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Time management - cooking, cleaning, and exercise

Discussion in 'Spotless Kitchen' started by kkrish, Apr 22, 2012.

  1. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi @BDivya
    Yes, I live in the US and am working outside the home. I used to work in India too just after my marriage and had my first child there. But I had a few advantages: I had a stay-at-home caretaker for my baby; I also did not have commute problem - we lived walking distance to the university where I worked.

    Most of my posts are geared towards the working woman only as I am a working woman.

    Our mind is our strongest organ. We can always know the difference between a job that is done mindfully and mindlessly. So, as you start being aware of everything you will identify time wasters, time stealers and will take corrective measure. Also you will train your mind to immediately identify how long something will take, if it is worth pursuing, alternatives, etc.

    I think you two major controllers now are your office and your toddler. The majority of your wakeful hours go towards your job and taking care of your toddler.

    Start with your job.
    Office - Note down for a week or so how you get ready for work, how long it takes, your commute time, is the commute too strenuous that you are tired when you reach work?
    At work are you sitting down continuously? how often do you take breaks, what do you do when you take breaks?
    Is your lunch healthy - a protein, vegetables, grains, fruit, and yogurt?
    When returning home are there chores that you can do en-route, etc.

    Identify the time stealers, time wasters, things that you should have done earlier, time gaps that you can do small things etc.

    For example - Mine is a sit down job - so every hour I get up and go to the water fountain to get a bottle of water. sometimes I have to be at the desk and cannot leave. Those time I stand up, walk in place do some stretches. I use small time gaps to accomplish some exercise.

    Use this as a starting point and in no time you will know how to work around challenge areas.
     
  2. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Er..mmm... brinjal, avarakkai, and ridge gourd?... Oh Shara, you are asking the wrong person. I did not like any of these when I was a child. Now, only because I am a homemaker I cook all these to solve the ever present " What to cook?".
    So here I am with your kids... sorry!
     
    chithirainilavu likes this.
  3. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    A recap of me ... may be second time.
    I am a working woman, living in the US for thirty years. I began working when I was 21 and have been in the work force since (except for a few years in the US till visa status change).

    Managing my life around time, became important only after I came to the US.
    The challenges were multiple due to our location. We came to and still live in a remote part of US far from any major city.

    There were no Indian stores, or even an Indian restaurant. The nearest city where I could get some wilted Indian vegetables was three hours drive away.
    Planning, storing, preserving, and stretching the use of these precious vegetables was one challenge.
    Now life is better... we only need to drive 1.5 hours to the nearest good Indian store :)

    Then I began higher studies - a coop program that meant part time work and part time studies.
    Here I was - two children with different after school activities, no public transportation, my spouse on travel most of the time.

    That's when I read a lot of time management books. All the books told me how to spend my time. I tried many but never found them helpful for my situation. I always felt there was something more but I did not know what that was.

    It was one day I was watching a Federer tennis match. Federer was calm, collected and was winning. His opponent was constantly fidgeting, moving hair from his eyes, pulling his shirt, his pants, his eyes darting at the crowd...small things. The difference hit me. Here was Federer focused and the other player losing focus, and wasting energy in those small actions.

    That was my answer. Focus, use the mind. Identify the problem, device a plan, have a back up plan, prepare for failure, restart...

    This thread was born...
     
  4. BDivya

    BDivya Platinum IL'ite

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    thank u soo much kk :)
    I will work on my time and come back soon here..
    Can u give us a chance to peak into your daily schedule - managing work , house and kids!
    what are the ages of your kids? how do u manage kids when u go out to work??day care/nanny??
    mornings how u plan and evenings after u get back how u manage everything vs your tired soul? :)
     
    kkrish likes this.
  5. chillbreeze

    chillbreeze Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    @kkrish what you said about food and weight loss is true..when I don't plan and in hurry, I tend to cook noodles or get take out which is not good for health/weight loss. This weekend went away and not able to plan anything as i just came today noon. But got some veggies and greens..will try to plan atleast next 2 days meals. Hope I can post some success here.

    @chithirainilavu brinjal-vangibath, brinjal kotsu, bajji, chips, stuffed brinjal are stuff I like than the usual sambar, kuzhambu. Ridgegourd-dosa, chutney are different from usual stuff.
     
    kkrish likes this.
  6. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi @BDivya
    Looks like you hadn't read my post just above yours.
    Doing a little math with the numbers I've provided you'll come to the conclusion that my children are grown ups today. :).

    I dont believe I can be of much help to you because I had a live-in nanny for my first child, and I was not working when I had my second baby, due to visa status.
    So, hopefully some working mother may be able to give you tips.
    But rest assured, despite a live in nanny, it was not easy being a working mom. I was tired many days.

    As I mentioned earlier, it was when I went back for higher studies with young children that I found myself floundering , unable to cram all the demands in a day.

    The many time management books and suggestions catered to the western lifestyle. I had to create my own and came up with some solutions that worked for me.

    I started this thread just to share those ideas just in case someone is searching the way I did those many years ago.

    No, I did not solve all my challenges at one go. There were many trials and errors. Some are still work in progress.

    I am not an expert and do not have solutions for all.

    I have devised a plan for future post; hopefully you will find something that tells you, "Aha! this is what I've been looking for", "Yes, this works"...

    Best Wishes...
     
    coffeecups, Madhumagie and BDivya like this.
  7. BDivya

    BDivya Platinum IL'ite

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    thank u kk :) i will be looking forward for your fututre post ...
     
    kkrish likes this.
  8. Madhumagie

    Madhumagie Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Kamala mam !

    Just wanted to know the angels name who has made so much difference in my life .

    to be honest i felt very happy to discover your name :biggrin::biggrin:
     
    kkrish likes this.
  9. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Very good @chillbreeze . Looking forward to seeing your posts.
     
  10. kkrish

    kkrish IL Hall of Fame

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    Thank you @Madhumagie . Please address me as kk, kkrish, or ma'am.
     

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