Have you noticed that despite the fact that there are 24 hours in each day, the mantra of our society seems to be “I don’t have enough time!” How often do you find yourself thinking that very thought or saying those words?

Let’s face it: as parents, we are very busy. We not only work, maintain our home lives, keep up with family and social connections and meet our own daily survival needs, we also take care of all the needs of little -- often demanding -- people!

How can you make better use of your own 24 hours?

Get organized! So much time lost is actually time wasted from not being efficient.

• Cook meals that will leave leftovers for another dinner or for lunches. Have a “stock” grocery and household staples list you always need to purchase and plan meals for the week before your shop.

• Arrange your work schedule so you don’t drive in traffic every day. If you do drive in traffic, listen to books on tape, learn a language or listen to relaxing music.

• Stagger your work schedule with your partner’s work schedule a couple of days a week so that you have some self-time after or before work.

• Efficiently plan errands. No more driving all over town for just one errand!

• Schedule your week on a family calendar with each family member’s activities for ease of planning. We have a big dry-erase board in our kitchen.

• Keep two to-do lists: one master list for bigger goals and one weekly list for more urgent to-dos.

• Go over and revise your priority list every week. Eliminate what you can and be very clear about what is most important so you can focus.

• Keep a list of holidays/birthdays. Shop ahead and store gifts, already wrapped. This saves both money and time. If you go to lots of kid’s birthday parties, choose a couple of really meaningful items and buy several at a time. A well-written storybook or art activity makes a great gift for most kids.

Track your time to better understand how you are using it. For one week, track your time and notice in particular the time traps, activities that take more time than you realize or intend. For example, you might not realize you spend three hours per week on Facebook, two hours per week driving for errands or one hour per week on the phone with a friend you don’t even enjoy talking to that much. By getting clear about where your time is going, you can make more conscious decisions about how you really want to invest your precious time.

Eliminate some 'have-to's': You do them because you feel you should but often end up feeling irritated or resentful. We all have chores in our lives that we don’t enjoy, but sometimes we are doing things out of obligation that are not even necessary. For example: volunteering at your kid’s school at every event, scrubbing the toilet every week (other people live in your house too - they can take a turn!), or spending time with a friend that you have out-grown or who brings you down. All these activities can be draining! Be willing to say no more often, let go of what you can and ask for help.

It is important to realize that no matter how busy you are, you do have choices. Sometimes, in the hardest of circumstances, the only choice you may have is your attitude, but even that can be time saving. Have you ever noticed how much faster a chore goes when you are happily singing along to the radio instead of complaining and dragging your feet?