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?

I agree with those who say simplify your life as much as you can, easier said than done I am sure but I have always led a fairly 'simple' life and enjoy small treats like always getting up and making a decent coffee every morning ... but I am lucky in that I've never had a long commute to work. And probably too late for many but if you just have one child (or none ) and no pets your life would probably be a whole lot easier . And lower your housework standards

The best way to make my life would organised would be spend less time on Mumsnet .

@EarringsandLipstick

Love that book! DH is mostly Upholder, with some Obliger (towards work and kids). He finds to so easy to do things just because it’s the «right» thing to do. Me, I’m Obliger mostly, but also Questioner and definitely Rebel. Unfortunately GR is also an Upholder so I don’t find she has much useful advice for people that aren’t 🙄 or maybe I’m being too Rebellious.

Once it's booked in, I regard it as mandatory & always do it. For me, I know it’s not mandatory so I don’t do it unless I feel like it when the time comes. Unless it’s an obligation to someone else, it’s still optional in my mind. I write a meal plan every week then completely ignore it 😂 I’ve tried putting self-care / exercise slots in my diary - then go and meet a friend for coffee instead 😂

ForeverInADay

Download Trello and create holiday packing lists. Create 3 cards 'to take', 'packed', 'not taking'.

Copy to a new board for each holiday. Onto the 'not taking' card you move items that you don't need for that specific holiday as it's then there when you copy it into the next holiday and you can move it to the 'to pack' one if needed.

This has been revolutionary and means I don't need to start from scratch with making packing lists before every holiday. As new things come up, I add them to my 'current' holiday board.

Love this idea! I’m definitely going to start doing this.
I came to recommend Trello. I started using it for work last year and it’s been an absolute game changer for keeping on top of everything.

The other big thing is to declutter the house and make sure every single thing has its place. Then put it back after you use it. I spend probably 5 mins at the end of each day going round and putting back anything that’s been left out but other than that never need to do any tidying, it just looks after itself.

And then the final game changer for me is TOMM. I see a few people have mentioned it already. Just clean one room/thing a day and it feels so much more manageable.

Decluttering Kondo-style was probably the single biggest bang-for-buck thing we've done. We are 4 of us in a 2-bed flat so a little clutter makes a big impact, and constant tidying is much easier when everything has its place and there is just less of it.

@workwoes123

I know what you mean! She definitely implies being an Upholder is the best & reminds us that it's the rarest type!

She is quite good on her podcast, if you can find a few eg her poor sister who co-hosts it gets a lot of advice!) & she talks about her husband too (who might be a Rebel?)

That's such a good point re 'mandatory' actions - as you say, you know it's artificial & you've no time for that!

It's about finding a method that does speak to your style / type - maybe recognising that you don't feel like it, you're not going to feel like it & setting a certain limit eg you'll do it for x days or y amount of time & link that with an activity you do feel like? Maybe exercise then coffee or something?

@workwoes123

Something I haven’t cracked yet but DH has… is to somehow stop asking whether I «feel» like doing something or not, and just do it. I am reading The Antidote - Happiness for People Who Cant Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman, and it’s something he mentions. I do this all the time and it’s stopping me from doing what I want to do and developing better habits. Getting up early, for example, I want to get up at 6:30am so I can have a little me time / less hectic start to the day but when it rolls around, I’m cosy in bed, I don’t actually have to get up, I can stay in bed and read the news in my phone etc… DH just gets up. Ditto drinking / alcohol free days… I want to not drink any alcohol say Monday through to Thursday… but by Wednesday 5pm I’m asking myself whether I «feel» like having a glass of wine while I cook dinner…? Of course I do - who wouldn’t?? (Wednesdays are traditionally super busy / stressful days for us). Whereas DH just doesn’t, how he feels doesn’t come into it (he barely drinks at all these days, and when he does it’s a conscious choice). Another one - I’d love to have the habit of tidying my nails up in the evening 2-3 nights a week. But it comes around and I just don’t feel like it: I’m tired, I’d rather read my book or go to bed etc. So it doesn’t happen because I didn’t feel like in the moment.

I’m sure that recognising this is part of the solution but I’m not quite sure what the next step is - the part where I learn to ignore what I feel in the moment and just bloody do it!

Sorry OP - this is the opposite of a tip but maybe you can learn from my DH!

Yes!

If you wait for something to feel good you'll wait forever!

Do it even though it doesn't feel good.

And then you'll feel good after!

@WindFlower92

Watching!

Clean House app; I can add how often things need doing, and every day my chores come up in a list and then I tick them off or can skip until next time. Good for all household chores and bigger jobs than come up every now and then!

What is the Clean House app called okease?

Do it even though it doesn't feel good.

And then you'll feel good after!

The thing is for some people that's not enough of an impetus. They know they'll feel good after. But it doesn't help. So they need a habit / plan that makes them.

I'm like this. Not with exercise. But with Hard Jobs eg legal stuff to do with my divorce. I get completely paralysed. I know even an hour of working on the paperwork will be very rewarding. I know that it's important & I need to do it. I still procrastinate.

I find - and this is counter to most advice - I have to do stuff I want to do first eg clean the house, go for a run, set everything up. Most people say that's just distracting oneself and it's true in a way. But if I feel I've 'achieved' in other ways, I feel more able to take on this task that I consider I'm 'failing' at.

Sounds silly but do things in the advert breaks.

First break water plants, then sit and enjoy next bit of your show.

Next break take the bin out, then sit and enjoy the next bit.

Next break clean the mirror etc etc.

Get lots done while still relaxing and watching what you want.

I'm interested in the Wim Hof (cold showers one)

What are the benefits? Will have a proper look online later after work.

'Just do it' is a good mantra, after faffing around on Mumsnet and reading this thread I tackled three things I had been putting off all weekend, one was a slightly awkward email I had to send and the other two were writing a short letter ... I did all three whilst having a coffee and it didn't take even 15 minutes .

It's just called 'Clean House' on Google play @FullMoonInsomnia By sloik.net

I like this thread. Some useful tips. I can't think of anything I do that's not already on here, but plan on looking at some of the book and podcast recommendations.

I hang a lists on my calendar, and enjoy crossing off when a job’s done.
I drink a pint of water while on MN every morning.

Task lists to work through each day in a planner.
Routine.
16:8.
10 squats every time you use the toilet.
3-4 litres of water a day.
No cake, biscuits etc. or snacks in between meals.
10k steps a day.

@WindFlower92

Not sure if this will work *@LegoCardSwapper*...

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

Lifesaver!

Thank you - I've got an iPhone so will look to see if there is a compatible version x

I'm self-employed and typically have 4-5 clients at any one time. I ALWAYS finish my week by working out what I need to do for each of them next week and writing it down in some sort of order. I can then switch off for the weekend knowing that on Monday morning I know what I'm doing for the week.

One Nice Thing.

I like to note every day one nice thing I’ve done. It can be really small, like letting someone out in front of you in traffic. But I find it makes me more conscious to do kinder stuff and it’s a good feeling to look at when I’m being down on myself (anxiety and depression) to say ‘Oh, maybe I’m not the massive bastard I am calling myself right now’.

I realise this isn’t quite what you meant as it won’t make your more organised, but still!

5 min tidy in the mornings. Just go around picking up what needs to be put back/away. Plump cushions etc.

My life changing habit was to stop putting anything off. I now do everything that needs to be done straightaway, or as soon as I possibly can. I love the freedom from worrying about things that need to be done.

I always go to bed with the house tidy, so it's nice to wake up to.

I massively decluttered my house at the beginning of the first lockdown and made sure that absolutely everything remaining, no matter how small, has a place where it 'lives'. It makes it so easy to tidy up.

I deep clean one room every day. That way the whole house is thoroughly cleaned every week but it doesn't feel like a huge chore.

I now really need to get into the habit of getting more sleep. I never go to bed before 1am, even on work days. I'm up at 7am and then struggle unnecessarily all day with tiredness that is completely self inflicted!

@JellyBabiesSaveLives

Oh, I thought of one. Teach your kids to do housework and don’t let teenagers get away with being useless at a job so you give up and do it for them.

Absolutely this!

I’ve been working lots of extra hours recently. Most mornings I’ll send them a joint text with a handful of tasks to be done. Nothing major, today it’s empty the dishwasher, get the washing out of the dryer and take it upstairs, put away the rest of the weekly shop I did before work (I’ve done the chilled and frozen stuff) and tidy up after themselves- plates, cups, wrapper etc.

It’s making the point that we all live here, we are all busy so we all need to pull together to have a nice place to come home to. And it’s working, they’re doing a lot more off their own backs.

Makes such a difference to my mood when I walk in the door and am not faced with more household tasks and a trail of destruction!

I hate getting off the sofa when I'm able to relax in the evening and making packed lunches at night, packing school bags, getting my own clothes ready. But what a bloody big difference it makes in the morning!

I find setting a timer for tasks really helps, particularly for the things I don't like doing. Eg I'll set a 15 mins timer and do as much ironing as I can in that time then stop. For me, the approach of little and often works better.

@LegoCardSwapper

Hi I've found the apple equivalent to that app @WindFlower92 has been using

It's called Sweepy and it's excellent

@ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba - I have that book! My copy must be 25 years old, so I really hope they've updated it! I tried to read it last year, and a lot of it was so dated. Made me feel very old reading about storage for floppy disks!!