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Next week I’ll be heading into Vancouver for a 2-week plant-based culinary bootcamp.

If you’ve followed me or my work for any length of time, you know that I’m always looking to expand my knowledge and skills through courses and various learning experiences.

However, this will be the first time that I’m actively taking time off work to do a course that is entirely a passion, and not a business-related learning opportunity.

Food might be my love language.

I’ve always felt that receiving a home-cooked meal feels like love, and it’s one way that I express my love for others. I spend a significant amount of time thinking about food, experimenting with recipes, batch cooking, and trying out different cooking techniques.

When I’m not eating, I’m planning what I get to eat next (and sometimes eating two meals because I forget that I’ve already eaten!)

Good food elevates my entire mood, and makes me do the happy food dance.

And while I don’t have plans to become a chef, food is and has always been a huge hobby of mine — and cooking is a kind of meditation for me. It’s an incredibly important part of maintaining my well-being so when I’m designing the systems that support me in maintaining good health, food is a priority.

But buttons aren’t the only thing that streamline by meal planning: theming works here too!
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At the beginning of this year, I made Health + Wellness my quarterly theme.

So when the culinary bootcamp opened for registration, it was an easy yes because it aligned with healthy eating and my goal of improving my overall health and wellness. My themes help me make better choices about what to invest in now vs later.

I set themes that represent more of who I want to be, and, how I want to improve.

I’ve found themes to be incredibly helpful as I plan my work + productivity, and, when I plan my personal pursuits + fun. They provide me with much-needed focus, and act as a filter to help me make better decisions.

Themes are like an extension of time-blocking, and can be applied to my year, quarter, month, week, day, and actions.

If you’ve got too much on your plate, themes can help you create a decision-making framework.

Let’s take meal planning as an example:

It reduces decision overwhelm, limits waste, and it’s a lot easier to make cohesive meals when you theme your meal plans (Mexican, Greek, Comfort food, BBQ, etc). For example, if your theme is Mexican, you can work from the same ingredient groups and use refried beans in your tacos, burritos, and even enchiladas. You could do soft shell tacos one night, and then taco salad for lunch the next day using the same base ingredients.

If you have a hobby that you love, consider applying theming to it (because it’s just as important that you make time for the fun as the work).

For example, if you love photography, you could theme your photoshoots based on locations or subjects.

If you enjoy hiking, you could theme your hikes by location or difficulty level.

If you love reading, you could theme your reading list by genre, author, or time period.

Whether it’s meal planning, fitness, or even your social life, theming can help you create systems that support your goals and help you fall into better habits.

So don’t be afraid to experiment with theming in different areas of your life, and see what kind of magic you can create.
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Wish me luck on my culinary journey!

As always, I’ll be sure to share what I’m learning :)

P.S. We’ve got an upcoming workshop that helps you leverage theming to improve your planning muscle. You can learn more here.

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