Advice letter not enough time for household chores

Dear Andrea,  "I have no time for nothing neither my family nor even myself", this complaint is unfortunately heard quite often in this 21st century. Due to both members of the couple usually work now outside home, nobody can take care of the children and do household chores exclusively. But actually where is the problem? From my point of view we are ourselves our own worst enemy so, my first piece of advice would be relax and keep it in mind: we cannot be at the same cleaning or cooking level ! Apart from that, it would be useful to incorporate some of these time management tips to your daily routine: - Include family: consider matching children with household jobs. Everyone makes the mess so everyone should help clean it. Moreover, according to numerous studies conducted by universities all over the world, one of the best predictor of a child´s success is the age at which he begins helping at home.    Furthermore, this could be perfectly a way of teaching not only responsability but also team work. For this purpose, you could make to do lists all together, define specific areas such as: kitchen, dining-room, living-room, bathrooms, schedule them and makle weekly turns.    - Create a check-off system: as important is to teach children how they should do the task as making them know they have a reward  afterwards. It is a way of motivation to encourage them to get their goals accomplished. Remember: make it fun and enjoyable for them   - Eliminate clutter (mess): the less you have the less you have to clean. Take that into account and try not to keep your home full of toys everywhere. Were it not for the fact that I have children too, I would recommend you to be very strict with that issue and if a new game gets in, another one "must" be gone.    On the other hand, if you consider you waste a lot of time going shopping why don´t you try to do it on-line? Although it could seem difficult it is much easier than you think and mainly quicker. It is worth giving a chance.    Additionally, about cooking matters, there´s always the possibility of buying take-away food or getting a Thermomix (if you can´t afford to buy prepared meal all the time). You can even try to find a second-hand one if it is necessary.    Finally, you may have to accept that time is really accept that time is really limited for people who have to deal with business and personal careers and jobs apart from children and domestic tasks But if you could incorporate some of these advice you would obtain some extra time (at least I hope so).   Good luck!   Sincerely,    Andrea.