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 try a new system about every 6 months I think...nothing sticks! Always looking for the holy grail. Have recently bought the TOMM app but it seems quite overwhelming

@ChicChaos

Get as much ready the night before, so you have less to do the following day. So pick your clothes, menu planning so you know what is for tea that night, bags packed and ready to go.

I do this one for me and 2 DC.

People who do a weekly online shop, we have a tiny kitchen with hardly any storage space, so this isn't possible.

Thank you helpful thread

I fing great what you are aiming to!! For me it resulted great to add some home short home workout routines. This way i exercise and using my time wisely for my body and mindset. I workout with Youtube videos, channels like BuildYourBody and Chloe Ting are 100% recommendable. lost already 16 pounds with them. Good luck on your journey!

Some fantastic tips here! Some I've picked up along the way (including on mumsnet):

• Bank the small wins. DH had this ingrained at a Big 4 firm. If you have ten tasks to do and a few are small, quick easy ones, do those quickly first so you've banked some progress early.

• Give a gift to your future self. If you have left something out, put it away immediately, as a gift to your future self. This mentality has really helped me to become an all round tidier person.

• Keep a clear inbox. This changed my life. The only emails I ever have in my inbox are maybe one or two outstanding items that needs to be addressed. Everything else gets filed once addressed or deleted.

This thread is great! Loads of great tips and advice so far. I love the Sunday summit idea and agree with the poster who said it's about a shift in perspective - when you recognise that you deserve looking after as much as everyone else, it's easier to stick to routines and habits that make life run more smoothly.

For me, making changes slowly helps - there's no Hollywood overnight miracles happening here! Parts of my new routine I am happy with are:

• Bed by 10 30
• Getting clothes ready the night before

-I get a wash ready to go on the following morning, leave the basket on the landing

• up before the kids to go for a walk (put the wash on before I go)
• home, breakfast, wash out and kitchen tidied over
• By the time the kids are ready to go, I feel like I'm ready for the day rather than blearily playing catch up

• I set screen time limits on my own phone, first few weeks were tricky but I stick to it now. If it's not important enough to take the laptop

out, it's not important.

• Ditched social media (apart from Mumsnet ;) )
• Meal planning/ online shopping has definitely been a game changer

@SkiingIsHeaven Yes, I do this advert break thing too--rarely do I sit through the ads but I get up and do small things-put the washing in, go take my vitamins, carry that thing upstairs. My DH refuses to watch anything with ad breaks, though, so I get itchy sitting and watching a film knowing there are things all around me that aren't getting done!

-I get a wash ready to go on the following morning, leave the basket on the landing

My washing machine has a delay on it. I set it to go off an hour before I know I'm getting up so I'm up and the load is finished ready for me to sort. It means that if I'm busy that day I can get it hung up and dry before I go out. Tomorrow we have a family trip planned, but I will still do my daily laundry and get it hung and dried before we go out.

I've already posted on this thread, but I'm going to try lists. Today I have bought myself a notebook. Nothing flashy, but its pretty. I'm going to use it as a way to make to do lists for the next day. There will be daily tasks such as sorting a load of laundry out (as above), frequent tasks like online banking to adhoc tasks like sorting out a messy area of the house. If I stick to it I can get a pretty diary/planner for 2022. If its on a list, it must be done right? So either household tasks, exercise or simply washing my hair (which I don't do everyday)

I currently on holiday and feeling very unhealthy!
When I was feeling my best I was
Walking/running everyday
Following 18-6 fasting most days
Wim Hoff cold showers and breathing
Sugar free.
Daily meditation and yoga
I plan to return to this when I return but with a shorter breathing routine.

@Bodgers

Some fantastic tips here! Some I've picked up along the way (including on mumsnet):

• Bank the small wins. DH had this ingrained at a Big 4 firm. If you have ten tasks to do and a few are small, quick easy ones, do those quickly first so you've banked some progress early.

• Give a gift to your future self. If you have left something out, put it away immediately, as a gift to your future self. This mentality has really helped me to become an all round tidier person.

• Keep a clear inbox. This changed my life. The only emails I ever have in my inbox are maybe one or two outstanding items that needs to be addressed. Everything else gets filed once addressed or deleted.

have to confess my inbox is my filing system! just search on the word you remember and there is! I know colleagues used to faint at the sight of 10000 emails in there after 4 years, but genuinely want want know am I a psycho for doing it? what are the benefits of having an empty -ish box?

Great thread thanks everyone!
I agree with the making lists and not handling things multiple times. I make a big list then highlight 2-3 first tasks to do as well, so I don’t get overwhelmed by it all.

I also try to reduce phone time (not perfect) and if I am procrastinating on Instagram/Facebook/mums net… etc and really can’t force myself to do something productive I’ll force myself to go waste my time doing something that at least makes me feel good like painting my nails instead.
Or if I really can’t be arsed to even put my phone down I try and do some phone tasks like buying upcoming birthday presents, sorting out my photos etc.

Another tip I have is a notes document on my phone where I write any gift inspiration for friends and family, if their fave wine/tv show/band/colour/makeup ANYTHING comes up at any time of the year I secretly scribble it down. Then when it comes to Birthday time for them I’ve got a good starting point for present ideas as opposed to spending hours racking my brain for ideas

@Stovetopespresso we would get on - just checked and I have just over 10,000 unread emails in my inbox!
I am trying to go through the junk I get now and go to unsubscribe rather than just deleting marketing ones etc.

Following for tips

• I read the title as “Rabbits that improve your life” and thought yes, they probably do.

I’ll get my coat*

This really made me laugh, thanks!

@50ShadesOfCatholic

In terms of being healthier, I have made some changes this year that have helped a lot. Probably more relevant for 40yo+ than 20-somethings who still have high energy levels and lithe bodies :)

I wrote down a list of all the little health niggles - often feeling tired and/or lethargic, permanently sore heel, some weight to lose etc and began to work through them. It had finally dawned on me that these things were not going to fix themselves, and that if it was the kids who had these complaints I would have prioritised them.

Five months on I have quite a different life. I have weaned myself off sleeping pills (after TEN years!), go to the gym, yoga and the pool, have quit alcohol, and just dropped meat from my diet. My heel is completely better, I'm sleeping better than I have in years, my mood is better, oh and my weight is down without any effort.

It seems to me that all the advice is the same but somehow you have to get to the point of valuing yourself enough to follow it, to invest in your own wellbeing. And once that's in place, everything else follows.

It had finally dawned on me that these things were not going to fix themselves, and that if it was the kids who had these complaints I would have prioritised them.

I also now ask myself "what would I do if this happened to DS?" E.g. if DS had a potential ear infection, I would take him to the doctor, not just ignore it. It also works with non health things: if DS' sheets needed changing, I would do it straight away, not put it off until morning.

Treating myself how I treat the people I love has definitely improved my life.

[quote Pastrydame]@Stovetopespresso we would get on - just checked and I have just over 10,000 unread emails in my inbox!
I am trying to go through the junk I get now and go to unsubscribe rather than just deleting marketing ones etc.[/quote]
Same here
I have around 10000 unread emails. Personal emails!
My work emails go back to 2015 - I search by keyword too. It mostly works.

Sensible bedtimes.
Lots of water.
Daily exercise.
Getting ready within an hour of waking up.
Taking my medication daily.
Eating regularly.
Home cooking rather than freezer crap.
Getting out of the house every day.
Keeping on top of house work.

@OrangeBananaFish I'm going to look for my washing machine booklet and see if mine does that, that's a great idea.

@Piccalily19 I like that idea of putting down the phone and doing something that might still count as faffing about but you feel good afterwards. And i love the idea of keeping a secret gift list on your phone!

I'm another one with an inbox in the ten thousands

Am all delighted with myself this morning though because my little routine has been enhanced by the kids STILL being asleep - I'm not sure this has ever happened before. Walk done, wash out, I've showered and am having my coffee in peace, it's like a mini holiday

@Stovetopespresso I have to confess my old personal hotmail account is like that, but I've pretty much abandoned it now in favour of my work account because it's so full of junk.

I would say benefits of a clear inbox are:

• the habit of responding to and dealing with things immediately when you are in the mindset of filing emails as soon as they come in. Only complex issues or emails that require a lot of thought are left unfiled which I also find helps me to ruminate over them over as they are there looking at me all day
• not leaving it to memory / chance whether I've dealt with a particular issue. This is a big one for me, as I've had 'the fear' a couple of times after coming across an email I forgot to respond to
• somehow having that little section of my life organised allows me to think more creatively about other things, like I've freed up a bit of cluttered space in my brain

@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!

@Sportycustard I really love this idea. Thank you for sharing

have to confess my inbox is my filing system! just search on the word you remember and there is! I know colleagues used to faint at the sight of 10000 emails in there after 4 years, but genuinely want want know am I a psycho for doing it? what are the benefits of having an empty -ish box?

@Stovetopespresso mine too! I thought that the whole point of having search and filter on the inbox was that you didn’t need to file things? People who file- where are you putting them? I file my work emails because we have a full document management system, but I don’t have a home equivalent.

I also use my inbox as a to do list (inbox zero). To file, I have about 10 broad task based files and some catch all ones (personal, office admin, interesting work stuff not related to a specific project).

I have can search those broad folders if I need to find an email from a past task/issue, and it keeps my inbox focussed on what is happening now.

Yoga 6 days out of 7 - has changed my life.
Also - buying one of those grid type shelves from Ikea.. as the laundry comes through I put it in each family member's pigeon hole..at home I ask them to wear sports clothes that don't need ironing or keep the home clothes going for a couple of days.
I also keep garlic powder and onion powder for the days I cannot be bothered to chop and onion or don't want the smell.

1. if any job takes 2 minutes or less just do it immediately ( some say 5 minutes) so if had a coffee would rinse mug immediately but washing all dinner things doesn't take 2 minutes
2. Try and handle everything only once mail( act immediately, set aside for accounts on weekly basis or into recycling), emails ( delete or into one of 10 folders as needs keeping or stay in inbox as need dealing with if can be done in 2 minutes see rule 1 otherwise deal with all once a day)

shopping I put pasta straight into pasta storage container not onto shelf / into cupboard to do later

1. put stuff away in right place when finished with it unless you are going to return to it within an hour or so ( I won't dismantle ironing board if going to fetch DD from club though would switch iron off but I would put it away before bed)
2. buy intentionally everything you buy not only costs money but also needs a home and maintenance often it is worth it but sometimes it is just another thing to dust or try to squeeze into wardrobe

Unless food or essentials I always wait at least 48 hours before buying an item online this doesn't apply if I went out specifically to buy this item: limiting sponataneous purchases is generally good