On a recent post several readers stated that their biggest prepping frustration was a lack of time. Since survival and emergency preparedness is a big part of my life, I’d never thought of this before, but a lack of time makes a lot of sense.
Even though time is a limited resource, we still have 24 hours in a day, which is plenty of time, but it is a matter of re-evaluating your priorities. No, I’m not suggesting you abandon spending time with your family or anything so drastic – but then isn’t the ones you love the reason you’re prepping in the first place.
Some survivors might still have a job and work 8-12 or more hours a day, then you sleep another 6-8 hours leaving you with only a few hours each day for the other parts of your life – like family and prepping. So lets find ways to maximize your time and the effectiveness of your preps.
Here are 8 tips to help you make the most of the time you have.
1. Stop reading and start doing
Reading is important, but only to a point. This may sound strange coming from a blog publisher, but to be honest you can waste a huge amount of time in front of the computer. For this reason I try to keep my posts short and to the point, so you can quickly read and absorb the post and move on.
2. Focus on the tasks that have the highest impact
Don’t sweat the small stuff – instead focus your efforts on tasks that have the most impact on your goals. For the survivalist, the goal usually is to increase your storage foods, survival gear and to learn new skills. If what you’re doing isn’t meeting this end, stop doing it and re-evaluate your plan.
3. Don’t get distracted
When learning new survival skills it’s easy to become lost and overwhelmed, leading to distraction and little progress. I’ve found the best way to learn needed survival skills is to break survival down into smaller parts. For example, you might study survival food storage techniques one month, preparing that food the next and trapping the next. The key is to focus on one area at a time before moving to the next.
4. Throw away your television
You’re not going to gain many survival insights watching American Idol or another rerun of that 70′s show. It’s amazing how much time we spend in front of a television, and for the most part it’s time wasted and it’s not going to bring you closer to your emergency preparedness goals.
5. Maximize your health
If you’re healthy you’ll have more energy to get things done. Eat healthy, exercise and get enough sleep. Getting into shape will improve your productivity and increase your chances of survival under any circumstance.
6. Killing two birds with one stone
You should spend time with your family, but if possible make that time serve double duty. For instance take your children camping and spend the time learning and teaching them survival skills. Spend the weekend with the spouse learning to prepare basic foods. Take a first aid course as a couple. Go shooting. The most important thing is to include your family as much as possible and make it fun, which will bring you closer.
I’m sure you have other ideas for maximizing time for prepping – please share in the comments below…
{ 40 comments }
Amen to number four! If you sell your television most people will also save money on canceling the outrageously overpriced cable services. That money can then be diverted to preps.
#6 is also good.
- Ranger Man
Make a list of where you are and where you wish to be and map out how to get there.
The number one thing that you can do to improve your health is to increase your water intake.
Scouting is a great way to learn and practice survival skills. Either with your own kids or someone else’s. You will also connect with people with a like mindset.
Lorenzo Poe
I learned number 3 is a solution to wasting a lot of time. I know from my own experience that there is a tendency to try to get everything done all at once. Breaking down prepping into various categories and maintaining lists of needs, goals and accomplishments has helped me a lot. I also maintain lists of contents of my various kits and bags. This helps not only to know what you have in them, but also to discover what you should have in them but don’t.
I also have “action” lists for as many of the emergencies I might encounter, such as: hurricane, tornado, earthquake, ice storm, power failure, nuclear events, chemical events, etc. Thinking out what you’ll do in these events ahead of time and putting them on paper (I use 3×5 cards) saves a degree of panic when they “come out of the blue”.
7. End fear.
Fear wastes time and energy and often leads to poor decision making.
7. Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real.
I am half way through the book by Cody Lundin, When All Hell Breaks Loose, and he mentions when the “Event” that you’ve been preparing for happens, fear will be one of the first monsters to grab the mind. Besides being physically fit, one must be mentally fit.
Cody dedicates 60 of 432 pages of his incredible resourceful book on water. Spending time securing your water and all that comes with it should be a priority for everyone reading this blog.
After watching Cody a bit on Dual Survival I think I might go ahead and read his book. I find him pretty intriguing.
N.D.:
Cody’s book is well written and down to earth. The illustrations and pictures break up the text nicely. He keeps a theme of humor going regardless of the subject or topic. Cody removes the F.E.A.R. I hope you and others decide to get his book.
Prepared N.D. you are right about fear. i owe 8 more years on my house,and ive started laying awake nights fearing the worst. the economy has affected my business (owner operator) to a huge degree.last night i got fed up with the fear,and found a solution. 4 years ago,the property across the street from me came up for sale and i bought it just because i didnt want to take the chance of someone else buying it and putting a pig farm or a junk yard there.(small town,no restrictions)well today i placed an order for a 16 X 32 barn style shed ,and ill have it delivered across the street to the property i own. its not much,but if my business fails or GOD forbid i,or my wife get sick ,and we are unable to finish paying for this house,we at least have a place to call home.the release from fears grip was instantaneous.i can now focus on what is most important. praying for the best and preparing for the worst. BC
BC,
I think your biggest fear would have been realized if Skunk Cabbage bought the property across the street from you. Good move on that purchase. :-)
I am working on getting into shape, it can help everyone.I have never been or ever will be a runner, end of story. But I am excercising some iron pumping excercises are great cardio for instance squats.you can do heavy squats for brute strength and do light squats with many reps for cardio.or moderate weight.I have not owned a working tv in many years.pilates are great for some poeple however I am not realy sure what pilates are or how to pilate.Being a christian I am not into Yoga but is serves many well.The flexability of yoga seems usefull however I will never subscribe to oriental philosiphy that is part of yoga from what I understand.however take your tv shooting and get into shape and spend time with your family.Those are posative things to do. Steve
You don’t have to accept the philosophy associated with Yoga in order to gain from the physical aspects of it. Look at it this way, you can study Egyptology without becoming an Egyptian. You can practice yoga without becoming a yogi. I know many Christians (mostly women) who use yoga as a physical training regimen. They haven’t given up their Christain faith, despite doing yoga for years.
Amen, I have been practicing yoga off and on for 35 years and it doesn’t
require any religious aspect. Keeping yourself flexible, being able to
calm your mind and steady your breath may be crucial in the case of
an “event.”
Learning how to manage your time wisely is another useful survival skill.
Most people who work today have a lunch break of from 30 – 60 minutes. That is 2.5 – 5 hours per week of potential prepping time, if you learn how to use your time wisely. No, you won’t be at home, but you can do some prepping anyhow. Eat your lunch during your break and use your lunch time to go shopping, read that prepping article online, make a list of gear/food you still need to acquire, exercise, practice tying knots, read a first aid book, or whatever else that is associated with prepping and that can be done away from home. Then what little time you have for prepping while at home can be used for home-specific prepping work — like building that hidden gun case in the wall, or digging a root cellar, or putting together the rotating food shelving system.
You will be surprised how much prepping you can do on your lunch break, and you might start up a conversation about it with your coworkers, who could be like-minded people.
I find my lunch time is ideal for reading and planning. Then I have more time free for more active prepping after work.
I find that to some extent, planning can be the enemy of doing. If I had everything my way, I would have all of my preps planned and optimized before doing anything. That way I would know that my money and effort would get used most effectively.
The problem is, the planning never ends. I find it’s better to plan a couple of steps, then take those steps. You don’t have to select the location of your future retreat before you can buy your first bucket of wheat. To reformulate an old saying, an ounce of doing is worth a pound of planning.
Voltaire said “the perfect is the enemy of the good”. Maybe we should heed the 18th century philosophy ….
I agree with Prepared ND – eliminate fear. Fear comes from a lack of or skewed information. Your preparations will become disjointed & more likely stiffled if you try to plan for an unrealstic or speclative event.
Look at realistic & geographically specific scenarios (hurricanes, floods, cold snaps etc) and plan accordingly. You will find cross over preparations to other less likely events like economic collapses.
Thanks. I know I sound like a broken record on here but when I first got started prepping I wasted a lot of time and money due to fear. Luckily I ran across some wise advice from a fellow prepper a couple years back and changed my entire style and it allowed me to reach my goal much quicker and have fun in the process.
BTW, welcome to the blog & congratulations MD, you seem to be pulling in quite a few new people to the community.
Some christians smoke, I don`t.Some christians do Yoga ,I don`t.Some christians are vegetarians,I am not.Some christians have tatoos and pierced ears(men) ,I won`t.some gay poeple claim to be christian( hellofa contriditian) I am not.some christians do alot of things that are viotiations of christianity or concience matters.The Bible states. Do not be mislead, bad assoacation spoils suefull habbits. Steve
And some Christians accept information in the spirit in which it’s given, you don’t.
while other Christians forgive & some continue to judge …
Ah, another comment from left field. Great, I should have brought my catcher’s mask. Thanks for the foul ball, now please exit the field of play.
he said “HE” doesent do yoga because it goes against what he feels are “HIS” christian beliefs. why would anyone have a problem with that?
If he had left it at that, most likely nobody would have had a problem. Since I fall under ‘bad association’ it’s not something I’m going to worry about.
Oh brother.
bctruck,
So, you failed reading comprehension in elementary school. Bummer. Try reading his original post and maybe you’ll see that HE said yoga was taught with an “oriental philosophy.” This isn’t the “orient” and yoga is often taught without any religious associations, please forgive me all-knowing-one for trying to set the guy’s mind at ease about yoga. What his excercise program has to do with the current topic is beyond me, but I’m sure YOU see the connection. But hey, please feel free to comment again without understanding the context. M-a-y-b-e I s-h-o-u-l-d t-y-p-e s-l-o-w-e-r f-o-r y-o-u ?
Whatever, Skunk boy. It is obvious he did not express himself in exacting terms you seem to require.
He clearly stated that it benefits many and his obvious niavte sees the oriental philosophy association is not for him and you go on to acknowledge, agree & imbed that point subsequently – oriental belief.
You should probably quit while you’re behind Mr. Comprehension.
Yeah, OK pal. Hopefully your brain fog clears before morning. And be sure to pick up the bottle caps before your mom steps on them.
By the way, not that anybody cares to learn anything around here, but using the term “oriental” in reference to Asians is no longer acceptable, unless you intentionally want to sound like a bigot. But hey, shoot yourself in the foot, I don’t give a rat’s behind.
Party on, Jason. I’m so glad I’ll be paying for YOUR health insurance soon. Holy crap!
And didn’t I already tell you once that it’s MR. Skunk Boy to you, so please get it right next time. Respect your elders.
Skunk Cabbage,
If you are at peace with yourself, you refrain from putting others down.
Being at peace with one’s self will do more for one’s prospect for survival than anything else.
A true Christin strives to obey Jesus’ command to “love one another as I have loved you”.
True faith creates an open heart.
Best to You,
wordherder
so now your going to be insulting to me as well? yout batting 1000 friend. i sense you wont be around for long here. the tolerance level for those that attack others is very low here. your kind doesnt tend to be welocome when everyone figures what your about. but then what do i know im typeing faster than my reading comprehension will allow. have an awesome day you wonderful and kind soul.
Perfect response bctruck.
Wordherder, I’m afraid the malcontent of Skunk may be his undoing in the future. It is pure weakness that drives this degree of personal attacks – nothing more.
4,5,6 Check ! or well underway.. #1 is my biggest problem and I have been coming to realize it in the past few weeks.. Another tiely post. I love to read an research and procrastinate too much. I think I will have to turn off the PC for a while. TV has already been gone for a few months and everyone adjusted pretty well. I’m proud of em all. ( It broke and I just did not replace it) I need to work on 2 & 3 better.. I never feel as organized as I should be. Getting organized woudl be a good post. I look at guys like Analytical Survival on Youtube and think they must have 48 hours in their day ! If you don’t know who he is, you should go to you tube and check him out.. But not too much time now or #1 will get you.LOL We have had two camping trips at the beach this summer and we did all sorts of survival training/prep – and they never knew it ! Thanks for another great post.. Forgive me if I stop reading for a while..if I can..
WOW ! I did not mean to stir up any contention.please forgive me,I am not trying to piss anyone off. Steve
It’s no big deal Steve, Skunk is not the brightest bulb in the ceiling & seems to respond out of emotion rather than logic or intelligence and has difficulty maintaining continuity.
Just as well, it’s not worth wasting any more time on his nonsense.
I would recommend reading “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. It has a great methodology on planning by week/month and has helped me focus efforts.
We prep as a family every night in various was and all of our “play time” is geared towards skill development or fitness (hiking).
We canceled our TV service a few nights ago and the extra hour a day is doing a lot for us.
Things got a little off track with Skunk person but wanted to say excellent post MD.
Stop reading, start doing is perfect advice. You can end up doing “analysis to paralysis” trying to figure out what steps to take.
Getting rid of television is an awesome time saver. Television programs are scientifically engineered to capture us and make us not move or switch cannels – including commercials. TV stations constantly poll their audiences, they hire specialized psychologists to design flow of content (I have friend who is a “human factor” psychologist that works for a big station). It’s elaborate & spooky what can be done.
Your life ends up innocently (ha, ha) clicking away 30 minutes at a time – true fact.
Again, great post!
Great post and you are so right.
For me – misc tasks seem to get the better of me – I need to focus on completion of one project at a time. Better planning.
Thanks – Rourke
Prepping for me has become as simple as this: Evaluate action, focus on it and execute. Re-evaluate results, focus and execute…until satisfaction is achieved. So +1 on focusing on the task.
+1 also involving the kids. The are more psyched about going camping and learning new stuff that I am. Involving the wife is another topic. I just goty home yesterday with 80 pounds of rice and beans each and was yelled in the face if I was crazy.
MAximizing wealth also +++1. I started to do excersises, running, taking vitamins and feels a lot better that a couple of months ago when just climbing a stair was a tiresome task.
And regarding TV…”I wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. There’s a knob called ~brightness~, but that doesn’t work…”
Religion and politics and edgy subjects to get into in this blog, specially under 6 Tips To Optimize Your Time For Prepping.
Excellent post M.D. Keep it up!
Sorry my orthography was terrible,
The was mispelled for THEY are more psyched…
Wealth should not be there,,HEALTH INSTEAD..
My wife yelling… yes THAT WAS TRUE and my ear still hurts…
I wasted a lot of time panicing about certain survival aspects, here is what i found out over the past couple of years, i hope they help. If you google them you will find lots of info. Tried and tested techniques that will not let you down.
health – Yoga and Qi gong – Cheap, no equipment, many benefits. The star posture is powerful and only needs to be done for a couple of minutes a day.
SODIS – Solar water disinfection. Buy some clear, recycled, water bottles, strain the water and leave it in the sun for 6 – 48 hours, The uv light kills the organisms, making it safe to drink. Cheap, reusable, keeps you hydrated in times of system disruption.
Hemp – Illegal to grow without a licence, but a great survival food. It lasts forever in storage, doesnt require cooking and is highly nutritious. If the whole system falls over, then you can plant it as a crop to provide food and fuel.
Water containers – If you have a basic set of water containers to heat water in, thats all you need to get by and have hot food and hot washes. Stainless steel is best.
Firesteels – Firesteels are great, if you have no firedrill knowledge then i would learn as a backup.
Tinder – You can buy cotton wool en mass very cheaply. Dab it with some petroleum jelly and you can easily start a fire almost anywhere, even in rain.
Knife – Finally, get a solid, full tang survival knife that will last a lifetime and take abuse. A knife is a critical tool for many things in a tight spot. If you have the money, i recommend the falkniven F1 which is the perfect knife, or a Gerber LMF2, which is a hardcore tool. The best value knife i have found is the Gerber profile, which is cheap and has titanium coating to prevent rust.
All the best.
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