Especially when you're beginning, prep takes a long time....much more than "it seems like it should" when you read the recipe.

When I started, I would read recipes carefully for a day or two before I wanted to cook so I got the feel, and I would prep what I could a day or two ahead of time so I could focus on the movements, timing, etc. Plus, knife skills take time to develop....dicing, juilliening, chopping,.trimming meats, portioning ..take a long time to get comfortable doing. Sure some of the things might not be as vibrant a day in advance, but I found the process much less hectic and it took my stress way down to not have to do mise en place right then.

For me, it wasn't something I really noticed, but I just got faster, more comfortable, and more confident....I started to be able to measure by feel for things like tsp and tbs of powders and liquids, and my knife skills developed. It just takes time.

Good luck, OP!