Easy self-care and organisation thread

[ibuiltahomeforyou]

I'm struggling with depression and low energy at the moment, and I thought it would be helpful to share some of the things I have been trying in case they help anyone else.

• showering and grooming

I set the alarm on my phone for eight minutes when I'm feeling low, and in that time I have challenge myself to dash into the shower, dry, dress, comb my hair and put on some lipstick. Eight minutes means I can just put the radio on full blast and it's over quickly

• breakfast

I bought some protein shake and just make myself one in the mornings for when I'm too tired to eat. It then stops me snacking on biscuits later 😳😳😳

• lunch

I boil some eggs at the start of the week, buy a bag of salad and some dressing, then those are my lunches for a few days at a time with little effort

• at work

I break my day into 45 minute long chunks, and do my best then have a 10-15 minute break so I don't get overwhelmed

• dinners

I keep things like frozen bags of paella in the freezer so dinner can be done in 10 minutes

I'd love any of your tips!

This is an old thread but i wanted to say thank you for it, ive had a tough year and the suggestions, solidarity and understanding on this thread is something i've come back to a lot.

I’m really struggling with anxiety at the moment and putting off a lot of important and urgent things. One of which I absolutely have to do tomorrow, which explains the anxiety and insomnia! I was looking on here for strategies and found this thread.

I have ADHD and anxiety and depression, and when I’m stressed and overwhelmed I freeze. I’ve has very difficult last two years during which I lost my confidence. I’m trying to rebuild it back up and stop procrastinating and start working on my project (I’m self-employed). This thread has been wonderful reading whilst trying to psych myself up for action tomorrow. It’s made me realise that’s it my ADHD and mental health that is the issue, not me being a loser, and that doing a bit for 10 mins then having a break then repeat is not a cop out but a proper strategy. Thank you

Place marking for tips.

I've just seen this thread and was reading it thinking this was like a great thread I read last year, and lo and behold it's the same one! I was coming on to give some tips but turns out I did that a year ago! I still do the same things and stuff has been so much better since adopting the "done is better than perfect" attitude. My kitchen can now get put back together quite quickly and is liveable most of the time.

One thing I now do (I think it came from team TOMM although I don't really adhere to it) is think of being my "future friend".

So if something like stacking the dishwasher after dinner just seems too much effort I think "how nice it'll be to come into a tidy kitchen in the korninv6" and it spurs me on.

I've found I'm doing a lot more because I'm not leaving stuff for later. Apparently if a job takes less than two minutes you should just do it right away. I used to out stuff off until later but I'm getting better at doing stuff when I spot it.

I find that weekends are less overwhelming as I can do little bits through the week to keep on top of it.

I've also chilled out a lot in my expectations. My mum is very houseproud and is sometimes on at me about not being tidy enough. Now I think "I have a full time career and she was at home all day so she had more time than me". I can see that we just have different priorities and neither of us is "wrong".

One thing that has really helped me is having a cordless vacuum. I'm so much more likely to give the downstairs room a quick whizz around in the evening and just keep on top of things. Or the kids love it so I let them tear on!

Would love to hear more tips, I've really enjoyed reading this thread again. Hope everyone is keeping well!