You get home and the entrance area looks like a war zone. In the kitchen you try to open some space pushing things to the side, so you can add the new mail to the pile. You check the fridge but turns out you were supposed to do grocery shopping few days ago. Nothing healthy available, just some frozen meals. You fee the pain of not having more time available to get things done.

We all suffer from lack of time. Three years ago, researchers examined “time scarcity” as a new form of poverty. The results connect time stress “with reduced well-being, happiness and increased levels of anxiety and insomnia as well as being related to worse health with higher rates of obesity and reports of a lack of time as being responsible for not eating healthy foods or exercising regularly”.

Time is the most valuable commodity we have, but still, we don’t take it into consideration when deciding daily. “Taxes, benefit expenses and commuting. When you factor in each of those — which we often forget — it likely takes most of us 90 minutes to earn 60 minutes of spending.”, says the study.

How wisely are you using your time? To answer that, think about your daily routine and about the things you want to get done. How long have they been waiting for you? Do you have available to do the things you love? If not, how can you change that? Invest in creating systems that communicate and work together to streamline your daily life. Few examples:

1.       Contain the messy entrance with a cube furniture storage or shoe rack. If you have enough space, go for a mudroom.

2.       A simple filling system in the kitchen will keep all your important papers saved and handy. You can use categories as: Bills to Pay, Pending Action, Gift Cards/Coupons, To file. Too much mail? Check on optoutprescreen.com on how to stop offers for 5 years or forever.

3.       Set up a white board to keep your grocery list constantly updated. It will also serve as a visual reminder that you need to plan for it. Today several companies deliver fresh goods to your door. Buy staples and items more used online.

4.       Reduce, reduce, reduce. Letting go of the excess will free your time as well.

Learn more about the research here.

To learn how much does your time really costs check this free quiz.