Not necessarily. I used to spend a lot more time cooking but nowadays it doesn't consume much time. Having the right equipment is the most important thing. It starts with a sharp knife. Then a good array of pots and pans, utensils. All can be acquired second hand for peanuts. You can get rid of your microwave. Save some space in your kitchen. You won't need that any more.
The problem is, back in the day people learnt the skills to prepare food out of necessity. Now you have to want to do it. I suggest a good book on a favourite cuisine. Convince yourself that what you cook at home is nicer than the shit you can buy in shops and you won't want it any more. Don't forget to give your own food a chance and put just as much salt in it as they do, though. I see this mistake a lot. People think prepared/processed food is nicer just because it has more salt. Use salt.
I've found the actual cooking time is just 1/3 of the whole process. The rest is washing the produce, pealing, dicing AND lastly, cleaning all the pots, pans, etc.
You get better at it, like you start washing things up as you go rather than letting it pile up. But some things definitely do take a lot of time. It used to be part of a full time job. But now we all work full time for someone else and have to somehow find the time to work for ourselves and our families afterwards.
