Life Hacks:

Monitor passports

Set a “renew passport” reminder for six months to a year before your and your family

members’ passports expire, depending on your travel plans. Also keep digital scans of

everyone’s passports somewhere you can easily find them.

This is boring and probably shaming, but so worthwhile. Go through bank statements for

any regular payments you don’t recognise or can’t remember and check whether you are

still paying subscriptions for things you don’t want or need.

“If you need something regularly, put it on an automated subscription,” says Alex Morgan

of the Mambition podcast, which explores the challenges of working motherhood. This

can be useful for repeat purchases such as nappies, dishwasher tablets, contact lenses

or pet food.

Pre-sort washing

I bought a laundry hamper with three compartments, then trained my household to sort

by darks, lights and whites. Now there’s no more sorting through piles of washing. When

one section is full, I just put that load on.

I try to make one phone call, send one email or complete one form a day – anything I

can do to keep on top of personal admin so it does not overwhelm me.

Notifications are horrible for your concentration and focus,” says Stefan van der Stigchel,

professor of cognitive psychology at Utrecht University and the author of Concentration:

Staying Focused in Times of Distraction. “If there’s the possibility of new information, the

brain will look for it.” Don’t let your email provider or an app decide what matters.