We all love getting kitchen tips, those little tricks we should be doing to make us better cooks. But sometimes it’s the things we should stop doing that matter.

A dozen common kitchen mistakes, and how to easily correct them:

1. Not reading the recipe all the way through: Before you start cooking, make sure you a) have all the ingredients, b) think through the timing of the steps and c) look up directions that might be confusing. This way, you don’t find yourself staring at the recipe in dismay when the words “marinate overnight” or “chill for at least four hours” pop up at the same moment your kids yell, “What’s for dinner?”

2. Using too small a tool: Ever try blending dough in too small a bowl? Chopping a pound of spinach on a tiny cutting board? Bigger is mostly better when it comes to kitchen prep. It means less mess, less overflow in the oven and, often, more safety.

3. Not prepping ingredients: As you get more comfortable in the kitchen, you will learn to multitask, so you are mincing fresh herbs while the chopped onions are browning. But if you’re still getting your kitchen sea legs, have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you begin cooking.

4. Working with a dull knife: Sharp knives are safer than dull ones that slip and slide. If you don’t have a knife-sharpening tool, or feel intimidated by the task, “There are lots of stores and services that can help you out,” says Alison Cayne, founder of Haven’s Kitchen cooking school in New York City. Many kitchen stores, like Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table, will sharpen knives, and you can look for other places online.

5. Fiddling with the food as it cooks: “Leave it be!” says Cayne. “So many people feel the need to poke and stir and flip way too early. Let your meat char on the grill before trying to flip it. Let your broccoli sear in the pan before tossing.” Only when food has some sustained time up against direct heat will it brown and caramelize.

6. Taking the suggested cooking time on the package as gospel: “When I cook pasta at home, I never follow the cooking times on the package. I generally cook it two minutes less. This way, after you strain it and it sits a little, it won’t overcook,” says Bill Telepan, executive chef at Oceana Restaurant in New York.

7. Overcooking: Remember to account for “carry-over cooking” — the fact that when you take food from the heat, it will continue to cook. Carry-over cooking is often discussed with meat, since meat’s internal temperature will continue to rise even after you pull it from a hot pan. But carry-over cooking also applies to lots of foods, including baked goods and vegetables.

8. Cutting meat before it’s had a chance to rest: Allowing meat and poultry to sit for a while after it is removed from the stove, grill or oven not only lets it finish cooking but ensures that the juices stay inside, where they belong. When meat cooks, its protein fibers contract, and if you cut into it right away they won’t have had a chance to relax and reabsorb the juices. Let thick steaks rest 8 to 10 minutes before cutting. Big roasts or whole birds should rest between 20 and 30 minutes before carving. This may seem like a long time, but rest assured the meat will still be warm.

9. Getting distracted: Dana Cowin, editor in chief of Food and Wine Magazine, says that after working with numerous chefs and experts, “Here’s what I learned NOT to do: Don’t get distracted. Don’t answer your email, help your kid with homework or catch up on the news. When you’re distracted, that’s when the pine nuts burn, the butter blackens, the caramel hardens, the chicken dries out, the meal gets ruined.”

10. Seasoning the dish only once: Don’t just salt the onions you are sautéing for the sauce and call it a day. Conversely, don’t make the whole sauce recipe and add salt at the end. Add a bit of salt, and adjust other seasonings as you build the dish, tasting as you go, if possible.

11. Forgetting to salt the cooking water: Add salt to the water — whether for pasta, vegetables, poaching shrimp or chicken — until it actually tastes salty. Your food won’t absorb all this salt by a long shot, but it will become seasoned and more flavorful.

12. Skimping on the time it takes to fully preheat your oven: The beep indicating your oven has reached the desired temperature is probably a bit premature, says Dorie Greenspan, author of the cookbook “Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook.” “An oven repair person once told me that when the light on my oven indicated that it had reached temperature, I should wait another 15 minutes before putting in whatever I was baking. The oven needs that time to be truly at temperature, and to be able to hold its temperature when you open the door.”