10.  Avoid perfection. You are only setting yourself up for defeat. When you try to bring perfection to difficult tasks, you will only end up avoiding them.

9.  Start your day 15 to 30 minutes earlier. It may be difficult initially, but you’ll be gaining that much extra time in your day. We know it’s hard in winter (we just got back from Tasmania - boy, is it cold and dark in the mornings down there!), but it’s worth it.

8. Try not to compulsively clean. It is far more important to relax a bit each day than to live in an immaculate house. We’re not suggesting that standards slip too far - but a few fingerprints never killed anyone.

7. No emotional attachments to junk please. If you don’t need something, just get rid of it. It clears the clutter in your home and reduces the time required to clean up. A good test is - if you haven’t used it, worn it, thought about it for 12 months, you can probably get rid of it.

6. Married or living together? Try doing things (we mean household things!) together. This not only brings back the spark into your relationship (or is that just the cleaning fumes?), it also helps you save time by completing tasks faster.

5. Set out your work clothes and pack your lunch at night. Taking your own lunch to work is a great way to eat healthier and cheaper than buying lunch everyday. If there’s a microwave at work, leftovers make a perfect (and quick-to-prepare) lunch.

4. Have kids? Teach them to clean up after themselves. Show your kids how to maintain their own rooms and reward them for doing so. You’ll save time cleaning up after them and they’ll save time because things will be that much easier to find when they need them (like, in the morning, before school!).

3. Keep phone numbers, and other emergency information in an easy to find place, like the on the refrigerator, or near the phone. In case of emergency you won’t have to waste time running around for information. We’re big fans of not having to re-invent the wheel every time we need to do something.

2. Multitask. Jobs that are not too critical and don’t require 100% concentration can be clubbed together - exercise while you catch up on your favourite program, or fold laundry while talking on the telephone. At the office, you can send routine emails while talking on the phone. Multitasking frees 30-60 minutes of time to be used later in the day.

1.Order meals from Dinner Divas - we estimate that a Diva Dozen can save you at least 16 hours a month in shopping, prep and clean-up. Imagine what you could be doing with all that extra time!

This is an excerpt from the Dinner Divas web site, more pregnancy tips and advice links, go to http://www.maternityhire.com.au/