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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhen I was in 7th<\/sup>\ngrade, you had to take either Home Economics (Family and Consumer Science) or\nScience. The year prior, my family had dinner at the Home Ec teacher\u2019s house.\nAfter we arrived, she sent her husband to the store to get some ingredient she\ndidn\u2019t have. It was a lengthy wait for the food and none of it was done at the\nsame time. When it came time to choose a class the next year, I chose Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I practice the backward\ntimeline across all endeavors. Yes, it seems cumbersome and like a waste of\ntime when you\u2019re in a hurry to get started, but I promise it\u2019s worth it. It\u2019s\nthe equivalent of looking down the road when you\u2019re driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With cooking, this means reading\nthe recipe and compiling an ingredient and utensil list prior to going to the\nstore. If you\u2019re planning a whole meal, you\u2019ll also want to go backward from serving\ntime to make a plan for when to put each dish in the oven or on top of the\nstove. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a single oven, so I have\nto factor in oven temperature and cooking time. Some dishes can be cooked at a\nlower temperature for longer without affecting the quality. That means I can\nadjust time and temp to cook two items at the same time so that they are both\nready to serve simultaneously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a bit of an art to making\nthese adjustments because the more you put in the oven, the longer it takes\neverything to cook. And sometimes, you\u2019ll need to switch a dish from the top\nrack to the bottom in the middle of cooking so that it will cook evenly or\nbrown properly. Don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t know exactly how to do this the first\ntime. Just use your senses and check things more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making a plan that anticipates\nand orchestrates these adjustments will make cooking easier. You can make a\nvisible timeline or a list \u2013 whatever works for you. And it can all be in your\nhead if you like a memory challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last Thanksgiving, I had a\nclogged drain that required two plumbers in the kitchen while I was cooking. I\ncouldn\u2019t use the sink at all. To say that was distracting is an understatement.\nBut I had a timeline in my head and managed to get everything done and on the\ntable at the same time except for one item I totally forgot until everything\nelse was done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, it was a quick item I\nwas doing for the kids so there was no disaster. The adults were able to fill\ntheir plates while I finished up. I\u2019ll also say my execution was less than\nideal, but if I had not had a plan, it could have been a total chaos!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not cooking today. I\u2019m\nworking on other things here at Cooking2Thrive. I still have a plan. I may get\ninterrupted. There may be unanticipated delays. I may have to pivot. But it\nwill be calm. Chaos will not reign. And progress will be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the advantage to looking\ndown the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n