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If you’re in midlife and constantly wondering where the day went, you’re probably not looking for another complicated productivity system. You just want to get some time back. There are things you need to get done, things you want to do, and people who need your time and attention, and sometimes it feels as though there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.

There is an important distinction I’d like to make, though, about the idea of “saving time.” Saving time isn’t simply about doing everything faster or squeezing more into your day. It’s about using your time well, and creating more space for the things that matter to you. There’s not much benefit in becoming more efficient at doing things that aren’t important, drain your energy, or leave you with no time for the people, activities and experiences that make life meaningful. The goal is to use your time wisely: to make everyday tasks easier and more efficient where you can, while creating more room for rest, enjoyment, relationships and the things you genuinely want to do. In midlife, effective time management isn't about fitting more into your day. It's about using your time and capacity for what matters most.

Why Saving Time in Midlife Is Different

Time management in midlife can look different to when we were younger for two main reasons. The first is because we want to use time more meaningfully now, and I talked about that in depth in my last article. It can also look different because our capability changes in our forties and fifties. We often can’t do as much as we used to. We don’t have the same physical energy or cognitive function to keep up with balancing twenty things at once. Most of us in midlife want to simplify our lives because we are more aware of the preciousness of our time, and also because we are tired. Tired of trying to do so much. Tired of trying to do it all, and tired of being “on” all the time.

This shift can stir up feelings of both freedom and grief. The idea of living a simpler life is inviting, and we can also grieve not being able to be as productive as we used to. You may feel frustrated that your brain and body no longer performs as it has done for your life up until this point, and feel some fear that shifting gears to a slower pace will mean that people see you as less valuable. Western society puts a very strong priority on productivity.

In midlife most of us are transitioning through all of this. We are not yet out the other side with the fuller freedom and relaxation of retirement, yet for many people their capacity and desire to be super productive is diminishing. The question then becomes how do we navigate within that? I think one important shift to make is to think more in terms of capacity. Rather than asking “How much time do I have”, in midlife the more important question becomes, “How much capacity do I have mentally, emotionally and physically?” We can also acknowledge the grief that we are no longer the younger version of ourselves, but rather than trying to get that back (which you can’t), we can learn to appreciate the value of who we are now and who we are still becoming. We can see midlife as a shift, a transition, rather than an ending. It is an opportunity to re-assess what is truly important to us and to decide how we want to experience life going forward as this new version of ourselves. We can appreciate the experience and life wisdom that we have now, and recognise what that gives us, and how it becomes part of our value.

That being said, we still have daily workloads to manage. and we can still consider ways that we can be efficient - just in a different way to when we were younger. So, with that in mind, here are my 10 practical tips for saving time and using your time more effectively in midlife. I have structured them into four general guidelines with the tips being like more specific examples. The underlying question beneath all of this is

“What is most effective for me in terms of my time and capacity?”

Stop Wasting Time

Think about the things you do which drain your energy or give you little in return for the investment of your time, and make the decision to let them go from your life. I am not saying here that everything has to be serious and productive. Entertainment and fun certainly have value. However, be aware of the content of the entertainment you are feeding your mind on and whether it stimulates comfortable or uncomfortable feelings in you. Also, be aware of the timing and amount. Having an occasional pj and movie day is fine, but doing it every day may start to impact your wellbeing in negative ways. The most common drain on time and energy is mindless screen time.

Tip 1: Save Time by Limiting Mindless Screen Time

I understand that most of us know that mindless screen time is not a good use of our time, and also, that limiting it can be really hard to do. Of course it is hard. Media apps are designed to grab our attention and keep it. However, mindlessly consuming content and entertainment on your phone, laptop or TV is not only a poor investment of your time. In addition, it depletes your energy, and can have negative impacts on your brain function and mood. It really can be a bit of a black hole vortex.

You don’t necessarily have to delete all your apps and go cold turkey, although you can if you want. People do and still thrive in life (possibly even more so). One way to approach it is to set boundaries. Either use a timer to limit the amount of time you engage with media apps, or set life boundaries, for example having a no phones at the dinner table or no phones in bedrooms rule.

To help you wean yourself off mindless screen time it may help to reflect on the underlying reason you are mindlessly watching and scrolling. Often, we just get distracted, but in many cases, there is something else going on emotionally or psychologically, and recognising it could help you make a healthy shift in your life. For example, are you bored, are you stressed, are you avoiding a task, or are you over-tired? I have noticed that I get more tempted to mindlessly scroll on my phone at night if I get overtired and miss my body’s “go to bed” cue. I then get too tired to go to bed and scroll to avoid that task. I have learned that if I start getting ready for bed at 9pm it is easier for me to go through my night-time routine. If I leave it until 9:30pm or later, I start getting over-tired and reluctant to go to bed, because I can’t be bothered getting up and doing what I need to to get ready for sleep.

Tip 2: Save Time by Not Doing Unnecessary Housework

While I do like to live in a clean and tidy house, there is a balance point to this. That balance point will vary from home to home depending on how the house is used, how many people live there and the ages of the people who live there. If you spend a lot of your time cleaning the house, you may like to reassess if you really need to do all the housework you are doing. It can be helpful to pause and really consider why you are doing it. Is it just out of habit? Is it to please someone else, including the version of your mother that you hold in your head? Is it because you are afraid of being judged if you don’t do it? If you think it still needs to be done, do YOU need to do it? Can you delegate more to others? It may even be wise time management for you to hire a cleaner.

Make Routine Tasks More Efficient

The easiest way to increase efficiency is through the way you do routine tasks. These are usually the day-to-day tasks of taking care of ourselves, our family and our home.

Tip 3: Save Time by Multi-tasking in Positive Ways

This one may sound surprising coming from someone who emphasises slowing down and being present, however, I don’t think that all multi-tasking is bad. I think that multi-tasking is an issue when it over-activates our nervous system or means that we are not giving quality attention to what we are doing. I confess, I have a habit of multitasking and often that leads to me being inattentive to aspects of what I am doing. That is something I am becoming more aware of and working to shift. However, there are other ways that I multi-task that create effective efficiency. One of them is focusing on doing exercises that work multiple parts of the body simultaneously, rather than each one part in isolation. For example, I do lunges and squats at the same time as doing free-weight exercises with my arms. I also combine wellbeing practices where possible for better efficiency and effectiveness. The 4,7,8 and humming breath practice that I talk about in Tip 7 is one example of this, wearing my oral red light therapy device while I do my weights exercises is another. Essentially, I think that it is okay to multi-task to increase efficiency when combining activities doesn’t reduce how well you do the activities and when it doesn’t push you beyond your capacity and activate you to feel rushed or stressed. A helpful question to ask is: “Does combining these activities actually help me, or am I simply trying to squeeze more into my day?”

Other examples of multi-tasking in positive ways could be:

• listening to a podcast while walking

• listening to an audiobook while doing household chores

• catching up with a friend while walking together

• doing gentle stretching while watching TV - as an example of this, my partner and I roll our feet on a massage ball to release tension while watching TV in the evening.

Tip 4: Save Time by Combining Activities

Grouping similar tasks is an effective investment of time when it reduces set up, clean up or travel time. Grocery shopping is an example of this. Doing mini runs to the grocery store to pick up a few items almost every day is a very inefficient use of your time and energy. It is much more effective to do weekly, or even fortnightly or monthly, bulk shops. I also group running errands in the same way as much as possible. I aim to arrange things so that I can do multiple errands in the same area all at the same time instead of going to the same area multiple times over a week. This also uses less fuel if you are driving so it can save you money as well. Doing all the dishes at the end of the day if there are not too many instead of after every meal, is another example of how you can put this into practice.

You can also bunch replying to messages, emails and social media comments. Having your sound notifications turned on and responding to every message as it comes through can be very disruptive. It can cause you to lose flow in whatever else you were doing and uses more energy. The ding sound of notifications can give you a nice dopamine hit, but it also triggers a small alarm in your nervous system causing a mini “fight or flight” stress response. Over time, having to constantly refocus your attention and respond to the activation of your nervous system, tires out your brain. My phone is on silent most of the time. When it suits me, I check my phone and reply to everything that has come through that I want to engage with at that point. I trained the people in my life not to expect an instant response from me, and I reply to messages as I have capacity and in order of importance to me. This allows me to be much more focused and to get work done more efficiently and with better brain capacity.

Tip 5: Save Time by Preparing Ahead

Preparing ahead is similar to bunching tasks, but it is bunching to create future time freedom and reduce future stress. One of the most common examples of this is doing most of the food prep for the week all in one day. This works really well for some people, but I would add a little caveat for this one. Be very mindful about how this affects your capacity. Sometimes, doing a lot of work all at once to save you work later can actually be overwhelming and cause you stress. If this is the case, carefully assess whether doing a big block of work upfront is really the healthiest way for you to manage your capacity. If we use the example of doing the week’s food prep in one day, then what may be a better option for you is just creating a weekly meal plan and then making things day to day. Sometimes grouping tasks together and doing them all at once works best for you, and sometimes breaking big tasks into smaller ones does. Remember, the key question to ask is, “What is most effective for me in terms of my time and capacity?”

Another example of preparing ahead is to get things ready for the next day the night before. For instance, you could choose what clothes you are going to wear, pack your bag or fill your water bottle. I cook extra dinner and then put the extra in a container for my partner’s lunch the next day. This doesn’t necessarily use less time than doing it in the morning, but doing these tasks the evening before can be a more effective time to do it because you are less time pressured and more likely to remember everything. It also means that you are likely to feel more organised and less rushed in the morning, which facilitates starting your day with more capacity than if you were rushed or forgot something and were feeling stressed.

Tip 6: Create Systems That Prevent Unnecessary Tasks

A more advanced way of pre-preparing is to create systems in your daily life that prevent unnecessary work or stress. One of my fellow Substack writers, Joey G Lloyd, shared a great example of this with me. His tip was to always keep a stockpile of the things that you use all the time and which are not perishable, such as toilet paper, rubbish bags, deodorant, soap etc. Always having spare replacements for these essential items saves time and energy because it prevents you having to do an emergency dash to the store just to get one item if you run out. When you use the item that you had as the spare, put that item on your shopping list, and replace the spare stock next time you do your main grocery shop.

Work With Your Capacity

As we move through our days, we often experience short periods of downtime such as when we are driving in the car, waiting for something or doing repetitive tasks that we don’t have to think about too much like going for a walk. Traditional time management guidelines teach us how to use this time more productively by giving us examples of what else we can do during that time. I would argue now that using time well does not mean filling every moment like that. I used to think that it did. I was the queen of efficiency and multi-tasking when I was younger. I prided myself on how much I could get done within a given space of time. Yes, I got a lot done, and I burned myself out, and I don’t have the capacity to do that anymore. I have learned to be much more discerning about how I invest my time. So, there is a proviso here. When thinking about making the most of “down-time” like when you are traveling and when you are eating, first ask yourself, “What would be most beneficial to your wellbeing right now?” Filling every moment may look like efficiency on the surface, but it is usually driven by stress, a need to earn your worthiness, or avoidance of dealing with uncomfortable feelings or experiences.

Here are two ideas for how to use time effectively in ways that support your capacity.

Tip 7: Use Waiting Time for Yourself

Building on this idea of considering your wellbeing when you have downtime, you can use time spent waiting in lines, queues etc as an opportunity to check in with your wellbeing instead of checking your phone. I think of waiting time as bonus time. I realised a couple of years ago that it could be the opportunity to do the wellbeing practices that I wanted to do, but struggled to “make time for”. Now I use wait time to do a breathwork practice, check in with how I am feeling, or simply be mindfully present. This has shifted how I experience waiting. Instead of finding it frustrating or seeing it as a “waste of time”, or trying to somehow cram something from my to-do list into it, I embrace it as me-time. It becomes a capacity building moment of calm, rather than an experience of depleting over-thinking, over-doing, or mindless distraction.

As a specific example of this, when I am in the car by myself, I invest the time by doing breathwork exercises or, if I feel like I have the mental capacity, listening to training or information audios. The breathwork practice that I normally do is a combination of two breathwork practices - the 4, 7, 8 breath and humming, which is another way of efficiently using time by stacking similar practices. I will share how I do this practice in this week’s Easy Wellness for Midlife video.

Tip 8: Break Tasks into Smaller Steps for Easy Completion

Sometimes, a more effective investment of time is breaking long tasks into smaller ones because it can make things more manageable in terms of your available time and capacity. The big example of this for me is exercise snacking. For me to take an hour or more to go to a session at a gym feels unmanageable. It is a big ask for me to block it in both in terms of time and energy. Things that seem hard to manage for us, usually don’t get done. Daily exercise and movement is very important to me though, so I structure it in smaller 5-15 minute blocks through my day. This feels more manageable to me, so I get my daily exercise plan done most days. Even if I feel pushed for time or a bit tired, I think “it is only 5 minutes” and I can do that. If you want to learn more about this type of exercise snacking, I wrote a whole article about it which you can read here.

Decide What Deserves Your Time

Investing time effectively includes structuring or arranging tasks so that they are manageable for you. It is not about getting everything done, it is about real-life planning that includes what is truly important to you. This is where we move from simply asking, “How can I save time?” to asking, “What do I actually want to spend my time on?”

Tip 9: Decide What Matters Most

I understand that when you feel rushed and like you have a lot to do, that pausing to plan out your day can feel like time when you are not getting other things done. That was a familiar feeling for me and I would write lists of what I had to do, but I never used to filter those lists by anything other than what was urgent or what I could do now. When you don’t have a plan, even if you have a list, you are living your life in response-mode. You are mainly just responding to what is urgent, what you think you should do, what is asked of you, what other people want and what is needed. You are reacting to the world around you all the time rather than choosing what to put in your day based on your values, needs and desires.

The best plans are ones that don’t just show you how to organise the urgent and necessary and fit the most into your day. That may have worked somewhat when we were younger, but now we need a more refined system; a system that guides us to create our day by choice in terms of what truly matters to us.

Important is often equated with urgent, but they are not the same thing. Important things can be urgent, but not everything that is urgent is important. What makes something important is how it aligns with your values and beliefs. Often, we decide what is urgent or important automatically without pausing to consider how it fits with our values. When this happens, things get treated as urgent or important largely because of how they have been presented to us, because other people consider them a priority or because we are responding to them from a place of fear. Fear leads to “shoulds”. You think you should do something because you are afraid that someone else will be disappointed or annoyed with you if you don’t.

When you are clear on what you value, what lights you up and how you want to experience your life, and this becomes a guiding North Star for you, then it gives you a way of deciding what is important based on what genuinely matters to you and contributes to the life you want to live. That doesn’t mean you never do anything for others or say no to everything you don’t want to do, because one of your values may be to build fulfilling relationships with your family and friends or to give back to others in meaningful ways. It means that you have a guidepost for making decisions that honours you as well as others. You don’t need to eliminate everything that isn’t your favourite thing to do. You simply need a clearer guide for deciding.

Tip 10: Do the Most Important Things First

Once you are clear about what tasks and activities matter most to you for each day, then plan your day around those things, and if possible, do them first. Doing the most important things first is the most efficient investment of time because it means that you get the most important things done each day. Doing this can also have added benefits about how you perceive your time. Getting them completed first can ease feeling stressed about not having enough time because the main things are done and anything else you do is almost a bonus. When you get your main tasks for the day done and it is only lunchtime, then it can create a sense that you have plenty of time and can approach other tasks feeling more relaxed.

If you don’t already have a life planning system like what I have described here, and would like to learn about how to live your life more intentionally in this way then I will be running a 21 Day programme starting 1 October called Reinvent Your Life that will help you do that. In this mini-course I will show you how to combine the Life Priority Method, Personal North Star framework and Morning Reset into a simple daily planning system that will enable you to invest your time effectively and also, boost your energy and capacity.

You can learn more about the Reinvent Your Life 21 Day Renewal Programme here.

It is free to join for this time only and starts 1 October 2026 so make sure you register before then.

How to Use Your Time Well in Midlife

The key to saving time in midlife isn’t about becoming more productive so that you can squeeze even more into your day. It’s about being more intentional with the time and capacity you have. Some of these tips will help you reduce the time and energy you spend on everyday tasks, while others will help you create more space for the things that matter to you. The most important thing is to find what works for you, because using your time well isn’t about doing everything. It’s about making sure that the time you do have is supporting the life you want to live.

Just One Thing

If you have read the whole article and got to here then I assume that this was of interest to you, so I want to help you take action, because that is the key to transformation. My just one thing action point for you is something to help you start thinking about what deserves your time.

Take some time right now to think about the question:

What is one thing currently taking more of my time or capacity than it deserves?

From that choose one small change you can make tomorrow to reduce that drain.

It may be one small thing, but that is how effective change can begin.

Aroha nui, much love
Janine

Do you know someone who could really do with knowing this information? Feel free to share this article with them.

Frequently Asked Questions About Saving Time in Midlife

How can I save time in midlife?

You can save time in midlife by reducing unnecessary tasks, limiting mindless screen time, combining compatible activities, grouping errands and messages, preparing ahead and creating simple systems that prevent unnecessary work. It is also important to decide what genuinely deserves your time and organise your day around those priorities. The goal is not simply to fit more into your day, but to use your time and capacity in ways that support the life you want to live.

Why does time management feel different in midlife?

Time management can feel different in midlife because your priorities and your capacity may change. You may have less physical energy or cognitive capacity than you had when you were younger, while also becoming more aware of how precious your time is. This can create a desire for a simpler life and a need to manage your time in a way that takes your mental, emotional and physical capacity into account.

What is the best way to save time when you are busy?

One useful place to start is by identifying where your time is currently going and looking for things that are unnecessary, inefficient or taking more time than they deserve. You can then make small changes such as grouping errands, preparing things the night before, limiting mindless screen time or breaking larger tasks into smaller steps. A helpful question to ask is: “What is most effective for me in terms of my time and capacity?”

How can I stop wasting time on my phone?

Setting boundaries around phone and media use can help reduce mindless screen time. You could use a timer, create boundaries such as no phones at the dinner table or in the bedroom, or simply become more aware of when and why you reach for your phone. It can also help to notice whether you are scrolling because you are bored, stressed, avoiding something or overtired.

Is multitasking a good way to save time?

Multitasking can save time when you combine activities that work well together without reducing the quality of either activity or pushing you beyond your capacity. Examples include listening to a podcast while walking, listening to an audiobook while doing household chores, or combining compatible exercises. Multitasking becomes less helpful when it leaves you distracted, rushed or stressed.

How can I make everyday tasks more efficient?

You can make everyday tasks more efficient by grouping similar activities together, preparing ahead and creating systems that prevent unnecessary work. For example, you could group errands in the same area, batch messages and emails rather than responding to every notification, prepare things you need the night before, or keep spare supplies of frequently used household essentials.

How can I save time without making myself more stressed?

The key is to consider your capacity as well as your time. A strategy that saves time but leaves you overwhelmed may not actually be the most effective choice for you. For example, preparing all your meals for the week in one large session may save time later, but if the preparation itself is exhausting, a simple weekly meal plan and day-to-day cooking may work better. Ask yourself what is most effective for you in terms of your time and capacity.

Should I use all my spare time productively?

No. Using your time well does not mean filling every spare moment with another task. Some downtime can be used for wellbeing, rest or simply being present. Before automatically filling a spare moment, ask yourself: “What would be most beneficial to my wellbeing right now?” Sometimes the best use of your time is to do less.

How can breaking tasks into smaller steps save time?

Breaking a large task into smaller steps can make it easier to fit into your available time and capacity, which can make you more likely to actually complete it. For example, instead of trying to find an hour for exercise, you could use several 5–15 minute blocks throughout the day. Smaller, manageable actions can be easier to start and sustain when you are busy or tired.

How do I decide what deserves my time?

Start by considering what you value, what matters to you, what gives you energy and how you want to experience your life. This gives you a guide for deciding which tasks and activities are genuinely important. It can also help you distinguish between what is important and what is simply urgent, expected by others or driven by a sense of “should”.

How can I prioritise my time in midlife?

Rather than automatically prioritising whatever is urgent or whatever someone else needs from you, consider your values, needs and desires. Identify the things that matter most to you and plan your day around them. Where possible, doing the most important things first can help you feel less stressed about running out of time because the things that matter most have already been given your attention.

What is the most important principle for managing time in midlife?

The most important principle is to consider both time and capacity. Effective time management in midlife is not about getting everything done or becoming more productive simply so you can fit more into your day. It is about making your everyday life easier while making sure that the time and energy you have are supporting what genuinely matters to you.