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By the time dinner rolls around, you’ve already made a thousand decisions. Work, school schedules, appointments, texts, emails, and the constant background noise of remembering what everyone needs. So when someone asks, “What’s for dinner?”, it’s not cooking that feels hard. It’s figuring out what to eat. Adding one more thing to your week can feel impossible when you’re already running on empty.
Just as I say that, I’m also going to advocate for adding “one more thing” because meal planning is a weekly habit that helps when energy and motivation are low. The 20 minutes you spend meal planning at the beginning of the week can actually give you time and energy back since you’re not staring at the fridge struggling to decide what to make. It will also save you money (which will reduce your stress!), since you won’t need to rely on DoorDash or the drive-through to get dinner on the table.
You might think meal planning is only for people who “have it all together”, but it’s really a system that helps during tough seasons. Creating systems in your life can feel exhausting at the outset, but when you actually implement them, you realize they’re the things that keep life running more smoothly.
Systems allow us to go on autopilot and free up mental energy to be more present with family and more focused on other tasks, rather than relying on discipline or willpower to get things done.
You don’t need to overhaul your life to create a habit. Here are three small shifts you can make:
- Make it nonnegotiable by scheduling it.
If you’re looking for a place to start, this is it! Add “create meal plan” to your weekly calendar or to-do list, so it’s a priority in your life. There are plenty of things in my week that only get done because they’re on my to-do list, and if something gets left off the list, it often gets forgotten. Don’t let meal planning be something you only remember to do when you’re having bright ideas in the shower! Make it part of your week by either physically writing it down or adding it to your digital calendar.
- Create a visual cue.
Maybe you recently heard about the viral 365 buttons meme from TikTok, but the idea of giving yourself a visual cue to trigger a habit has been around for a while. Some people use the paperclip strategy to track their progress on a habit they want to commit to, by moving paperclips from one cup to another. You can use buttons, paperclips, or even a sticky note on the fridge, but having a visual cue to create your weekly meal plan will prevent it from being forgotten and neglected.
- Get an accountability buddy.
Find someone in your life (friend, sibling, or in-law) who also likes to plan or cook regularly and keep each other accountable each week. Send a check-in text to see if you’re both on track with creating a meal plan and grocery shopping. Having an accountability buddy is not about being afraid of the consequences of not following through, but rather the camaraderie of doing things together.
You might feel like you don’t have a person like this in your life, and that’s okay. Join our Facebook Group and ask in the discussion for anyone who wants to help you with meal planning!
If you’re someone who wants to be a planner but feels like you’re always reacting instead of being proactive, you’re not alone. You can have fewer last-minute decisions and smoother evenings. Meal planning is a favor to your future self, and the work you put in up front pays dividends in the future.
