Getting Stuff Done With a New Baby

Using the tri-cotti carrier

Hello my old friend. After 6 months this blog is like a glimpse of what life was like pre-baby. By now we've been parents for exactly half a year (today our daughter is six months old) and nobody could have predicted how different life would be.

This blog will undoubtedly reflect our new life with lots of tips for parents with babies and young children, but those of you who don't have any offspring or who's chicks have matured into full-fledged birds won't go without either. Many of the posts will cater to both, so stick with me. Plus, in case you're ever called upon to babysit, you'll know where to look!

Clearly, finding time to do pretty much anything has become quite difficult. It only took me half a year to find a moment to write this post. But there are some tricks to finding spare time when you have a baby that I've been able to try out myself. Feel free to add your own in the comments! I can ALWAYS use an extra couple of minutes!!!

1.   Tip number one: Don't have kids! The only way not to have children take over your life is not to have any. I used to imagine long hours of writing while baby took her naps. Hahahaha! I imagine all those people who already have children must have found it hard not to laugh at my naive image.
   
2. Nap first! As a new mom I've felt pretty much tired every single day since the day baby was born. And I know I'm not the only one. Trying to get stuff done while you're tired is like drying off under a running shower: It never ends. Sleep is essential to your physical health, mental health and, not in the least, your relationships! And a rested mommy is worth ten tired ones!
   
3. Use baby's nap time. When our little girl's asleep, we try to get as much done as possible before she wakes up again. That doesn't mean we'll finish it all, but it's a start!
   
4. Carry baby around. I use a babylonia bb-sling to carry baby on my hip while I hang up laundry, chop veggies, vacuum the house. And Daddy uses it just as much! Baby is entertained and learns a great deal at the same time.
   
5. Chillax! Don't worry about the stuff that doesn't get done, it'll end up stressing you out every single moment of the day.

Life may be completely different with a new baby, but you will find a new normal. Keep in mind as well that most children do eventually grow up to become independent beings. By the time they turn 15, you'll be fighting to spend time WITH them instead of on your own.

Worth Every Minute: Productivity

I know many of you are looking for ways to become more productive. In the past, many of the posts have been about habits to become more productive, and today I want to share somebody else's take on the issue.

The post I want to share today is one about habits that are unproductive that we could let go of. It's interesting to take a look at these common activities and review them in the light of their effectiveness.

Even though the English in this post is not perfect, it's worth reading for the excellent advice it gives. For a long list, it's also pretty concise, so don't worry about having to spend too much time.
Let me know what you think! Or if there's anything else you would add to that list.

17 Unproductive Habits to Let Go by Timo Kiander on LifeOptimizer.org.

Have a little more time and want to see what else is worth reading/watching. Have a look at the other posts in the Worth Every Minute series.

Tape Your TV-Shows

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I hate commercials! I absolutely detest them. Okay, there are some which are mildly amusing, but only for the first 10 times you see them. After that they just get annoying.
I also really don't like how they take up so much of your time. Ever tried to time how much of a show/movie's time slot is taken up by advertising? Of course, without ads there wouldn't be any television, but let others spend their time watching it and save yours!

To be honest, we don't watch ads at all anymore. We watch TV shows on the Internet, where you can watch lots of them for free on websites like Hulu. Or we rent them on DVD. I don't miss it one bit.

So what's my advice for today? Instead of watching a show the very day it's on television, tape it and watch it the day after (or whenever you feel like it). That way YOU are the one who decides when you spend your time on it, and you can fast-forward through the commercials.
It's also quite likely that you'll watch less TV if you record the shows, because you'll be thinking about what is actually worth watching instead of just popping on the couch and flipping through the channels. Watching TV used to take up quite a big part of my life, and I couldn't believe the change after getting rid of it. 

Want to read more? I wrote previously on turning your TV off and on donating your TV to charity.
Do you watch a lot of TV? Do you stay home to watch your favorite shows or prefer to tape them?

5 Tasks that Take More Time than You Think

Instant Noodles (source)

We're notoriously bad at gauging time. If you've been with this blog for a while, maybe you remember the post I wrote about Time: a User's Guide by Stefan Klein. You can read the post here if you haven't yet.

We overestimate and underestimate how long something takes all the time. When we overestimate we end up with extra free time we didn't expect, which is nice, or put something of we could've done, which is not so nice. But when we think a task is much shorter than it really is in reality, we can end up planning too much and stretching ourselves too thin.
To avoid that, have a look at these 5 common activities that may take more time than you think. Next time you do one of them, try to time or pay attention to how long you spend on them to get a more realistic idea.

1. Getting ready, whether it's in the morning, to leave work or to go out, always takes time. My hubby and I often find ourselves rushing out the door because we turned off the computer at 7:15, which is also when we have to leave. Gathering your stuff, putting on coats and shoes and checking you got the keys are all tiny time-consumers not to be forgotten!
   
2. Checking e-mails (or online networks) is an activity that can take anywhere from 3 seconds to 3 hours. It all depends on where you let the e-mails take you. If you're going to click through links and check out stuff online, you're on the dangerous path to losing track. Instead, try to focus on responding to important personal/business e-mails before diving into newsletters and notifications.
   
3. 'Preparing instant food' is a deceiving name for an activity that is usually anything but instant. It takes time to get stuff together and unwrap/put in bowl/heat up/or whatever else you have to do to prepare your meal. I've found very little difference between heating up instant stuff and making a salad in the amount of time it takes me to get the food on the table.
   
4. Shopping without a list is dangerous. Not only will you undoubtedly spend much more than you planned and buy lots of stuff you don't really need, you'll also need more time as you remember things in random order and find yourself running back to the produce section 5 times in one trip. Use a grocery list instead!
   
5. When it comes to dealing with people there are no quick fixes. Whenever you need to discuss something with another person, make sure you have set out enough time to do it. Relationships don't benefit from being rushed, so show your love and respect for those around you by not underestimating the time it takes to communicate with them.

Time is precious and knowing how much time you need to spend on anything can be the difference between feeling frustrated and rushed or feeling calm and in control. Do you find yourself often losing track of time? Or do you notice that the time you've taken out to do some thing just doesn't suffice?

5 Chores that Take Less Time than You Think

Picture by Cielo de la Paz

How often have you made the excuse that you 'just don't have time' to do this or that. We leave the dishes piling up in the sink because we figure that it takes too much time to do them right away, and we'd rather do something else. There's dirty laundry in every corner of the bedroom because we just can't find the time to sort through it and put it in the machine.

But these are only two of the many tasks that we often over-estimate. Somehow we fool ourselves into thinking that these tasks take more time. Maybe it's because of the different steps they contain, or the fact that we dislike them so much. But knowing how fast you can complete some of these chores can give you incentive to just finish them as quickly as possible and stop letting them nestle in the back of your mind.

1. Breakfast dishes really only take about 5 minutes to finish if everyone helps. Bowls and plates are easy to wash and dry. There are usually no pots to scrub, so it's a matter of minutes altogether.
   
2.  Cleaning the sink is just a matter of getting some product and wiping everything down. Unless you've recently cleaned out paint brushes in there or spilled something nasty, it doesn't take nearly as long as you might think.
   
3. Clearing up can be done in an incredibly short time. Set a timer for 5 minutes and see how much clutter you can clear away. Don't linger over stuff, just put it where it needs to go (or toss it out if it's useless.)
   
4. Making a proper breakfast is just a quick and easy task that there's no excuse for eating cereal every morning. We usually make some toast, scrambled eggs, and get some fruit on the table in about 3 minutes. It'll take me 5 if I have to do it myself. But even if you're one to roll out of bed and rush out the door, you can still enjoy a nourishing bite beforehand.
   
5. Making the bed doesn't take minutes, it takes only a couple of seconds. Don't know why you'd make your bed in the first place? I explain some of the reasons in this post.

Any other tasks that you can think of which seem to take much longer than they really do? Feel free to share in the comments below! I love to hear your opinions and ideas.

The "Right Time" Will Never Come

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There is no such thing. The 'right time' does not exist. Sure, you may have had those moments where everything just clicked: the work went great, you felt like you were exactly where you were meant to be, everything just happened naturally. But I bet your own mind played into it much more than you realise.

Waiting around for the right time can be a great excuse to procrastinate when you don't feel like starting a task. The typical movie-example is of a character waiting for the right time to tell the truth, which of course always backfires because by that time, that character's already been lying for so long it doesn't really matter anymore.

The idea that a single moment is better than a whole lot of other ones, and that we should instinctively be aware of this one moment, is a useless and paralyzing notion. Waiting around is a waste of time. The only time we ever have is NOW. We don't have yesterday anymore, that time has come and gone. We don't have tomorrow, that time will be ours later (or may not be, you never know) and it can never be ours this very moment. So the only time you ever have to do anything is right now. 
That makes right now the only right time you will ever have.

Are you postponing an important task? An annoying chore? A vital decision? Don't wait around for any other time but now. Make the most of the present moment and use it to the best of your ability. 

And that's my cue to get up and get to that pile of clothes to iron that's been waiting for me to decide the time is right.

5 Ways to Cut Back Facebook Time

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I've betrayed myself. Only months after I wrote this post on how and why to quit facebook, I went back. Now, since this is my blog, I have exclusive justification rights which I plan to exploit to the fullest! You may call me a hypocrite in the comments below, but up here, I'm the only one talking.

All kidding aside, I do have (good) reasons for returning to facebook. One is that I have awful friends who don't know how to keep an email conversation going beyond 3 emails. The other is that I am pretty much the same. Other reasons include all those pictures I didn't get to see of my friends and family: Kids growing up. great places to see, etc. And of course, facebook is a great (read: free) marketing tool for things like, um, this blog?

Still, my reasons for quitting in the first place haven't changed. I'm still worried about spending too much time on there instead of doing stuff that'll matter in the end, so I've thought of some ways to keep myself from spending too much time getting lost on the profiles of friends-of-friends I hardly know.

1. Unsubscribe from e-mail notifications.
   It's much easier to stay away from a website if there's nothing that's drawing you back there. One of the things that gets me on a website (facebook, couchsurfing, blogger) is when I get emails that alert me to some kind of change. I've now unsubscribed from every single notification on the website, and now only log on when I feel like it.
2. Limit the flow of information.
   There is more information floating around on facebook (or the web for that matter) than what we possibly could or would ever want to process. Use those little arrows that let you unsubscribe from the stuff you don't really care about. Lots of facebook contacts are acquaintances of mine. It's nice to know when something important happens, but I really don't need to know what each one had for breakfast.
3. Set a specific time.
   Control yourself by setting a limited time on which you will look around facebook stuff. I suggest doing this for most activities because it will make you more focused and involved with the activity at hand. A limited time means that the time you spend on your activity becomes more valuable. You can use the tool I mentioned in this post to help you.
4. Set priorities.
   If you know what you want to see, who you want to get in touch with, what you want to do; then you'll be able to focus on that one thing and do it quickly and efficiently. Don't just 'go on facebook', do something specific like 'looking at friends' holiday pictures', 'updating your status' or 'sending a birthday message'.
5. Quit the games!
   No further explanation needed, I'm sure. When I quit it was the height of Farmville. I see that has come and gone to make room for other, similar stuff.   

A great way to motivate yourself is to track how much time you spend on facebook for a week, and see which other goals you would be able to accomplish within that time (or part of that time).

Re-use Previous Plans

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As a teacher, one of the great advantages of teaching the same class two years in a row is the fact that you get to re-use your old lesson plans. Sure, you have to tweak them a bit, keep it fresh and up to date, but you can stick to the same essentials.
The amount of time you can save is huge! Planning classes last year took me on average about one hour for a 90 minute class, which I could then teach 7 times (luckily). Now, it's a matter of pulling up the old plans and bringing them to class. I still remember how to teach them.

But not only teachers can benefit from re-using old plans.

Think of plans you've made in your daily life. Examples that quickly come to mind are meal plans or travel plans. You've likely made a list at some point of things you need to bring, things to remember, etc.
Instead of throwing out those lists when you're done with them, file them somewhere you can find them easily. Next time a similar situation comes up, there's no need for you to start from scratch again. Just use the old plan, or use it as a basis for your new plan.

I'm sure the annual meeting covers similar topics every year. I'm sure your kids need the same stuff for their first day of school, and that the contents of your overnight bag haven't changed much. Keeping your plans can be a great way to reduce stress and save time.

What kind of plans do you re-use? How about party plans? Have you thrown a similar party twice?
You could share plans with friends too!

Little Bits of Cleaning for 5 Spare Minutes

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There are some tasks that get put off indefinitely in our house, because we don't really think about doing them. They're not part of the routine, and not doing them every week doesn't really seem to make a big difference. I'm talking about cleaning those little things like light switches, doorknobs, radiators or the backs of your chairs. They are little details that can easily get overlooked in the rush of everyday life.

So next time you have a couple of spare minutes and don't know how to spend them, try to do one of these little tasks, and you're good for a while.

Cleaning light switches can be a little tricky, but I've found that using something like rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover does wonders! Apparently baby-wipes work really well too, although I've never tried that myself (saw it on TV once).

For doorknobs, you could use a bit of dish soap or a disinfectant. Both doorknobs and light switches get used daily and should really be kept clean. Otherwise they'll just turn into a germ paradise!

For dusting places that don't get dusted often, little nooks and crannies, I usually use a damp rag with some dish soap. Rags can easily be pushed into little edges and get the dust and grime that's stuck there. 

Can you think of other forgotten little places in your house that really deserve a more regular cleaning than they get? How do you go about keeping track of what to clean when? Do you wait until it gets too dirty? Until you have visitors? Or do you follow a weekly schedule?

Learn to Say 'No!'

Photo by Horia Varlan

Our time is not our own. No matter how much we may think we are in control of our own lives, we rely too much on others and let them rely on us to fully be our own boss. Think of the things you do for your boss, your partner, your children, your friends. You may spend hours a week, or per day, taking care of others' needs instead of your own. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. You get the same in return from those around you, it's a give and take system. And your time is a gift to those you love.

But sometimes the people around us require too much. More than we can give. They may ask you for a favor you don't want to perform, or for time you simply don't have. In those cases, it's best to just come out with a plain old 'No.'

Saying 'no' is not easy. We are confronted with a lot of feelings, such as guilt or shame, that we would prefer to avoid if possible. So, instead of saying 'no', we opt for 'yes' despite the fact that we may not really have the time or the ability to give in to the request. 

But even if you have spared yourself from the awkwardness of the situation, and of those undesirable feelings, you are now stuck with a promise you made that you may have to break. As I wrote before, breaking a promise is much more damaging to a relationship than turning down a request right away. Once you have committed to something, you should try your very best to follow up on that commitment.

So how do you say 'no' without all these negative feelings? How do you just deny your loved one what they ask for without it eating up you inside? Try to keep the following questions in mind when you're deciding on what to say:

1. Is it of vital importance to this person that I agree?
2. Is there anyone else who could take my place?
3. How much will my refusal or denial hurt the relationship?
4. Am I breaking a previous commitment by either saying 'yes' or 'no'? (to this person or to someone else.)

 If you need more time, you can always say you need to check your schedule. But I do recommend giving an answer as quickly as possible. It's no use fretting over what you're going to say for days, and feeling miserable the whole time. Just get it over with.

How do you feel about saying 'no' when someone asks you for help, or when you are invited to a party? Do you ever want to refuse but end up going anyways? 

Five 1-Minute Back to School Organizing Tips

Picture by Christopher Webb

It's September 1st today, and in many countries that means the beginning of a new school year. I used to love these days when I was a student. Obviously, the end of the summer holiday is no feast, but it's a great time to take a new start at being efficient and productive.
If you want to make your year a success, it's important to start off the right way.
Maybe these 5 tips below can nudge you in the right direction.

1. Plan your time.
   Unless this is your first year in school, you'll have some idea of how much time you need to take for homework (doing or correcting), and other assignments. Set aside a specific time every week (or ever day) in which to do this. Write it down now! It's much nicer to get an unexpected afternoon off than to have to cancel a fun activity because you didn't have time to do your homework.
   
2. Organize your notes.
   Do this every single day. When you get home from school, put all your papers in order when you take them out of the bag. This doesn't take more than a minute, but saves you soooo much time at the end of the term when you're trying to get everything ready for the pre-exam cram sessions.
   
3. Keep supplies up to date.
   Nothing quite as annoying as running out of ink for your fountain pen, or staples for your stapler. Buy a double supply and keep it in a designated drawer of your desk. Keep it neat so you can see what you need to fill up on when the time comes.
   
4. Start a study/work log.
   A great way to motivate and track yourself is to start up a log of all the time you spend working/studying. Write down what you're working on each time. You can use a notebook for this, or a diary if you have one that provides ample space.
   Just jot down in short what you did so you can go back later and know how far you've progressed. Also a good way to find out what your high-maintenance areas are in terms of required study time.
   
5. Write down your goals.
   Think of what you want to accomplish this year, this semester, this month, this week. Is there something you need to work on? For me, self-discipline and clutter were big issues (long live this blog, forcing me to figure out ways around my own flaws). But it could also be balancing study and fun, or paying more attention.
   Paste your goal above your desk. Write it in your school diary. Keep it in mind.

I hope you have a wonderful new school year, and can find joy and excitement in figuring out this amazing world one small piece at a time.

Leave a Little Early

Running late

No one likes the stress of rushing to work. I hate it when I arrive late, or when I have no more than a couple of minutes to spare before I need to start teaching. Ideally, I arrive about 5 - 10 minutes early so I can fill in my papers and take a look at my lesson plans.
Not everyone has the same discipline though, and we don't have it all of the time. It helps however if you make leaving early part of your habit. And there is no better time to start than in the beginning of the new school year (or after any long holiday).

First of all, decide how long it takes you to travel to work. What's the longest time you have ever taken to get there? How long does it usually take?
Secondly, figure out what your 'leaving time' actually means. If you say you will leave at 7:30, does this mean that's the time you're out the door, or the time you start packing your things together? Those or not quite the same, it's about a 5 minute difference.
Add your preparation time and your traveling time. Then add however much extra time you would like to have to sip a cup of coffee or catch up with colleagues before you start your work day.
You then have the exact time you should start getting ready, and the time you need to be out of the house.

Having an extra couple of minutes means that there's a bit of flexibility. If you forget your phone and need to run back, it's not a big problem.

Do you usually like to arrive early, or are you someone who often runs late? What do you prefer?

Worth Every Minute

On Wednesday,  I traditionally share an article from another blog or website. This time, it's about decluttering, for a change. It's a post from SimpleProductivityBlog.com, a website I've posted on before (see here), and that I love catching up on from time to time.

The post explains how to declutter quickly, without having to waste too much time on it. They give you ideas on what you can clean up if you only have 5, 10 or 15 minutes to spare. All of these suggestions can come in handy, and I should probably just all do them in a series of small, quick tasks. But just in case you really only have a quarter of an hour to spare, you can just pick out one or two.

5, 10 and 15 Minute Decluttering by LJ Earnest on SimpleProductivityBlog.com

Have fun decluttering!

Five 1-Minute Time Savers

Picture by Elliott Brown

Time is the one resource we can never get more of. Eventually, it will run out, and we won't have a chance to get to back or to buy some extra, no matter what common expressions my say.

The idea of 'saving time' is actually quite odd as well. It's not like we can take some time, put it in a bank, and withdraw when we need it most. Time is not money.

But what we can do, is try to use our time as efficiently and carefully as possible, thus creating limiting the time we spend on activities that don't really matter to us. On this blog, there are some ideas on how to do this, and below you can find the 5 best ones.

1. Keep stuff in the same spot. At all times, keep your things in a designated location. Even if it's something that you use often, like a phone, try to give it a certain location in every room. For example: in the office it should be on your desk, in the kitchen next to the fridge, etc. Then, even if you don't know which room it's in, you limit the places you have to look for it.
   Read the post on keeping your keys in one place here.
   
2. Write lists. Lists are a good way to use your time more efficiently because you've basically done the thinking before the doing, thus focusing on each of those two in turn instead of trying to do both at the same time. A good example of a list that can save you tons of time is a grocery list, but it also goes for checklists when you pack or when you're working.
   
3. Clean up as you go. Clearing stuff away is one of those things that takes up time depending on the kind of person you are. Messy people have to spend a lot more time on this because of the magical way in which stuff just seems to fill up their space. It seems difficult to control, but it isn't. You just try to remind yourself to put everything you touch back in its designated spot. Taking off your clothes? Put them on a hanger in the closet or toss them in the laundry.
   Mind you, in certain situations this may ruin a perfectly good moment. On these occasions, use your better judgment.
   This post gives you more info on putting things away when you're finished with them.
   
4. Make activities shorter. Some things we do don't really require as much time as we take for them. How long do you really need to talk on the phone? Or be in the shower? Do you really want to spend your time slowly meandering through the supermarket?
   Try to do some of these things a little faster to save a couple of minutes. They will add up to give you time to do something you enjoy.
   
5. Give up a big time waster. Stuff that wastes time is something you do that doesn't really mean that much to you, but that just kind of makes time go by. We all have these activities. It could be reading a magazine, watching TV or surfing the web. It's the kind of stuff that makes you feel a little 'blah' after, and in hind sight turns the day into one of those days in which nothing really happened.
   We gave up facebook and TV so far. What would you give up?

What do you do to save time? How important is it to you? What would you do with an hour extra each day? Let's share some of our ideas with each other!

Always Call First

Picture by David Baron

Since the invention of the telephone, and later on the mobile epidemic, there's really no excuse for arriving anywhere unannounced. That doesn't mean you can't be spontaneous, it's just common courtesy.

I like when my friends call me to let me know they're coming over. I don't want the doorbell ringing when I'm in the middle of a shower, or, worse, an intense writing session.

But it's not just the polite thing to do, it also saves time.

When you go to a restaurant, do you usually make a reservation? I do it for most of the restaurants I go to, even if it's only half an hour before we arrive. I call to make sure there are seats available, and to give the people time to get our table ready.
When we then arrive, they just have to lead us up to our table. It's so much nicer than waiting around for half an hour until the other customers are hastily chased through their last cup of coffee. I've worked in a restaurant before, that is how it goes!

When it comes to visiting a friend, announcing your visit can give your friend time to get some stuff ready. I make sure to have some space cleared, for example, or to get some drinks and snacks ready. It's not a big deal, but it does make the welcome seem more ... well ... welcoming.

 So, in short, pick up that phone, and spend the couple of minutes it takes to make a reservation or announce you'll be stopping by. You'll be saving yourself some time and your hosts some inconvenience. If that isn't a win-win, I don't know what is!

Save Time by Doing Double

Hubby's Colorful Cooking

One of the things that takes up a certain amount of time during our day, no matter how much we try to streamline it and make it faster, is cooking.  With cooking, it's mostly the preparations that take up a lot of time, and the time it takes for foods to become tender, especially vegetables.

So I've gotten into the habit of cooking double portions when it's possible. We just put the food in the fridge for the next day, or the day after that, but you could also freeze it.

Cooking double portions of food is as easy as cooking single portions. You just double up on the ingredients, if you normally don't have leftovers. Also make sure your pot is big enough to hold twice the amount of food.

There is, however, one bit of advice which I think is paramount:
When you've finished cooking, remove the second portion BEFORE you start eating!

If you live with a husband like mine, who is a bottomless pit in which all food magically disappears without ever showing up in increased waist-lines, this is of vital importance. My hubby will keep eating, no matter how much food there is!

Naturally, freezing portions for later days, or parts of the meal (like sauces) is also a good way to save time. Making apple sauce for one afternoon can give you a whole set of jars for months to come!

The extra preparation time it takes to cook two portions instead of one, is quite small for most dishes. Unless there's a lot of dicing involved, the difference will be a matter of minutes!

Make a Standard Meals List

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Ever wonder about what to cook for dinner? Or you're walking around the super market without any ideas as to which ingredients you should be buying? This happens to us all the time, and we sometimes just end up ordering pizza to avoid the problem altogether. Doesn't seem very efficient, does it? As we were fidgeting over what to cook for lunch for the zillionth time that month, it hit me. We should be able to organize this better.

Some people suggest you write up a weekly menu, planning every meal for that week and doing all your grocery shopping at once. Once we have kids, this will probably be how we do it too, but for now, what we have in the house depends on which vegetables we can find cheap and fresh at the supermarket. That depends on which day we go and what season it is, as well as on how many old Chinese ladies have gone through that morning picking up the cream of the crop.

So instead, I decided to write a list of dishes (Chinese and American/European) that we can cook well and without much trouble, so that all I have to do is look through my fridge, see which ingredients are available, and cook a dish based on that.

Take a piece of paper and a pen/pencil. This is really all you need. You don't really need a fancy notebook or organizing system. No need to over-complicate your simplification! 
Think of the different meals you've cooked last week, the ones that didn't require you to use a recipe because by now they've become routine. Write them down.
Alternatively, write down dishes based on which ingredients are prominent in them, or base them on the staple food of that dish (all pasta-dishes, all rice-dishes, all potato-dishes, for example). 
When you've finished this quick first list, check to see if all these dishes include vegetables and protein. If not, think of what you can add to them to make them complete.

Put this list on your fridge, or somewhere in your kitchen where it's easy to grab quickly. Keep a pencil close to it, so you can add as you go along and jot down other ideas for combinations or switching ingredients (we cook a Chinese dish that has eggs and tomatoes, for example, but can replace the tomato with some other vegetables, like zucchini for variety).

This can be a great way to economize as well, since it encourages you to use the ingredients you already have handy and not let anything go to waste. It's also a good reminder of how many various dishes you already know how to cook, and to eat a more varied and balanced diet.
Any ideas for easy, quick meals that take little time to cook or prepare?

Schedule Your Free Time

Picture by Wong Mei Teng

 I often feel guilty when I'm relaxing, thinking that really I should be doing some of the work that I still have left. Usually that means my 'free time' is spent procrastinating, i.e. surfing the web or watching videos on TED.com. Those could and would be relaxing activities, if I wasn't doing them in the process of procrastinating. Because I'm putting off something I ought to be doing instead, that something is constantly zooming around my mind preventing me from fully enjoying my leisure time.
 One of the tricks I picked up from The Now Habit by Neil Fiore (Amazon Link) is to schedule my free time as well as my work time. I don't leave gaps in my schedule to relax, I schedule the activities I want to do just as much as the ones I have to do.

When you're thinking of what you HAVE TO do today, spend some time evaluating each activity. How long will it take? Is it really necessary? Can you group it with another activity to make it more efficient?
Now think of everything you WANT TO do. Is there someone you'd like to spend time with? Is there a show you'd love to see? Is there a craft project sitting idle?

Now go over all the hours in your day, and try to create a healthy balance between your work-time and your relaxing time. If you follow the schedule, you'll know that you deserved every activity of fun because you've also spent plenty of time working hard. It will get rid of that nagging feeling of guilt that can ruin even the best moments.
Now's the time to revive those hobbies you never seem to have time for. Even if it's only for an hour.

What's the best work-to-play ratio? It depends on your priorities, your line of work, your responsibilities at home, your stress levels, etc. It also depends on how you label certain activities. Do you enjoy exercising? Or is it more like a job for you? What about cooking?

What activities have you put off because you should be working instead? What do you do when you procrastinate? Do you enjoy those activities?

Five 1-Minute Productivity Tips

Picture by Trine de Florie

I know some of you don't have time to rummage around this blog looking for the best advice for your particular situation, so I've gathered some tips to make you more productive instantly. Some of these I have discussed more fully in other posts, in which case I link back to them. Others are easy or quick tips that don't really need a full post explanation.

So how do you give your productivity an instant boost? You pay attention to the little things:

1. Clear your working space. Anything that is within your reach but you don't need, shouldn't be there. A clear surface is a great way to focus on the only thing that's on there, which is your work. Storing away the stuff that's already there, is a matter of seconds really.
   
   
2. Make a to-do list with only the essential tasks on it. Keeping your energy focused on the one thing that should be done first, will make it easier not to worry about all the other stuff. You can always keep a longer to-do list with a week's worth or a month's worth of goals somewhere else, and draw from that every day. Read this post about writing a to-do list for more information!
   
   
3. Take a couple of seconds to focus. It can really help to sit down and gather your thoughts and your energy before you start working. You'll be more controlled and more to the point in your work. That will result in less time wasted on stuff that might otherwise catch your attention, but doesn't matter at all. Wondering how to focus quickly? Read this post to learn how.
   
   
4. Set a time-limit for your work. It may seem counter intuitive to limit the amount of time you spend you work to become more productive, but it does make sense. After working on the same task for a while, your energy starts to dwindle, and so does your productivity. You're better of bundling your energy and working in highly productive spurts. The time you'd spend if you kept working, you can use to perform tasks that don't require much concentration.
   You can use Instant Boss to help you stick to your assigned time.
   
   
5. Give up the idea of multitasking. It doesn't work. When you think you're doing two things at once, you're in reality switching between tasks. However quick you may be able to switch, you ALWAYS lose time in the switching, and, more importantly, you lose focus. Read this post about the myth of multitasking for more!

I love productive days and moments. They make me feel successful. It doesn't matter so much what I do, I can feel successful teaching, cleaning that house, writing or baking bread. It's just the feeling of progressing and working toward a goal that makes it all worthwhile!


How do you keep a focus on being productive? How do you stop procrastinating and start getting things done? I'm always looking for more great advice!

Unsubscribe to Clear Your Inbox

Picture by Agne Kveselyte

I used to go through my inbox every day looking at 20+ emails of which 3 were from actual people. The rest were newsletters from different companies, websites, blogs. Most of the time I just clicked 'delete' on all of them, occasionally clicking on a link to something that seemed mildly interesting.

Then, one day I came back from a two-week trip, and my inbox was overflowing with the stuff. All emails from websites I'd been interested in in the past, but now didn't care for one bit. I'd get caught up in clicking through gossip (Blake Lively and Leonardo DiCaprio? Really?) or on products I didn't really want or need (why do I need a fancy foot spa if I've got a bucket at home?). So ... I opted out.

Most newsletters and updates that you receive you've signed up for at some point in the past. When you enter information on a website, they can be very sneaky about hiding the 'I'd like to receiver a weekly newsletter' box that's already ticked. So make sure, before you press 'enter' to check for checked boxes.

If you have an inbox overflowing with stuff, open the emails for a change, and scroll down to the bottom. See that tiny print you'd usually ignore? That's what you need to read. There will probably be instructions about how to unsubscribe from the list.

Unsubscribing will mean that you limit your distractions and that you limit the time you spend in your email inbox (wasted time mostly, unless you're writing personal emails). 

Which newsletters are you subscribed too that you never check? I had a couple from Belgium left, from shops I can't get to anyways. Or news websites with mostly gossip. Gone now! Yay!

Naturally, if my blog is on your list of 'to unsubscribe to' I'll be devastated, but I'll live. I find that RSS feeds are a great way to keep getting updates of blogs I like without filling my inbox too quickly. You can always sign up for that!

PS: Don't forget to vote for your Minutes Worth Hours!