6 Tips for Handling Errands With a Full Time Job
Over the years, I’ve talked a lot about having better weekends. I did a post about 10 general tips for better weekends here, tips for making weekends with kids more fun, and handling chores on the weekend.
Last time I brought this up, I got a question from a reader asking how to manage all the errands involved with normal life – grocery shopping, filling up the car with gas, online returns, etc – with a full-time job.
I asked my Instagram community for their suggestions and there were so many good ideas for managing errands!
Let Someone Else Do the Shopping (Delivery & Pickup Are Everything!)
If an errand can be done from your phone, your couch, or your desk at work…that’s the dream. Grocery delivery, curbside pickup, prescription delivery, and online ordering came up again and again as the biggest time-savers. I’ve been doing Walmart delivery for years now, and it absolutely saves me so much time! I take a few minutes to put in my order on Sunday and it arrives for me on Monday. One follower said “I do as many pickup or delivery orders as possible, so my errands are limited to things that can’t be done online.”
Use Lunch Breaks and Workday Downtime
A lot of people said lunch breaks are their prime errand time, especially those who don’t want to be doing errands on evenings and weekends. Curbside pickup makes this even more doable (remember the days of always having to go in the store?!). A lot of people commented they would rather eat lunch at their desk than sacrifice their Saturday time to run errands. Icing on the cake if the post office, library, or dry cleaner is near work!
Front-Load Errands to Protect the Weekend
Several people shared that they treat Thursday or Friday like errand day so the weekend can actually feel like a break. It might make for a busy end to the week, but it pays off fast. “We do groceries and cleaning on Friday so Saturdays are completely open!” one follower commented. Analese on my team mentioned this as something that worked for her a few years back and said it completely changed her weekends!
Combine Errands with Kid Activities or Family Time
I love the idea of making a not so enjoyable task attached to something you actually want to do. If you’re already out for sports, practices, or family time, that can be a great window for quick errands, or just turning errands into part of the outing. A follower said “We have family day for groceries, library, farmers market, secondhand store exploring.”
Stack Errands Onto Your Commute
Instead of saving everything for the weekend, many people try to squeeze errands in before work or after work on the way home. And many of you love this option for the drive-up and curbside options. If you are already in your car and out of the house, why not stack on one more little thing. One follower said “I’ll leave half an hour early and run to the hardware store on the way to work (curbside is great for this!), or grab groceries on the way home.”
Find a Weekend Balance
If weekends are your only window for errands (no judgment – some people genuinely enjoy it!), a lot of you shared ways to keep it from taking over the whole weekend, like shopping every other weekend or setting a cutoff time for tasks so the rest of the weekend can be for resting and having fun.
One follower said “I just make sure it’s not every weekend. I need a balance to stay sane on both ends. Some weekends I just need to have fun. And some weekends I need to get caught up on all the things. If I start leaning too far one way or the other (all weekends are fun or all weekends are work), then I start feeling really stressed and sad.”
I’d love to hear how you handle running errands with a full time job!
