You will be slow at first. But you can get faster!
The other day, I was making a batch of whole wheat pancakes, and I noticed that I got the batter mixed up in less time than it took for the cast iron pan to get hot.
A few days later, I was making blueberry muffins (a Sonia request), and I noticed that mixing up the muffin batter took about 8 minutes, which is as long as it takes my oven to get to 350°.
And that got me thinking about how whenever you start learning to do something new, you are slow.
But the slowness does not last forever.
As long as you keep on practicing, you'll get faster.
The first time you try to bake something, it takes a long time. But the more you bake, the faster you get.
And if you bake the same recipe over and over again, you get really fast at it.
The first time you try mending a piece of clothing, you will probably take a while to figure out how to do it.
But by the time you've mended a zillion towels and washcloths and shirts, you will be able to mend a towel seam in just a few minutes.
The first time you try menu planning, you will probably take a while to do it.
But the more menus you plan, the faster you will be.
The first time I painted a piece of old furniture, I took longer than I do now.
The first time I made a listing on eBay, I was not fast. But now I've learned how to get a listing up in just a few minutes.
When I made homemade yogurt the first time, I swore I would never make it again because it felt like so much work.
But after a few times of repeating the process, it started to feel much less overwhelming in terms of time involved.
I say all of this because if you try something new and are feeling discouraged at how long it takes...well, I want to encourage you to hang in there.
I've been thinking about this lately as I've been working on starting a YouTube channel.
I'm not doing anything fancy (just my phone and iMovie) but still, I am sloooooow. I can turn out a blog post in pretty short order, since I've been doing that for 12 years, but when it comes to video, I don't know what I'm doing!
Consequently, I take forever to get it done. I keep running into things I don't know how to do, and it slows the process.
But I know that with more practice, I can get faster, just like I have with writing blog posts.
So.
I'm reminding you and me:
- it's normal to be slow at first
- if we keep practicing, we will get faster. Or at least less slow!
I'd love to hear: what have you gotten faster at with practice?
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that with practice, you will also get much better at whatever you're learning. You'll bake faster, but your baked goods will also be better.
And I'll make videos faster, but they'll probably be better quality too.
So many good things happen when you hang in there and keep practicing.
I am really fast at making two loaves of banana bread. I have used the same recipe for 20 years.
I am also lots lots faster at weekend food prep! I have been food prepping for about 10 years!
@Stephanie,
I have my banana bread recipe memorized, too! I also make 2 loaves at a time.
Baking sourdough bread. Making yogurt. Hanging laundry on the line. Watering the garden. That seems like a weird one, but our garden is spread all around the house, so it goes much faster now that I know the order to go in, where I need to stop and pull the entire length of the hose around a rock wall or whatever so it doesn't get stuck, etc. Still takes me at least two hours to do the whole thing, though.
I'm so happy to hear about the YouTube channel!! I was just thinking about this topic the other day and I timed myself baking cookies. It took exactly 18 minutes to make them and that included washing the dishes. I've been baking since I was a very young girl so I can do it quite well but still have the occasional "forgot the eggs or sugar" flops.☺️
I would love it if you made a YouTube channel!
I would have to say that baking sandwich bread, pizza, and hamburger buns I can make in a jiffy. It helps when you have the recipe memorized.
How did I not realize you grind your own wheat? That’s so great—I love my mill! I also like the fact that the healthy and tasty germ oils stay intact when milling as these are often what gets removed to increase the shelf life of whole wheat. Bob’s Red Mill is another place to get whole grains and can sometimes be found at discount stores (Ocean State Job Lots in New England here) but I belong to a grain CSA that helps support the local grain economy.
Making masks. The longest part is cutting the fabric and then I can make one mask in five minutes or less. Buying a rotary cutter made it even easier! True story: we had seventeen windows replaced in our house five years ago. Guess how long it took them? Four hours with four guys.
I was going to say masks, too! I played with a pattern until I liked it, and made a ton of that pattern, but then temps rose into the 90s, and those masks were too hot for extended use, so now I'm making masks a different way, and it's taking so much longer, even though it will be simpler than the first style once I get the hang of it.
Baking biscuits. I can throw biscuit ingredients in a bowl without looking at the recipe and have them in the oven in about five minutes. I don't make biscuits much anymore, since we don't eat much bread, but I still can whip up a batch in no time when I make them because it's set in my brain, now. The first time I made them, it took me so long, I was worried my baking soda would lose its rise before I got them in the oven.
Cutting hair at home. Probably an hour (a fearful hour!) the first time, but now, 10 minutes, and the cut looks better as well.
Minor carpentry. I am much faster, more confident and better at simple things like replacing a hinge, hanging pictures, towel bars or curtains, cutting boards, hanging shelves, etc.
Definitely cooking and time management. I was really concerned I wouldn’t be able to manage my normal home cooked meals with 2 littles at home but the pandemic and cooking 3 meals a day has gotten me to be way quicker. It’s also helped me be better at food waste because every ingredient matters. I’ve been cooking for a long time but now I feel like it’s second nature!
Chores in general (laundry, dishes, vacuuming). I have a routine that allows me to maximize speed. Same with my morning routine.
I do pretty well with optimization for work. I've spent a lot of time figuring out when I have the most energy & tackling harder projects then, saving time for the easier/less brainpower tasks when I'm lower on energy.
Also, parenting! 🙂
Cooking dinner without a recipe, which is much faster than cooking dinner with one.
With a recipe, I have to keep checking the ingredients, and the instructions, and it's a deliberate process in which I need to think about what I'm doing. Without a recipe, whatever it is I'm doing is in my head. For example, a few nights ago I served CI's Weeknight Bolognaise and Panko Cauliflower. I've only made the bolongnaise a few times, so I need to check the ingredient amounts and instructions. I'm getting faster now that I know the general outline.
In contrast, the cauliflower was very quick because I've internalized the recipe. It started life as CI recipe which I've internalized as: cook and crumble bacon, toast panko and add to bacon, brown cauliflower then toss with bacon & panko.
WilliamB, what's the final texture of the cauliflower like?
It depends on how you process them. If you use a fork or potato masher, then "riced" is an accurate description. It is in small soft grains that are definitely distinct. however they do not have the structural integrity of rice.
If you use a blender or food processor, then it's more like mashed potatoes but without the cohesiveness or smooshiness - your tongue can tell that there are a zillion separate pieces rather than the uniform adherent consistency of mashed potatoes. Pureed cauliflower can't thicken soups or sauces, and you'd need a lot more "food glue" (such as eggs) in order to make patties or croquettes.
Finally, cauliflower is not potato or rice, it's its own thing. You will be disappointed if you eat mashed or riced cauliflower, expecting mashed potatoes or rice. However, if you eat it on its own terms, it's a neutral, mildly flavored, nutritious, inexpensive food that can be eaten as such, or support highly spiced foods such as Indian or Szechuan dishes.
Great explanation!
Yes! Internalizing a recipe or at least the basic method saves so much time.
I always remind myself of that when I try a new recipe. This dish will not always take so much time to make! I just need more practice.
It's hard for me to be motivated to try new recipes for just this reason. I've internalized a number of recipes, and it's exhausting learning new things at the hardest time of day. But it's good for me, and my husband appreciates variety much more than I do.
Also, prepping muskmelons. I can open, deseed, slice, derind, and cut up a melon in about 3 minutes, including mise en place and clean up.
I would love to see your YouTube channel!!
I agree about baking- it makes me sad, because baking is very relaxing to me. But lately I’ve noticed that I can bake anything in less than 10 minutes. I guess I need to find activities that take more time to relax! 🙂
There's a link in the post (I guess I should have made it more obvious!), but here's a handy one for you. 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/user/KristenFG
I think this is an especially helpful post for us to realize and give grace to ourselves when we see that others are doing things so quickly and it takes us forever to do it. I remember being a mom of young children and thinking, “oh yeah would be nice to knit them or sew them outfits but it would take me so long because I hadn’t been sewing since I was five where as these other people have been doing that.” I could easily make a loaf of bread or muffins, which is astounded other people. Once I could give myself grace and realize if I wanted to learn something now it might take a while and that’s OK.
Making pie crust and biscuits. I’ve done that so many times in my life I feel like I’m a factory worker at it! It’s so quick! I wish I felt that way about laundry...
I was just thinking about this! I'm in physical therapy for a hip issue, and each time the therapist introduces a new exercise, it takes forever for me to get through it. It takes at least three or four days of doing the new exercise for my body and brain to remember how it's supposed to go.
Making a bed. I have noticed my small children watching me make my bed after the sheets are clean and you can tell they think I'm Wonder Woman. I remember watching my mom in a similar way. It used to be a huge deal to get the sheets on right and stuff pillows in their cases and make it look beautiful, but after 20+ years of independent practice, it's no big deal.
Kaitlin, your comment brought to mind one of my husband's childhood memories. When he was young, he was absolutely amazed at his father's ability to drive the family car through the narrow lane between toll booths on a highway. Couldn't figure out how his Dad fit that big car through such a tiny space. Now, all these years later, he regularly drives a pickup truck through the toll lanes while towing a 32' trailer, and is amused by his childhood amazement. It's intriguing how our perspective changes with age and experience.
I loved this post...My Nanny used to say..."Everything is hard...until it's easy..."
~Have a lovely day!
I have a little horse (an actual living breathing one with four legs and a whinny) who is the poopiest pony on the planet. When I first got her, it used to take me nearly an hour to clean up her stable, and a year later I can do it in about 15 minutes. (Though lately that’s down to about 30 seconds, since I’ve started paying someone else to do it...bliss!)
Haha, that IS a legitimate shortcut to making a task faster!
Folding clothes, getting a turkey into the oven, tying my skates and getting groceries (because I shop at the same store loyally...I even help others find things!)
If it is ok, I don't want to answer what have I gotten faster with because of practice. Instead, I want to share that I'm looking forward to getting faster with something I learned how to do today: create a narrated screen cast using Kaltura screen capture. I am learning how to be a real online teacher and that means I need to provide more video for asynchronous learning. Today, I created my first one which walks students through analyzing title and intro choices. I used Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue," the first required reading this summer session. It took me forever! And it looks not so wonderful in some regards. But, I DID IT. And it is up ready for student consumption! It even has closed captioning that I edited! I'm so happy.
NICE!!! I'm so impressed! I've been fighting my own Kaltura battle, so I can relate to how great you must feel. I tried Screen-Cast-o-Matic, but my university uses Blackboard with Kaltura integration, so... Kaltura it is.
Your class also sounds amazing. I love what I've read by Amy Tan. I miss being a student sometimes!
Sight reading music. I'm atrocious at memorization, but I am good at picking up a new piece of music and fumbling my way through it from the start. It comes in handy since I've been a pianist (and even an organist!) in my church congregations for more than 30 years.
Sourdough. Everything was sooooooo intensive when I first started. It took me so long to feed my starter, mix my bread, figure out the folding and turning and blah blah blah. Now I can whip everything up without really thinking. I know what the dough has to feel like before I can shape it.
Software. After just a few times using a new software, I get super speedy with it. There's something in my brain's wiring that thrives on making connections between different parts of software.
I'm with you on sewing, yogurt making, and other types of baking.
I read this and couldn't think of anything. And then I sat down to do some marketing (email list , automated responses for sign ups, a freebie download, etc)for my Etsy shop and realized, THIS is what I'm so slow at right now. It is the discouraging part. So thank you for the reminder. It's good for me. I'm growing and learning, it's good for my brain and my happiness. And I did outsource one project to my daughter, a Marketing major! I may as well get something out of paying for college (I know, a full time job for her is why we really pay).
I’m at the beginning of a certification process for teachers (NBCT). As I’m submitting the first part this week I’ve figured how to merge pdf files, redact personal info from emails and it feels like a 1000 other small necessary tasks. By the time I get to the fourth part hopefully it will go much faster than the current snail’s pace.
I watched your video on pizza! 3D Kristen!
It was really good, love love love vids that are short & to the point too! Plus I learned some awesome pizza making tips - thanks.
I needed this today, I am slow at some of the new things I am doing at work - soooo much overtime but today it was only 1/2 hour!!
I have been really inspired by a vid on the 2 minute rule & started doing a little of a few different things I've wanred to do for ages & I think it really is just getting started & you do get better as you go along.
Right now I'm as slow as a sloth at working in Excell, but I feel like it's something that can save me time in the long run if I learn to use it well.
Me too
I think I'm slow at everything. I have to read recipes over and over even though I've made them so many times...DH says I walk as fast as I run. It's the same speed. ::sigh::
Thanks for the reminder and the inspiration! I'm also wondering what you are learning/using to create video posts?
I'm just using my iPhone and the iMovie software. So nothing fancy!