What's On Your Plate? - The Main Course.

So you have a lot on your plate?

The Main Course

We've all been there.  At a friend's home for dinner where the instructions were to grab a plate and help yourself, or at a buffet-style restaurant.  With plate in hand, your stomach grumbles, your mouth salivates, and your eyes scan over the delectables.  Most of us want to eat somewhat sensibly but somehow simultaneously give into the desires of our taste buds.

A few blog posts ago we delved into thinking about our time more tangibly, as if we are filling literal plates.  Just as we all have 24-hours in a day, we can only fit so much activity in each day or on our "plates".  As we talk about our metaphorical buffet, we can review tips and ways of thinking for our priorities, agendas, and to-do items.

Portion Control

One thing we've heard when we are limiting ourselves to a specific number of calories is portion-control.  This helps us deal with the eyes-are-bigger-than-your-stomach syndrome.  At a literal buffet a well cooked-ham looks appealing but it would be unwise and futile to put the whole ham on our plate.  We get a carving knife and we get a couple slices at a time.  Similarly, if we know we have a big project coming up, it's over-whelming to think we can do it all in one day.  We should break it down into smaller pieces and if at all possible share (or delegate) the pieces of the project to others.

Eat Your Veggies

Another method we've heard that helps us achieve a non-gluttonous, more healthy approach to dining buffet-style is eat your salad first. Make sure your salad is full of nutrient-rich diverse fruits and vegetables and a low-calorie dressing.  This ensures you get vitamins in and it also helps you put the most important foods in your body before you fill up on things like pasta and ice cream.  When it comes to time management, we likewise must do the less-interesting but more productive items first.  Watching the news, going shopping, or checking out the latest on social media may be legitimate things we need to do.  However, if we get things done that are less-desirable but necessary, like exercise, putting away laundry, paying bills, etc. We have those things done and we can enjoy the more exciting items on our to-do list, without the guilt, shame, and heart-ache of falling behind on the necessary mundane activities.

Keeping your plate balanced is also key to good time management.  Stay tuned to this blog as we'll talk about navigating the buffet and how yummy-fun-dessert-like items are also a must!