Life hacks are shortcuts, tricks and innovative methods that make your daily routine easier. With more creative hacks making their way to the internet each day, there’s no excuse for not utilizing these handy tips.

From putting dry teabags in your shoes to remove bad smells to freezing grapes to chill white wine without diluting it, these brilliant hacks will simplify your life and leave you feeling less overwhelmed.

1. Make a To-Do List

Whether you use a physical piece of paper, an online tool like Kalido or one of the many to-do list apps, making a list of what needs to be done is critical. It helps improve your memory and increases productivity. You can make daily lists, weekly, monthly or yearly lists (it all depends on your schedule and preference).

It’s important to keep in mind that when it comes to the to-do list, only things you have to do should go on it. Adding non-work items to the list could distract you from what’s really important and waste your time.

Another thing to consider is ranking the tasks in order of priority and adding estimated time commitments. This will help you be more realistic about what you can get done in a day. Also, breaking large tasks down into smaller parts can help make them seem less daunting and reduce stress. For example, if you need to clean the house, break it down into tasks such as cleaning the kitchen, living room and bedroom.

2. Use a Calendar

Having a well-managed calendar is one of the easiest life hacks that you can do to be more effective and productive. It’s also the first step to a less stressful lifestyle and being able to focus on your goals and dreams.

By getting everything out of your head and onto a calendar, you will be able to see what you are doing, who you are with and where you need to be at any given time. It also helps you to keep track of all the things you have on your plate – be it errands, appointments or work obligations.

Using a calendar is an especially great hack for moms who are juggling kids, housework, carpooling and work. For example, if you have a company vehicle that multiple people use throughout the week, you can put all of those meetings and outings on a shared calendar so that everyone knows who is scheduled to use the car when.

3. Take a Break

In a time when work is consuming and deadlines are tight, it can seem counterintuitive to take breaks. However, scheduling regular 10-15 minute breaks throughout the day can actually help you get more done. Breaks allow the brain to refresh and recharge, resulting in more focused and creative work. They also help prevent productivity-killing burnout.

During your break, avoid activities that require your logical, linguistic left brain and instead do something that activates your visual, creative right brain such as drawing or taking a walk. This deactivates the part of your brain that was working and reactivates it again with fresh focus.

If you have to sit for a long period of time during your breaks, try taking short one-minute bursts of exercise that get your blood pumping and help reduce the health risks of sedentary living like heart disease and diabetes. These life hacks are just a few ways that you can start to make your daily routine more simplified.

4. Automate

Most businesses spend a significant amount of time on routine processes – scheduling meetings, processing orders and replying to emails. These tasks can be completed automatically using workflow automation tools. By eliminating human elements, automation reduces the risk of error and frees up time for higher value projects.

If you find yourself completing repetitive tasks on a regular basis, consider whether they are helping your business move forward or simply holding it back. If not, it’s time to automate!

Start by taking an inventory of the manual tasks in your workload and focus on those that are within your Zone of Genius – that area where passion meets proficiency. Then, find the best automation tool to take those little tasks off your hands so you can focus on what really matters to your business. The benefits of workflow automation are many and far-reaching, including saving time, increasing productivity, improving efficiency and eliminating errors. If you want to see how these tools can work for your business, contact us today!