Confessions of a Serial Procrastibaker
I’ll set the scene. I’ve put the kettle on, changed into my comfiest joggers, opened the doors to let in that neurone-generating fresh air, put on my ambient “work” playlist, adjusted my desk and chair to it’s optimum productivity height, switched my phone onto airplane mode, set a timer for a yoga break and thought about preparing a little snack to keep me going but resisted. There. I’m good to go. I’m seeing an entire fruitful day of work ahead with zero distractions. Nada, zilch. zip.
As I open my laptop I catch site of that bunch of rhubarb on the worktop that I bought last week…Such a pretty colour. How much longer is rhubarb in season for? I knew I should have made a snack…I shake the interruption away and return my gaze back to the laptop screen. Ten minutes later, all of my emails have been replied to and it’s time to tackle real work. Writing client menus, getting those recipes off of those scraps of blue-roll and into documents and finally making solid steps into making sure that those new project ideas don’t stay in the notebook that should be named, “The Place That All Good Ideas Come to Die.” I stretch my neck and catch a glimpse of the rhubarb again. It does need using up, it’ll be a shame for it to go over. I shut my laptop screen as I think of making a rhubarb crumble.
Procrastibaking has won again.
Procrastibaking: verb pro.cras.ti.ba.king
To defer an important task with the lesser but more enjoyable task of baking. Procrastibaker’s will often justify their time-wasting with endless excuses, such as being “slightly hungry”.
My belly was already rumbling and I needed a snack so I put my work aside to procrastibake.
I am a serial procrastibaker and have been since I learnt to bake. I believe that the relationship between my best friend, Lucy and I really kicked off in the first few days of University when we discovered that we were both as guilty as the next with our wayward task management control. A study period cut short with a batch of brownies and then a gossip with a cup of tea and warm brownie continued to be our unspoken way of telling one another that we had each others backs. Some foods, (thanks to procrastibaking) have become my touchstone for what love and connection is. Lucy’s chocolate brownies carry a certain taste of memory which is worth all of the procrastinating guilt in the world.
So, as I do the therapeutic task of rubbing the crumble mixture between my fingers I think back to nostalgic times of baking in the past. I relieve some of my guilt by reminding myself that the rhubarb needing using up anyway, it’s only a quick recipe and I’m creating something, which isn’t really time wasting. Right?
In the spirit of a true procrastibaker, I decide that a crumble isn’t complete without a generous glug of homemade custard (if you’re going to do a job then do it right.) Now I get to do work whilst eating crumble and custard; my tummy and mind are happy and the dawdling is out of my system.
But first, I’ll procrastinate some more by writing about that time I procrastibaked.
Click here to get the recipe for my Rhubarb, Ginger & Coconut Crumble with Tonka-Bean Custard
