Habits that make you healthier, more organised or just somehow improve your life

[mynameisnotkate]

There was a great thread on MN about a year ago where people were sharing their useful habits. I picked up a good few, but have kind of lost my mojo and am looking for inspiration. Any ideas?

Things I've tried:

• getting up earlier - really like this, am going back to this soon
• Wim Hof - planning to go back to cold showers, but didn't get much out of the breathing
• drink four pints of water a day - have really given up on this but want to restart, it definitely makes me feel better
• 16:8 fast - again, I want to get back into this, it helps with weight, though on its own it's not enough
• ways to make me more efficient at work - have tried lots but find it really hard to make things stick. A task diary is quite useful.

What have you tried that worked / didn't work?

Great thread. Thank you all...

@NuffSaidSam

I love a list.

A list of things to do long term.

A list of things to do today.

At the end of the day a list of things I've done. Sometimes this is entirely different to the list of things that I was supposed to do but it's still important to recognise what you've done. I'll put everything on there like 'chilled out' or 'watched X' because those things are valid too.

I love this!

Following

@Sportycustard

The 'Sunday summit'. DH and I plus diaries, phones and a glass of wine at 8pm on Sunday evening.

We look 6 weeks ahead and we go through who has deadlines and might be working late (used to be who was travelling for work!), who is cooking, days that are already really busy when we need to avoid booking anything else in etc.

We used to also book restaurants, taxis and babysitters and work out who was working away and if we needed extra childcare but covid has curtailed that.

Once that's done I meal plan and book the shopping delivery and DH picks up any admin like bills, sorting car insurance and new energy suppliers.

Takes about 90 minutes but my goodness the difference it makes to our lives!

This is genius! Not sure I could face it Sunday evening but such a good idea!

Do it now!

@Whyemseeaye

Place marking for inspiration!!

Same here! ☺️

Agree with those saying if a task will be quick, do it straight away. Otherwise it won't get done (with me at least). Especially things like dish washer/washing pots and pans.

Someone on here recommended an app called Tiny Decisions which helps me to make decisions when I am going round in circles. It's great.

Sunday's I get my outfits ready for the week.
Then meal plan and do on line shop.

@QuattroFormaggi

I have a paper chart on the fridge of jobs which need doing every month. I literally tick them off when done, and usually write the date too. They include Reading meters Descaling appliances Filling water softener salt Mowing lawns Reconciling credit card bill/bank accounts Top up school dinner accounts These are all things that I used to forget about and then couldn't remember if I'd done them or not.

On top of that I have a note on my wall calendar (and in my phone calendar) on months when car tax/MOT/passports etc are due for renewal.

I answer emails, online bookings and do my online banking quite often sitting in the car waiting for a child to do a sports thing - sometimes I take a coffee and sandwich too. I schedule hands-free phone chats with faraway friends when I'm on a boring motorway journey (NOT in bad weather or when it's really heavy traffic!) For me, it's helpful to get the life admin out of the way at a time that I would otherwise not be doing something more exciting.

I always have an ongoing shopping list on my phone and bags in the car in case I find myself with 10 spare minutes somewhere and there happens to be a supermarket nearby!

@QuattroFormaggi why do you need to descale your appliances if you have a water softener? Since we had ours installed 5 years ago I’ve not seen a bit of limescale anywhere in the house (used to have to do the kettle fortnightly).

One I picked up from a productivity coach was get cash out once a month & put in envelopes eg for cleaner, window cleaner etc. Good call re the stash of £1 coins.

Try to always clear up the kitchen as I go. Dishwasher goes on at night. Emptied next morning as the kettle is boiling. Always feels good to go out in the garden first thing & water the pots & baskets when the air is still very fresh have managed it about 3x despite wfh since March 2020

Like many others here, the principle of 'do it once and once only' has changed my life a lot. Don't open a letter and put it on the side. Don't half arrange a meetup with friends leaving loose ends as to who is taking who, location, etc... however, I find this concept much harder to employ at work because tasks are more complicated and foreboding.

The other thing that has helped me hugely is realising two things and repeating every time something is looming:

OK is good enough. Nothing has to be perfect and no reasonable person expects perfection.

Being very disorganised is usually a sign I am trying to do too much, on my own...

@Sportycustard I love the Sunday summit idea ! Some great ideas on this thread

Some things I do:

• minimum 2l water a day, starting with large glass first thing, one at lunch, one in the afternoon, one at tea time - plus any other drinks like tea / coffee etc. Drinking the water at these times makes sure I’m hydrated throughout
• making time for exercise, literally blocking it out in the diary like an appointment - and prioritising it
• 5 a day - this plus the water really has made a difference to my energy levels and skin
• 2 min jobs, if something is quick do it there and then rather than putting it off / on a list that never gets done
• shopping list app on phone - and add to it whenever so always up to date. Have different lists eg one for supermarket, one for birthday presents, IKEA etc
• meal plan and be efficient with what we’re cooking to do more than one meal and minimise food waste. Eg double portion of baked salmon to have with rice and veg for tea, then cold with salad for lunch the next day. Also batch cook once a week in slow cooker to make tea for that night and the rest portioned up for the freezer. That way there’s a good variety of things in the freezer to eat on rotation and I don’t feel like a kitchen slave

There’s a book called atomic habits which I’m part way through which I’d recommend, it’s about identifying and stopping bad habits and creating space and sticking to good ones

It was meal planning for me
PLan the meals
write the shopping list
do an online shop
Then it is done and you eat healthily all week, and never have that OH no what am I going to cook moment

very little food waste too, and spend much less

Things that work for me:

Lists
Using family diaries / calendars
Meal planning
Inventory of what food we have in freezer, store cupboards etc
Batch cooking - even just a few extra portions at a time can make a difference
Finance spreadsheet to keep track of money
Stocking up on things I know I’m likely to need at different times of year well in advance including bday/Xmas presents
Having a stash of birthday cards and wrapping paper
Working pt and having a day with no kids around to do cleaning/organising
Having a husband who shares cooking and irons
Exercising early so done and dusted before I get too tired to not bother

@SW1amp I do the alarm calender thing too.Couldnt be without it.

Mine is one that I actually got from mumsnet ages ago and still do.
If you use your debit card for anything go on your banking app and transfer the pennies into your savings account (or odd pounds and pennies if you prefer) so if I had for instance £367.84 in the bank I would transfer the 84p or 2.84 if I could stretch to it. It does add up quickly.

"Dont put it down, put it away"

After trying various different digital calendars/apps, I’ve gone back to old fashioned index cards. I’ve a box on my desk (wfh) and each day has a card where I write work and admin jobs. I get a sense of priorities and accomplishments and can forward plan better. I like handwriting them. I work on several projects at a time, with different inboxes and calendars, and I can organise myself more easily this way.

Meal planning and shared google calendar! (I allocate shared jobs on same!)

Following this thread with interest!

A drawer with selotape, scissors gender neutal wrapping paper and generic birthday cards and age appropriate presents for the DCs. Chocolates/ biscuits for teachers xmas gifts bought on the offers in November and put away. Block out 90 minutes each half term to chack, mufti daus, class assemblies. inset days, school fere etc, book annual leave, arrange informal childcare eg: DM. Meal plan snacks as well saves time money and effort.

Following ☺️

@HaveringWavering
It's really just my boiling water tap and dishwasher, which aren't softened. I pop the tap bits into a cup of vinegar for 10 mins every month and it keeps it flowing beautifully, and the dishy just needs squirts of Viakal and a scrub every month otherwise the water jets get clogged.
But yes, the softener has changed my life I'm in a "very hard water" area (over 276ppm) and pre-softener, my taps lasted 4yrs max.

Not sure if this will work @LegoCardSwapper...

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sloik.housechoresschedule

Lifesaver!