1. Read the recipe all the way through before you start cooking. When first looking at a recipe, it is easy to read the ingredients, acknowledge whether or not you have them, and then start making the recipe. However, this can become an issue for multiple reasons. For example, what if the procedures in the recipe are more complicated than you originally assumed. Another issue could be you do not have all the equipment necessary to prepare the recipe. And most importantly you do not know what is coming next, so you cannot prepare for it. A recipe might contain words or techniques you are unfamiliar with that require further research. Reading recipes beforehand gives you the time to make sure you have the ingredients, equipment, and knowledge to complete the product.  

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2. Always have MEP (Mise En Place)- which means everything in its place. This means that before you start to cook, grab all the ingredients and equipment you need to create the dish. Mep includes measuring out all the spices, preheating your oven, and even grabbing your plates to put the finished product on. When you have everything, you need within an arm's reach, unnecessary time while cooking is not spent running back and forth. This attention to detail at the beginning of the cooking process may take more time than expected, but the overall time spent cooking will be shortened. 

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3. Get an electric water kettle. Electric kettles heat up water to boiling in less than 2 minutes and that water can be used for a variety of things. Such as, pasta water which can take up to 10 minutes to boil. Additionally, mixing equal parts of the boiling water and sugar makes an instant simple syrup. The kettle is a relatively inexpensive tool to add to your kitchen that will reduce your time spent there. 

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4. Use prepared or precut products. Buying prepared produce such as minced garlic, bottled lemon juice, and washed and cut spinach helps lessen your prep time. They can be more expensive than the raw product, but if you cook often they are one less stressor to deal with. The less time spent doing the prep the more time can be spent homing in on flavors and properly cooking the ingredients which will increase the overall quality of your food.

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​5.  Clean as you go! Cleaning as you go is a very important step for an easier cooking experience. This can consist of putting ingredients away that you don't need anymore, to washing dishes you are finished with at the moment. This is especially useful during times where you have to wait for something to heat up or cool down when you would be just standing around anyway. Utilizing your downtime can maximize your productivity, leaving less work to do later. Cleaning as you go makes getting out of the kitchen after you finished cooking quick and easy.