic, we will have recommended 1Password, but we have since discovered Keeper, which is very similar.

It is the best password manager there is, okay? So you never have to go searching for passwords. You never have to write a password down or a login detail or anything like that. It’s all in Keeper. This saves you so much time, so much time, and you can share this with like your partner, or you can share different logins with your team.

It is so powerful. Really, really, really powerful. So you’re not emailing passwords or anything like that. Okay. The next one is things. [00:04:00] This is the best task management app for Mac and iPhone users. It is awesome. I love things. ClickUp is one of the best managements for PC and Android users. I actually use ClickUp for my business and I love it, even though I’m not a PC or Android user.

I still love it. But there are so many others. There’s Trello. There’s Asana. There’s Basecamp. There’s all of those sorts of different task management softwares that are so good. Then we’ve got Google Calendar. This is the best digital calendar and it can be used in your iCal as well. So it is so good. My team have access to my calendar.

Nick has access to my calendar. It makes my life so much easier. My team never have to ask me. If I’m available on Wednesday, the 5th of July for a meeting, they can just look in my calendar. They don’t have to waste time asking me. They can just see. And then they can book meetings and things in when I have the [00:05:00] time.

And then the last one is paprika. Which is the best app for keeping track of your recipes and your shopping list. So Nick and I have the same login for paprika. And so if he notices that we are out of something, he will just add it to the shopping list in paprika. And then when I’m out, I can get it and it syncs all of our recipes are in there.

It is amazing. They are some of my favorites, guys. So that’s number two, use apps for automation and making your life so much easier. Number three, chop once, eat twice. So every time you are preparing a meal, try to do something that makes your next meal easier. For example, if I am cooking my daughter’s breakfast, I will quickly chop and roast a tray of vegetables for lunch and for our dinner.

I’ll just do it all at once. And this is while I’m overseeing her oats. So while I’m making her oats, I will be chopping the veggies at the same time and I will throw them in the oven. And then we’ve got vegetables for lunch and dinner. And if I’m chopping up [00:06:00] greens for lunch, I always do enough for dinner as well.

I am always preparing for the next meal. And usually when I’m making breakfast, I’m making the lunch and the dinner. And we kind of have the same sort of thing for lunch and dinner. We just keep it super simple, super, super simple. So if I’m making a huge salad for lunch, I’ll make an even bigger salad. So we have a salad for dinner and I don’t have to cut it up later.

It’s done. Yeah, it’s so good. I’m always thinking ahead of the next meal. And then. When we are wrapping up dinner, like when I’m doing the dishes, I’m thinking about the next day. I am thinking about, okay, I need to soak her oats. Do I need to soak a lentil or a bean for the next day? What do I need to do?

And then I write down breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a little piece of paper, scrap piece of paper that I’ve just found. And then I know what we’re doing for the next day. So thinking ahead in this way can save you so much time and radically reduce your stress and mental load at meal times [00:07:00] and your future self will absolutely love you for it.

So that is number three, chop once and eat twice. Number four, harness the power of AI. Now, if you are a business owner and especially if you are a solopreneur, using AI is like having an extra set of hands and an extra brain working in your business, helping you get things done. AI can help with a range of tasks from scheduling to customer service to content creation to data analysis and so much more.

It’s basically like having a personal assistant that works 24 seven, never gets tired and constantly learns how to serve you better. It’s so great. I started using AI a year ago and can I tell you, I’ll never be without it again. It is so good. And the final one, prioritize self care. It may sound counterintuitive, but taking care of yourself actually saves you time.

Exercise, meditation, good nutrition, and proper rest can boost [00:08:00] your energy levels and focus. making you more effective at everything that you do. So next time you attempted to skip the self care, remember that when you are well rested, well fueled, and under stressed, tasks can be done in less time, with less hassle, and less procrastination, okay?

And if you want more tips on how to reclaim your time and reclaim your life, check out Time Magic, the book that I co wrote with Nick, and it won two prizes last year, Australia’s best business book of the year and best personal development book of the year. And if you haven’t checked it out, you can go to timemagic.

So there you have it, my friends, five smart but simple ways to reclaim five to 10 plus hours each week. We’ve got number one, Batch your tasks. Number two, use apps for automation. Number three, chop once, eat twice. Number four, harness the power of AI. Number five, prioritize self care. Reclaiming time isn’t about drastic [00:09:00] life overhauls.

It’s about making smarter choices every day. So start implementing these five strategies and watch as your week opens up with hours of new found time. So my question now to you is, what will you do with that extra five to 10 hours? The possibilities are endless. Oh, they are absolutely endless. So I hope you loved this episode.

I hope you got a lot out of it. And if you did, please subscribe to the show and leave me a review on Apple podcast, because that means that we can inspire and educate even more people together. And it means that I can keep getting on amazing guests for you now come and tell me on Instagram at Melissa Ambrosini, what you got from this episode.

I love connecting with you and I love hearing from you. And before I go, I just wanted to say, thank you so much for being here, for wanting to be the best, the healthiest, and the happiest version of yourself. And for showing up today for you. You rock. [00:10:00] Now, if there’s someone in your life that you can think of that would really benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now.

You can take a screenshot, share it on your social media, email it to them, text it to them, Do whatever you’ve got to do to get this in their ears. And until next time, don’t forget that love is sexy, healthy is liberating and wealthy isn’t a dirty word.

Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be SO grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple podcasts, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

P.S. If you’re looking for a high-impact marketing opportunity for your business and are interested in becoming a sponsor for The Melissa Ambrosini Show podcast, please email pr@melissaambrosini.com for more information.

P.P.S. Please seek advice from a qualified holistic practitioner before starting any new health practice.