When Procrastination Pays Off
Procrastinating is not usually thought of as a positive thing, but there are definitely times when it can be helpful.
Some examples of useful procrastinating include:
Taking a break from a project when you’re stuck to give your mind time to come up with alternate ideas or creative solutions.
Working more efficiently when you know you only have a specific amount of time to complete a task.
Not getting to a task and then finding out it ultimately doesn’t need to be done (e.g. the air conditioner we never installed for our guest, who got sick and is no longer coming this week).
While there are many times that procrastinating can help us, it ultimately is not the best strategy to live a successful and productive life and in fact, can create stress and make life much more difficult if we do it too often.
One area that almost never pays to procrastinate is food prep.
When we don’t think about food in relation to the events that are happening in any given day, we inevitably set ourselves up for unhealthy eating.
Some of the ways this happens:
We forget to pack food during a busy day and end up skipping meals and then eating junk because we’re “starving”.
There’s nothing planned for dinner and you’re tired at the end of the day so go out to eat food that is less healthy than you would have made (fine sometimes, but not a great regular habit).
You’re rushing to get out the door in the morning and there’s no food easily available so you either skip breakfast or stop at a fast food restaurant for a quick fix of carbs and sugar.
Planning your meals definitely takes time and effort, but it’s a habit well worth creating for the benefits you’ll gain.
Take it one day at a time. Think about your meals for the following day by knowing what your schedule is.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Is tomorrow a relaxed day and you’ll have plenty of time to cook or do you need to prep something the night before so you can grab it and go during a busy part of your day?
Can you make extra dinner and use leftovers the next day to fill in for a meal you don’t have time to cook?
Do you need to use a protein shake as a meal replacement because your schedule is so hectic that you literally won’t have time to eat, and do you have shakes in the house?
When I need a break from a work-related task, I will often use this time to think about food and then prepare what’s needed in advance.
Of course, this is only possible because I have the luxury of working from home. If you have to work in an office, you’ll obviously need to be more planful during your non-work hours.
Action Steps:
Think about your current eating habits:
Are you doing a pretty good job of eating healthy and preparing meals so you almost always have healthy foods available? or
Do you find yourself skipping meals and often hungry looking for anything to eat because you don’t have easy access to healthy food?
If you’re eating well consistently, keep up the great work!
If you’re struggling a bit, pick one meal and try to adopt one of the strategies above to ensure that you think about and prepare food for that specific meal for the next few days.
The more often you do it, the faster it will become a habit, and you’re likely to feel much better as a result!
