I'm going to try to be a little more consistent about posting Elf Tips.

People are always looking for more time in their days. No matter how much time we have available, more would always be handy. But, unlike most things, we can't make more — we have to find it, which usually means taking it away from something else.

A lot of people decide that they are going to wake up an hour or so earlier each day. I know I've tried that myself. The downside is that you don't tend to stick to it very long. Usually, within a week or so, the tiredness takes over and you abandon the experiment.

But what if you woke up only 5 minutes early. Would you even notice it? Probably not. That last 5 minutes of lying in bed dreading getting up isn't exactly known as quality sleep. Now, combine that 5 minutes with 5 other minutes that you take away from screen time: cut your channel surfing time or update your status less often or click through one less link.

Now you have 10 minutes to accomplish something. I keep a mental list of quick tasks, things like taking out the trash and recycling, cleaning the bathroom sink and toilet, doing the dishes, planning menus, filing bills, etc. None of those take more than 10 minutes. On a good day, I can squeeze in two. That opens up time later in the day that can be used for other things — work or fun.

You may think those 10 minutes don't mean much, but over the course of a year, 10 minutes a day will give you over 60 hours of newfound time — without costing you much sleep at all!