I'll be honest - there's a stack of 'important' tasks sitting on my desk that I've been avoiding for weeks. Temperature logs, recipe cards, food cost calculations - they all feel like paperwork that pulls me away from actual cooking and serving. Yet these seemingly tedious jobs often determine if your restaurant thrives or barely survives.
The top 5 postponed tasks in hospitality
These tasks get pushed aside most frequently, despite having massive impact on your bottom line:
- Calculating food costs: "I'll just wing it with estimates"
- HACCP temperature checks: "I'll catch up tomorrow"
- Writing out recipes: "Everything's stored up here" *taps head*
- Comparing supplier prices: "Who's got time for spreadsheets?"
- Menu analysis: "My instincts haven't failed me yet"
💡 Example:
Restaurant De Eenvoud avoids food cost calculations. Owner Mark: "I've got a rough idea what everything costs."
- Steak ingredients: actually €11.20
- Mark's guess: €8.50
- Menu price: €32.00 (€29.36 excl. VAT)
- Real food cost: 38.1% (dangerously high)
- Mark assumed: 29% (looked acceptable)
Outcome: €2.70 loss per steak, completely under the radar.
Why we dodge these tasks
It's not about being lazy. These jobs just feel wrong somehow:
- No instant payoff: You can't immediately see what you've gained
- Too many moving parts: Fire up Excel, crunch numbers, save files, track changes
- No obvious starting point: Which recipes deserve attention first?
- Fear of bad news: "What if my profit margins are worse than I imagined?"
⚠️ Watch out:
Every day you delay costs real money. A steak with food costs running 5% too high will drain €1,560 from your annual profits at just 20 portions weekly.
The true price of procrastination
Avoiding these tasks actually costs you - and it's a pattern we see repeatedly in restaurant financials:
💡 Example:
Café Het Uitstel pulls in €400,000 annually. But procrastination creates:
- Food costs running 3% high from zero oversight: €12,000/year
- Spoilage from poor inventory rotation: €8,000/year
- Underpriced menu items from guesswork: €6,000/year
- Health inspection penalty for missing temperature records: €2,500 (one-time hit)
Total damage: €28,500 yearly from putting things off.
How to flip from avoiding to achieving
The secret is chopping overwhelming tasks into bite-sized pieces:
- Pick one dish: Calculate your most popular item's food cost first
- Use a timer: Dedicate just 15 minutes daily to admin work
- Simplify the process: Find tools that cut the grunt work
- Celebrate small wins: Let early results fuel your momentum
💡 Example:
Week 1 action plan for Restaurant Actief:
- Monday: Work out pasta carbonara food cost (15 min)
- Tuesday: Record and log refrigerator temperature (5 min)
- Wednesday: Document carbonara recipe properly (10 min)
- Thursday: Research current beef supplier pricing (5 min)
- Friday: Analyze pasta dish sales data (10 min)
Total investment: 45 minutes for full command of one menu item.
The role of the right tools
Most avoided tasks feel overwhelming because you're doing everything by hand. Smart digital tools transform these chores into simple routines:
- Food cost tracking: Updates automatically when supplier prices shift
- HACCP documentation: Input temperature, system handles the paperwork
- Recipe storage: Everything organized in one searchable location
- Menu performance: Instantly see which dishes drive profits
Digital systems strip away the complexity that makes you procrastinate. Food cost calculations become as simple as entering ingredients - everything else runs on autopilot.
⚠️ Watch out:
No software does your thinking for you. But the right system can shrink a 30-minute headache into a 3-minute routine. That's what separates doers from procrastinators.
Start today with one task
Choose one job you've been dodging for weeks. Break it down as small as possible. Set your phone timer for 15 minutes. Begin right now.
Most 'hassle tasks' aren't nearly as painful as you've built them up to be. And the payoff - knowing your numbers, passing inspections easily, delivering consistent quality - brings genuine peace of mind.
How do you tackle postponed tasks? (step by step)
Make a list of postponed tasks
Write down which important tasks you've been putting off for weeks or months. Think about food costs, HACCP registrations, writing out recipes. Be honest - this is just for you.
Choose the task with the biggest impact
Which postponed task probably costs you the most money? Usually it's food cost calculation or keeping track of supplier price changes. Start there.
Make the task ridiculously small
Instead of 'write out all recipes', start with 'write out my bestseller recipe'. Instead of 'complete HACCP', start with 'record today's fridge temperature'.
Set a timer and start now
15-minute timer, phone away, begin. Don't aim for perfection, just start. You can always improve later, but only if you've begun.
Repeat tomorrow with the next task
Spend 15 minutes every day on postponed tasks. After a week you'll have accomplished more than in the past month. After a month you'll have control over your key processes.
✨ Pro tip
Tackle your most dreaded postponed task within the next 72 hours. That avoided job is probably costing you the most money and will deliver the biggest psychological relief once it's handled.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Why do I keep putting off important tasks?
Your brain naturally prioritizes urgent stuff (angry customer, ringing phone) over important stuff (calculating food costs). These admin tasks feel like hassles because they don't deliver instant gratification. It's completely normal human wiring.
How much time does it take to catch up on postponed tasks?
About 15 minutes daily will clear most backlogs within a month. The first week feels brutal, but then it becomes automatic. You'll recover the time investment through better margins and reduced stress.
Which postponed task impacts profit most?
Food cost calculations for your top 5 sellers. Get those under 35% and you've fixed 80% of your profit issues. Everything else can wait until you've nailed the big money-makers.
What if I start calculating and the numbers are terrible?
At least you'll know where you actually stand instead of guessing. Hidden bad numbers bleed money every single day. Known bad numbers can be fixed. Knowledge equals control, even with disappointing results.
How do I maintain momentum when motivation disappears?
Make tasks so tiny that motivation becomes irrelevant. Recording temperatures for 5 minutes doesn't need inspiration. Focus on building habits, not achieving perfection.
Can apps actually help me stop procrastinating?
Yes, by removing friction. If food cost calculations take 3 minutes instead of 30, you're far less likely to avoid them. The right tools eliminate the pain points that trigger procrastination.
Should I tackle multiple postponed tasks simultaneously?
No, that's a recipe for giving up completely. Pick one task, master it for two weeks until it feels automatic, then add the next one. Stacking habits works better than attempting everything at once.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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