The semester is starting, and all around me are people feeling overwhelmed. I thought I’d start a general thread for life hacks — specifically, what do you do, day to day and week to week, that makes your life more manageable?
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Here are some of mine:
– outsource whatever we can afford to (that applies to housecleaning and yard work primarily for us, along with some help with staying on top of e-mail)
– have lots of basic household items and staple groceries delivered, with as much automated as makes sense (Kevin manages this for us, so for example, paper towels come to the house periodically, he places a staple grocery delivery order once or twice a week (milk, bread, eggs, bananas, etc.))
– batch cook larger dishes and eat leftovers for a few days (Kev makes big pots of pasta for the kids a few times a week; he makes big batches of beans with a little meat and greens for himself; I make big pots of curry and batches of rice — we’ll both make additional vegetables as needed, but it’s a lot easier to just roast some broccoli to add to the leftover pasta than plan a whole balanced dinner)
– have the kids do the chores they can manage — for example, Anand feeds the cat, unloads the dishwasher, takes out the trash and recycling, moves the bins once a week, and helps me with yard work as needed. Kavi loads the dishwasher, helps Anand when there’s a lot of recycling to break down, waters the porch hanging baskets, does her own laundry, and also occasionally helps with yard work.
– stay on top of doctor appointments and vaccinations and address issues early, before they’re likely to get worse and possibly get in the way of functioning
– see a therapist regularly to help think through issues and work on breaking patterns that make my life harder
– stop and smell the roses; time spent in the garden makes me more sane and better able to cope
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Here are things I’m working on getting better at, that I know will make my life better and more manageable:
– exercise daily (working now on scheduling some regular workout time with friends, to help motivate; also need to schedule time with trainer again for lifting)
– stay on top of e-mail inbox
– have sufficient snacks and drinks on hand (in car, studio, campus office) that I’m less likely to spend an excess of money on buying things while out
– prep lunches for campus and studio days to save significant money
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What helps you manage?
