You've Got to Make Time for It...

Remember when you were little, and somehow in your backpack, magically - there was a packed lunch with all the right things for a wholesome balanced meal?  When you came home from school and the snack was ready for you to enjoy? When dinner was prepared fresh and hot, and all you had to do was wash your hands before you ate?  

Yeah, I miss those days too.  Getting healthy, well balanced meals in with your busy schedule is difficult!  Here are some tips and tricks to help you manage your time more efficiently so that yummy wholesome meals are a part of your every day life again.

Tip One:  Plan ahead - take 30 minutes to sit down and look at your schedule week to week, figuring out when you can eat at home, when you’ll be eating on the run, and what nights you’ll be able to put dinner on the table.  Even plan what you’ll be cooking so that when you make your grocery list, what you need to purchase to cook the meals can be added to the list.  And I know this sounds silly - but write it down in your planner, so that you actually PLAN on doing it.

Tip Two:  Take a Business Mindset Home with You... create a “grocery inventory” of goods and items you regularly purchase.  Print it out on the same day of the week each week and do an inventory - hopefully BEFORE you’ve run out of your staples, being sure to check off what you need to purchase.  Add a “Miscellaneous section” where you can write down any extras - for example, items that you need for the recipes you’ve chosen for the week, or toiletry items that you don’t purchase every week.  Go shopping on the same day each week, making it part of your “household routine.”  

Tip Three:  When you get home from the grocery store, do any pre-preparing you can. Pre-chop veggies for meals, wash, rinse, and dry fruits and veggies, separate bulk items into single servings, etc.  

Tip Four:  Put the ingredients for the meal you are going to cook together.  I use a plastic “shoe box” and gather all canned, dry, and cold ingredients together, pre-measured and ready to go.  For example, if my recipe calls for tomato paste, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, I measure the cheese and garlic powder, grab the can of tomato paste and whatever else the recipe calls for, put it all in the same bin, and put it in the fridge until I’m ready to pull it out and use it.  This cuts down the time I spend in the kitchen when I’m ready to cook.

Tip Five:  If you eat on the run a lot, be sure to purchase food that lends itself to this type of life style.  For example, healthy grab-n-go items like granola bars, almonds, bran muffins, go-gurts, meal replacement shakes like Ensure or Boost, cheese sticks, protein powders, etc. 

Tip Six:  If you are able, store some go - to items in your work refrigerator so you always have healthy snacks available to you.  It’s important to have a “combo” of food groups when you snack as this is more filling and nutritious, so go for quick and easy things, like cottage cheese and bananas, pre-measured apple sauces and yogurts, bread and peanut butter.

Tip Seven:  Make your on-the-go meals the evening before so that when you are rushing to get out the door the next morning, all you need to do is remember to grab it from the fridge.  I put my car keys in the fridge with my meals until I got into the habit of going to the fridge before I left the house, so I wouldn’t forget the meals.

Tip Eight:  Double your recipe, so that you and your family have left-overs for the nights you don’t get to cook. 

Tip Nine:  If you are having, for example, Spaghetti Bolognese and Tacos in the same week, cook all the meat at the same time, and separate and put aside what you need for the next meal.  This can be done with rice, pasta, meat, salads, etc.  Look for ways you can prepare for your next meal as you’re making this one, so that cooking the next one will be that much easier.

Tip Ten:  Take advantage of your local grocer’s deli department.  Most stores have a soup buffet, prepared rotisserie chickens, sides and veggies that only need 5 minutes in the microwave before they are ready, salad bars, and more.  On a night when you are short of time, it’s okay to let them do the cooking for you!

Procrastination Blastin'

Psychologist professor Clarry Lay calls procrastination a “temporal gap between intended behavior and enacted behavior.”  In other words, there’s a (l-o-n-g) time gap between you realizing what a diva’s gotta do and the actual doing. We are all familiar with the concept, putting off until tomorrow what we can do today and all that jazz.  Maybe you get “distracted” as I often do by way more fun unimportant tasks.  Everyone procrastinates sometimes, however if you consistently procrastinate, how do you break the habit?

Try these simple steps for more effective time management:

Call a spade a spade.  Be honest - most of you know  when you’re doing it.  If you truly are a clueless diva, here are some ways you can tell...

-Completing low priority tasks first.

-Waiting for the “right mood” to hit before you begin (case in point:  I’m never in 

the “mood to sweep the floor, nor will I EVER BE!  I constantly “wait til I feel like it with this... meanwhile, the floor gets worse and worse!)

-Beginning the task at hand, and then immediately getting up to go do something 

else. (Coffee, anyone?)

-Leaving an important task on your list even though you know it’s important.

-Saying yes to other things (I’d love to go to that movie with you!) instead of concentrating on what you need to do (organizing your tax receipts for your accountant).  

The all important question:  Why?  Figure out your reasons!  Is the task seemingly insurmountable?  Is it boring and tedious?  Are you exhausted?  Does your life feel chaotic?  Do you feel unorganized?  Are you afraid you won’t be able to do it right?  Are there decisions to be made before you can complete your task?

I bid you, fight!  Each of the above excuses reasons (and all other ones we think we can come with, divas!) have an antidote, I promise!  So before you go into tizzy and think you’ll never break free, try these things!!

-Tackling an insurmountable task:  break it down into smaller goals.  Utilize a goal setting sheet to help with this...ask me to email you one if you don't have one readily available.  Ask for help, if you’ve got some friends (or a hubby! :-) who may be willing.

-Approaching a boring/tedious chore:  Put on some energizing music and be like Nike:  just do it!  Give yourself a 5 minute break every 30 minutes or so to do something “fun.”  Use a timer, though, so you really only take 5!

-Handling exhaustion:  This one is tricky with the pace of modern day lives.  So, it’s best to give yourself one - only one - out for exhaustion.  Take a nap if you must, or if it’s late, take the whole night, and come back to the task first thing the next day.  This time, though, you’ve got to put on your School Marm voice and sternly tell yourself to get it done and over with.   

-Facing the music amidst chaos/disorganization:  deliberately plan a space of time in your day to do the deed.  Write it in pen in your calender, and guard that time against encroaching social engagements or anything else that may pop up.  When the golden hour comes, concentrate fully on the task, spending the first five to ten minutes planning how you will achieve the goal.  Then work it like it’s worth it until your allotted time is up!  If you don’t get a chance to finish, do the same thing either later that day or the next day until you get’er done.

-Cleverly finding “something else that needs done first”:  Allow 15 minutes to complete the minutiae before you begin your task.  Go potty, get your coffee, 

water, tea, take the dog out, plug your phone in, etc.  so that when you sit down to work, you can!  If your inner child rebels and thinks of something else that’s yet to be done, write it down and come back to it after you’ve concluded the job.

-The perfect is the enemy of the good!  We are all humans.  Sadly, humans all make mistakes.  Give yourself permission to be a human, and if you make a mistake it’s ok!  It can be fixed.  Don’t let this stop you from achieving your goals!

-Decision Making:  If you’re having a hard time with this, sit down with a pen and paper and list all possible choices you have.  Then, think of pros and cons to each one.  Pick the best choice and move on to doing the task at hand.

Keep in mind that procrastination is often a deeply ingrained habit and isn’t likely to resolve in a day.  But put in the time and effort to change this way of life, and you’ll reap the rewards!  I’m going to get started - right after I finish my coffee!