Time management - cooking, cleaning, and exercise

coffeecups · Jan 6, 2017

girvani said: ↑

Dear @coffeecups. Some days are harder than the other. But remember you are capable of doing more than you think.
My humble advise is have discussion with your husband so you can have breakfast without much cooking like cereals, toast or Sathu ma. Then you will end up two meals a day.

I did distance learning while I was working full time and got pregnant. What helped me was I woke one hour early and used that for studying.

Make sure you have restful sleep.even 6 hours of sleep will rejuvenate you.

Hope you feel better soon dear. Remember that all will be well
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Dh eats only breakfast and dinner at home. So, feel bad to ask him to eat cereals/ bread. He doesn't have proper time to eat lunch. So, in view of his health, I made it a point to give him some healthy hot breakfast and dinner. Most of the days it's dosa only. Since I'm new to cooking, I end up browsing and searching for recipes. Neither my mom nor mil are great cooks and can't guide me over phone. Hence this option of searching over net.
I think I will start waking up an hour early. But it's too cold here. Till 7 am there won't be any activity. I generally wake up between 6-6.30.

coffeecups · Jan 6, 2017

My plan for today
6-8.30 wake up, make coffee and breakfast for both, rotis for my lunch, curry done last night, take bath, pray to God, leave for work
8.30- 5 work hours
5-7
8
make coffee and relax for an hour. Decide on tomorrow's menu. Cook n cool. Decide night's dinner. Have it before dh comes ( so that I can relaxedly eat it) fold clothes, wash veggies box in fridge, walk for 5-6 k steps minimum. And do some other preparatory work
8 - make dinner for dh, clean the kitchen,relax, phone calls,
10- off to sleep

Main target
Not to feel overwhelmed
Have positive energy throughout the day
Eat healthy n exercise

GuideMe · Jan 6, 2017

kkrish said: ↑

Hi @GuideMe
Welcome.

Yeah, for me accountability was one trigger that got me moving. When I began this thread I did all the stuff I posted and slowly most of what I did became second nature.
Nowadays, even if I neglect home for a few days I know I can get back at it and bring everything to normal soon.

Being overwhelmed is normal. So do not feel ashamed.

I always felt writing things down on a paper helps me identify the problem areas better, than having them in my head.

For a week just document where you spend your time. Be honest - this is a list only you will see.
You can decide where your time is spent usefully and otherwise.

Focus first on only one area that you think is important and master managing it. Then move on to the next .
My first focus when I began managing my time was to get food ready for the family. I gave myself a couple of months to work on just this.
First - I began cooking each meal well ahead instead of waiting till the last minute to decide what to cook.
Then I began to prepare two meals.
Slowly I began writing down meal plans for the day, then increased it to two days, and now stopped at weekly plans.

The mantra is the more you do, the more you can do.

While focus was on cooking the rest of my days were haphazard.

After cooking was brought under control I focused on cleaning my home.
I started room by room and till this day I still clean my home room by room.

Slowly add areas that you want to improve

*************
As for practicing music, that is a work in progress for me. I am tired after work and tend to put off practice. Now just like exercise I have told my self practice every alternate day first. 6-7 pm. (one hour)

So that is what I am doing now. Hopefully this one hour will become a habit soon.
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Thanks @kkrish

I will make the list where time goes and report here.. I am pretty sure, major chunk is on the internet.

Madhumagie · Jan 6, 2017

kkrish said: ↑

HI @Madhumagie
Good yo asked the question.
Here is my suggestion.

Not sure which room to start first?
Here are two methods, there may be more. Have some fun.
1. Write down on small pieces of papers - bedroom , master bedroom, kitchen, bathroom , master bathroom, balcony, living room.
Place the pieces in a bottle or bowl.
Close your eyes and pick one. Whatever room comes up, clean that room for the week or however long it takes.

2. Look at each room from the doorway with eyes of entering it first time. You will know which room needs to be tackled first. Write down in that order and do it one by one.
********
No that you decided which room needs ot be cleaned.
First step declutter:
Keep a large basket or three baskets - trash, give away, keep - or just assign a space on the floor.

Start at the doorway and move clockwise around the room.

One by one check each item.

Place it in the respective basket/floor space - items that do not belong in that room, that you do not need, that need to be thrown away.

Do not take any stuff out of the room till you completely finish going around the room.

After you go through the entire room, tackle the stuff in the basket.

First throw away the stuff you do not need.

Then pack the stuff you need to give away later and keep it in a separate space for now.

Place the items in their respective rooms.

Stop for the day. Do not worry about cleaning if you are tired.

Will post tomorrow about cleaning.
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Love You Ma'am

Sure will take up the 2. step , here i go zrooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Madhumagie · Jan 6, 2017

kkrish said: ↑

@Madhumagie and others
Cleaning

Now that we have declutttered the room, this is how I clean.

Same method start in a clockwise direction, but this time start at the top of the wall. Using a long broom or vacuum cleaner extension hose, remove all dust/cobwebs along the walls. Move any furniture away from the wall. Complete all the walls.
Clean ceiling fans - be careful not to be electrocuted.

Then I vacuum - Dust rises when we vacuum and settle on surfaces.
Next i wipe down all the surfaces of furniture, and any items that are on display and put them back.
Done.
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Today i strarted with room 1. where i have kept computer ,my daughters study table and a dewan , i decluttered all the table tops , tomorrow i shall strat with the above process for the same room .

Madhumagie · Jan 6, 2017

Amica said: ↑

I had not checked the sticky before, but I peeked in a minute ago and it's awesome. I shall go through all the links. Thank you, @kkrish.

I'd like to prep and store anything and everything that can be stored safely. All tips are very welcome.

Do the peeled onions stink up the fridge? I had once put chopped onions in the fridge and it smelled awful.

Thank you! I'll try it this weekend.

I light a candle nearby, chew gum and wear glasses while chopping onions.

I'll refrigerate this time.
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hii If we wash the onions when u cut them into half and then chop u dont get tears , this is my experience

kkrish · Jan 6, 2017

girvani said: ↑

Dear All,
wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year! I have two weeks with boys and husband.
I have achieved the following,
1. dusted the whole house
2. I have collected unwanted clothes/kitchen stuff/books and put it for charity
3. Cleaned the house
4. cleared boys toys room and gor rid of unnecessary stuff

Over all, it was a good break.
This year I am going to focus on minimise the wastage and improve my mindfulness while keep maintaining life style. It looks so big and I am going to work step by step towards that and I am thankful for all of your advices and ideas.
Have a brilliant year ahead.

I am back to Uni hence I am getting back to the routine to check this side.

Warm regards,
vani
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Great @girvani .
Best wishes for a minimal living.
Let's do it together.

Also your suggestions to coffeecups are great.

sonal1611 · Jan 6, 2017

@coffeecups

See if U can prepare paranthas ( there are many varieties like Alu , paneer , onion , methi , Cheese , palak , cauliflower ) for breakfast + lunch .. So u can eat the same in lunch .. n its healthy ,.,. either eat with Curd / Pickle / ketchups .

Fold Clothes n all when u r relaxing..

Clean as u go.. if u r doing dishwashing by ur own , do it as its go , even if its 2 utensils..

Dont wait for sink to fill with utensils..

Hope it helps..

kkrish · Jan 6, 2017

Amica said: ↑

I had not checked the sticky before, but I peeked in a minute ago and it's awesome. I shall go through all the links. Thank you, @kkrish.

I'd like to prep and store anything and everything that can be stored safely. All tips are very welcome.

Do the peeled onions stink up the fridge? I had once put chopped onions in the fridge and it smelled awful.

Thank you! I'll try it this weekend.

I light a candle nearby, chew gum and wear glasses while chopping onions.

I'll refrigerate this time.
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Hi @Amica
Thanks. Yes. Please also check the other sticky thread on Tips by SRama. There should be some golden information too.
You are right. Chopped onions stink. Peeled onions do not stink.

Those are nice tips for chopping onions. Did not know about that earlier. Good, I learnt something new today.

kkrish · Jan 6, 2017

coffeecups said: ↑

My plan for today
6-8.30 wake up, make coffee and breakfast for both, rotis for my lunch, curry done last night, take bath, pray to God, leave for work
8.30- 5 work hours
5-7
8
make coffee and relax for an hour. Decide on tomorrow's menu. Cook n cool. Decide night's dinner. Have it before dh comes ( so that I can relaxedly eat it) fold clothes, wash veggies box in fridge, walk for 5-6 k steps minimum. And do some other preparatory work
8 - make dinner for dh, clean the kitchen,relax, phone calls,
10- off to sleep

Main target
Not to feel overwhelmed
Have positive energy throughout the day
Eat healthy n exercise
Click to expand...

HI @coffeecups
I hear you.
There are great suggestions from @girvani and @sonal1611 .

Would you mind if I added a few more? Follow only if you think it will help; otherwise ignore.

I noticed you are using curry done last night. That is good. Try to cook a little extra and use that. Not sure where I posted - but I did post one on recycling - food. Either use or give food a new look.

Also I checked your plan:

You mentioned

5-7 make coffee and relax for an hour. Decide on tomorrow's menu. Cook n cool. Decide night's dinner. Have it before dh comes ( so that I can relaxedly eat it) fold clothes, wash veggies box in fridge, walk for 5-6 k steps minimum. And do some other preparatory work

Let me bullet list the same items to illustrate why you are overwhelmed.
5-7

make coffee and relax for an hour. - one hour (5-6 pm)

Decide on tomorrow's menu. - 10 mins.

Cook n cool.

Decide night's dinner. Have it before dh comes ( so that I can relaxedly eat it) (30-40 minutes)

fold clothes, (10 minutes)

wash veggies box in fridge (10-15 minutes)

walk for 5-6 k steps minimum. ( one hour - 6-7 pm)

I could see that you have too many items listed that cannot be accomplished in the two hour gap (5-7 pm).

Can you try the following to get your target steps?

Walk for 30 minutes in the evening - That's 3,000 steps.

Walk 10 minutes in the morning - 1,000 steps.

How do you travel to work? If it is personal vehicle - try to park a far away as possible - 5-6 minutes walk to your office - 1,000 steps (to & fro). Publica transport? - get off one stop early and walk to work.

Walk 5 minutes (500 steps) every hour during office hours - 9 am, 10 am - 1,000 steps

Lunch hour - walk 10 minutes - 1,000 steps

Afternoon 5 minutes each - 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm - 1,500 steps

That's a total of 8,500 steps a day. Slowly add a few minutes here and there and you'll hit 10K steps without sacrificing a whole chunk of time.
I had posted about how I accomplish my exercise target some posts ago.

I love your positive self pep-talk.
Keep that attitude.
You'll do great.
Best wishes.