Plan Ahead for Your Weakest State

When I get home from work at the end of a long day, with my daughter in tow and laundry to be done and homework to help with and speech reports still to be written for the next day, the last thing I want to do is try to decide what to cook for dinner. 

And so, I've decided to plan ahead for when I'm in that weak, tired, stressed out state--to try to remove the added stress of making a decision when I'm tired at the end of the day.  So, instead of trying to plan a delicious and healthy meal at the end of the day when I'm exhausted and my mind has turned to jell-o, I try to plan my meals for a whole week sometime during the weekend, when I'm fresh and hopeful and not exhausted. 

I take a look in my pantry and fridge to see what ingredients we have to work with, and what we'll need to buy from the grocery store, and make my meal plan and my grocery list at the same time.   Then, I actually write out my meal plan and post it in the kitchen (very officially, on a post-it note) so that I don't have to think about what to make for dinner every night during the work week--I just follow my own instructions. 

Then, too, if I'm running late and my uber-helpful husband wants to get dinner started for us before I get home, he can just look at the note and know what the plan is.

And that, folks, is how I plan ahead for my weakest state.  Because if I didn't, then I know myself, and I would just drop by a fast food place on the way home and feed my family fake food in the name of getting "dinner on the table."  Which would not boost my happiness.  Because I want to be a mom who makes real meals at least most of the time and who is at least semi-organized.  And when I stick to my plan, it definitely boosts my happiness. 


How can you plan ahead for when you're in your "weakest state," to help yourself make better decisions or follow through on things you want to do?