When planning provides you with more freedom
So many of us believe, that if we plan ahead we reduce our freedom. When it comes to managing our time, what we do, what we eat, we think that deciding ahead of time will somehow mean that we will miss out on something that might just pop up. That is will restrict us, reduce our joy and our happiness.
Once you understand how your brain is wired however, you will see the fundamental flaw in this belief. Our brain is like a processor. It likes certainly, it likes consistency. It is on the look out for surprises, it views the unknown as dangerous. So when you don’t plan your food, or your day, it will keep raising it up as something you need to address.
Not planning is actually what restricts us, as the constant decisions that we have to make throughout the day creates fatigue and prevents us from being able to optimise our time as we are only looking a short way ahead.
For years I resisted planning what I would be eating for the day. And so for years my brain kept telling me I needed to eat, to think about food, it kept raising it up as something I needed to solve for. As a result I felt that all I was ever thinking about was the next meal, the next thing I was going to eat. What did I feel like? Where would I get it? Would there be enough? It was endless.
What I found incredible was when I finally relented and planned my meals, this chatter significantly reduced. Just the simple practise of planning what I would eat and doing just that, allowed my brain to think of other things, it felt like a satisfying sigh, like a weight off my mind.
The same is true when planning your time. For many of us we have this endless to do list. But how often you do actually schedule your tasks into your day? I now have a weekly practise called Monday hour one which has completely changed how I plan my week and has created so much time.
A key component of this practise is that I schedule time in my diary for everything on my to do list at the start of the week. Such a simple thing, but it has made all the difference. As before my brain would keep reminding me to complete a task, and that alone would make me feel overwhelmed as I always felt that I didn’t have enough time. But scheduling it took all that away. It reduced my feelings of overwhelm and as a result my need to buffer and eat to feel better. I knew I had allocated time and so it would definitely get done, and therefore I could just relax and follow my plan.
If you feel like you are forever thinking about what you are going to eat next, have a go writing down what you will eat and then watch what happens with the chatter. At first your brain may still raise it, as it is a pattern your brain is used to. But when it offers it, just remind yourself you have a plan and watch the concern release.
After a week of planning and following your plan the constant chatter around food will decline and that alone will free up so much space in your mind, release some of the mental load you are carrying.
