School Days...

Well, another summer has drifted blissfully away and now we find ourselves once again immersed in the hustle and bustle of another school year. I must admit, I was rather remiss in my blogging efforts over the summer, but as I get back into the swing of another school year, I think I am ready to renew my attempts at blogging with some sort of regularity.

Given the time of year (school buses and Back-to-School nights and all that jazz), I thought it might be appropriate to focus on a few easy ways for busy chicks like us to save a little time in our hectic, school year schedules (and maybe some money in our  bank accounts, too).

Here's what I came up with (yes, some of them seem to be common sense to me, too, but maybe at least one of them will be an "ah-ha" moment for you):

1. Brown Bag It
There are multiple benefits to packing your own lunch. It's no secret that packing your lunch costs less than does buying it, but you can also exercise more control over your caloric intake if you pack your own lunch. You can control portion sizes, for example. When we eat out, we tend to feel obligated to eat everything on our plate if we can; after all, we paid for it. When we pack our own lunch, we can pack only the amount we know we are likely to need or want to eat. In addition, packing your lunch allows you to exercise some self-control in what you eat. When we eat out, we are usually already hungry when we make our mealtime decision, and this ravenous hunger can sometimes lead us to make poor food choices. When we pack a lunch, however, we can take time to read the nutrition labels on our food and make wiser, healthier choices--choices motivated by our best understanding of what will benefit us, instead of by our rumbling stomachs.

Another good reason to pack your own lunch is the actual amount of time you will save during your lunch break. Because you will not have to wait to be served, and instead will be able to just start eating, you will have more time to savor your meal as opposed to feeling like you have to rush through your food. Most people devour their meal in a mere 15 minutes, but it takes our bodies about 20 minutes to register that we have satisfied our hunger. Taking your time while you eat gives your body time to realize when you have had enough, and is also more relaxing. If you do finish eating before your hour is up, you can use your remaining time to take a walk, run some errands, or enjoy a cat nap.
  
2. Pre-Pack that Brown Bag
There are at least two good reasons to pack your lunch the night before as opposed to the morning of. First, you have presumably already eaten dinner, and are thus not going to let hunger get the best of your health-conscious food decisions. Second, it will save you that much time in the morning.

I recommend making a few foods "in bulk" over the weekend. For example, Sunday afternoon you might make a fruit salad and a chicken or tuna salad that you can easily and quickly put into reusable containers in your lunch box each day of the week.

If you like salads or sandwiches for lunch but hate the way they get sort of soggy and wilted while they wait for the lunch hour to arrive, simply pack the elements separately, and assemble your salad or sandwich right before you eat it.

3. Use a Slow Cooker
I know I have lauded the slow cooker in several earlier posts, but that is because it is so awesome. This wonderful little appliance can save you so much time and cook up a wholesome meal with very little effort on your part.  My advice is to prepare your slow cooker meal the night before in a large mixing bowl. Then, leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Just before you leave in the morning, transfer the contents of the mixing bowl into your slow cooker, plug it in, and turn it on to the appropriate setting. This saves you time in the morning when you otherwise would have been chopping vegetables or meat, and time in the evening when you won't have to prepare dinner--or wait for it to finishing baking/boiling/roasting/broiling; instead, it will be ready as soon as you walk through the door.


4. Fresh and Clean
Instead of showering in the morning, allow yourself some extra shut-eye in the morning by showering at night. If you wash your hair, simply pull it up in a bun so it stays damp overnight. Then, blow dry it and style it in the morning, as you normally would. If you do not wash your hair, sleep with it in a bun or ponytail, and spray it with dry shampoo in the morning to refresh its body, absorb excess oil, and freshen its scent.

In addition to allowing you to sleep in that much longer, showering at night has another advantage: Most of the dirt, grime, pollution, sweat, etc. with which we come into contact, we encounter during the day, when we are at work, at school, at the store, at the gym, etc. By showering at night--after you have already exposed yourself to all those environments--you are washing off any contaminants you encountered, and going to bed clean. If you shower in the morning, you are potentially bringing all that grime to bed with you--and then sleeping in it, not to wash yourself clean until morning (and then, the moment you step out the door, you are going to promptly undo all the scrubbing you just did).

5. Commit to an Outfit
Pick out your outfit the night before and stick with it. This saves oodles of time and stress.

6. Hit the Gym
Pack your gym bag the night before, wearing any workout clothes you can as part of your workday wardrobe to minimize time changing your clothes (as well as laundry you will have to do later).

Fast Fitness Tip: Park as far away as possible from the door of your work place. The walk from your car to the door will allow you that much more fresh air, that much more sunshine, and that many more steps.