I dunno if I'd call myself a workaholic, but I easily get stuck in the hamster-wheel when I'm stressed and the longer you are in the hamster-wheel the blurrier your surrounding gets and it gets harder and harder to stop the wheel to get out. I think your note made him step out of that wheel and he hopefully realized what's important in life. You, and living in the moment. So I don't think he hates you.
But the thing is, we all have routines as far as I know. Like what order we but on our clothes, or if we brush our teeth before or after that etc. All those things are routines. It doesn't mean I have lists and steps for everything. It's more that I block out rough time frames. Like, making and eating dinner usually takes around 1h 45min, so I plan for 2h to have some wiggle-room. Then I can move it around as much as I like, when needed. No problem. It's also a gradual thing. I didn't start with everything :)
But yeah, a few years ago, this would have felt super stressful for me too !
Yes, to keep things where they are used makes it sooo much easier.
I also forgot to mention that I use Swiffers for dusting shelfs and stuff. Might not be the most effective, but they are good enough and makes dusting a lot easier
I dunno if I have a 'low demand lifestyle' but some things I do or think about that makes things easier:
I have alarm for when it's time to make lunch and dinner, which helps me relax or focus.
I have an alarm for when it's time to go to bed. Not necessarily sleep, but I use that time to wind down.
I plan my days roughly in a calendar; sleep, lunch, dinner, gym time. How detailed I am depends on how integrated it is into my routine. When going to the gym, I don't plan the time to walk there and home. But if I'm going on a family trip, I like to plan out in more detail.
Routines and habits are more about doing things in the same order rather than the exact time every day.
I order groceries every other week to the door. I still go to the grocery store 1-2 times a week tho but that's mostly for veggies or stuff I forgot to order.
If it's worth doing, it's worth doing halfway.*
Actually use things that help me, like nose-canceling headphones and stimming toys.
We live in an apartment complex with shared laundry room, so I try my best to book laundry same day every week, that way I don't need to remember as hard as I have a laundry-day.
I go to the gym on the same days every week as well. Those are my gym-days.
We eat roughly the same things every day/week, I don't like to plan my meals too much and prefer to just wing it. I build meals by deciding on: a protein, some veggies, a starch (aka. pasta, rice or potatoes). I make we eat veggies at least once a day and preferably more than just some chopped onion.
Only wear comfy clothes. I absolutely refuse to wear anything that is uncomfortable in any way. It takes way to much energy.
Make cleaning easier. You don't need a special cleaning bottle for every area, with a special tool and everything color-coded etc. **
I try to do some kitchen-cleaning every evening before bed. It has become a part of my going-to-bed routine. I also prep the coffee maker. If I'm going somewhere I prepare clothes for the next day, prepare breakfast and just as much as I can to make the morning easier.
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Example: Say you need to do the dishes, but you only have energy for half of the dishes. If you only want to do everything or nothing. You'll have to wait... while more dishes pile up. Needing more and more energy to do them all. In the end you are forced to use a lot more energy than you have to clean them all.
If you instead think it's worth doing halfway, sure your kitchen might rarely be ✨Sparkling Clean✨ but your mental health and energy levels will be SO much better.
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** All you really need for cleaning your home:
Bottle of all-cleaner, for most areas. Floors, dusting etc.
I like to use dish-washing soap to clean the kitchen area, it's good at removing fats and safe if you accidentally don't rinse properly.
A bad-ass oven cleaner, so you don't have to scrub for eternity!
Toilet cleaner, for the bowl. You can use all-cleaner for the rest of the toilet.
Window / glass cleaner. Although, if you have good micro cloths you don't even need that.
A chalk-remover that you use when you get buildup from the water.
Tools:
Micro-fiber cloths. There are different types and qualities.
Smooth ones are good for glass and other shiny surfaces.
Fluffy ones are good for all other areas, especially dusty or if it's many germs as they "catch" the germs.
I like to use dish-washing tools to clean the kitchen. ( I kinda have a lot woops )
Sponge-cloth, a thin square "cloth" made from sponge, super absorbent and washable.
Dish brush and/or sponge (non-scraching) and/or sponge with handle
Fine soapy steel wool for those impossible spots
Vacuum-cleaner (get one of those quiet ones, I can watch tv while using it, they are amazing.
mop and bucket (not those flat ones)
Nice to have
"spot eraser" sponge, a white, dense sponge, great for removing spots on handles, light switches etc.
I mean many pets shouldn't live in a small apartment. Few pets are ok with it. Some pets are okay with living in bigger apartments but then it's more about giving enough enrichment and outdoor or balcony time it it fits the pet
But if it was possible to get knobs and buttons for everything and a small-ish screen only for info, I'd take that. I'd pay for that. Touch screens are dangerous. I'd at most be comfortable to swipe on the screen to show different infos like GPS, temperature/airflow, music/radio. Otherwise I want buttons and knobs with little lights.
But if it was possible to get knobs and buttons for everything and a small-ish screen only for info, I'd take that. I'd pay for that. Touch screens are dangerous. I'd at most be comfortable to swipe on the screen to show different infos like GPS, temperature/airflow, music/radio. Otherwise I want buttons and knobs with little lights.
A weird way I learned to eat more normal portions was to buy frozen meals. Sure they are super processed but when looking at the ingredients it looks like completely normal homemade food so it can't be that bad. We ate that for a couple of weeks before we got tired of it. But that was enough to learn
Hi! Not the same person but I'm in the same process!
Firstly, take it in steps, don't quit all processed food at once. I actually started with eating more veggies, both in the food and as a side salad.
Then read on the products, not all processed foods are equal, and it depends on what more you have in the meal. On meat products I often look at the meat percentages, it can vary A LOT. A sausage with + 80% meat is a lot better than 30%...
You can also look for E-numbers, concentrates, and other additives. How good or bad these are are still being discussed but I'm leaning towards bad, especially if it's a lot.
For example a highly processed sausage with basmati rice and a decent amount of salad isn't the same as said sausage with just mac and cheese.
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Some meals are easier to prep than others but more often than not I've found meals, especially the meat, to need time. Time to cook properly!
Fry meat in a pan, let it simmer in water for half an hour or so ( I rarely keep time ), make a sauce in the pan.
Or put a chunk of meat on a oven safe plate and trow it into the oven on 150-175°C for 1.5-3h or more depending on size and tenderness.
Or make a soup, just make sure it boils long enough for the meat! :)
This! A lot of people seem to forget that in order to get a diagnose it has to cause a disturbance in normal life. Myself included, as a late diagnosed autistic person.
Coping mechanisms are like adding cotton around the spikes (aka. struggles) of the diagnose / disorder. They do not remove the struggles but instead make them less visible. But if you push enough on a spike it will eventually push the cotton away and the spike with be more prominent.
Most people have small spikes that don't cause a lot of trouble but may make the person say they have a bit of [disorder]. But it is not a disorder as they don't have loads of comping mechanism and a disturbance in normal life. It's just a normal human variation.
I would have called myself insane five years ago too!
Yeah, jumping to Linux could help a bit. I did that a couple of years ago, but that was more because I couldn't upgrade to Win 11 on my almost a decade old PC. Now I'm glad I couldn't upgrade to Win 11 haha.
I had a laptop with Win 11 tho but I never got used to it and don't want AI and shit in any of my computers so I jumped over to Linux on that to.
Maybe Steam will save the day with the Steam Cube? Isn't that pretty much a normal gaming PC?
I dunno if I'd call myself a workaholic, but I easily get stuck in the hamster-wheel when I'm stressed and the longer you are in the hamster-wheel the blurrier your surrounding gets and it gets harder and harder to stop the wheel to get out. I think your note made him step out of that wheel and he hopefully realized what's important in life. You, and living in the moment. So I don't think he hates you.