Better than doing household chores and sweeter than staring out of the window...

The last few months have seen me explore the seemingly infinite possibilities of the practice of procrastination. Don’t be fooled, procrastination is – I’d like to think – a fine art; one that, if executed correctly, finds the perfect balance between putting off the inevitable while actually getting something done.

With my dissertation deadline looming and a final project plus an array of essays and presentations on my ‘To Do’ list, I’m never short of, what I like to call, ‘Activities for Procrastination’.

In times of good old writer’s block, or when the words in my textbooks begin to look more like pretty lines on a page, I’ll tend to turn to the World Wide Web for some quick mental relief. But online shopping with an empty bank balance, perusing pictures on Imgur or perving on friends on Facebook can only get me so far. No matter how many tabs I open, it is not too long before my mind begins to wander again. It’s moments like these that I move onto something a little more physically exertive!

Household chores are always a good one. Part-procrastination, part-necessity, there’s nothing like a little bit of vacuuming, washing up or clothes folding to leave you with that feeling of accomplishment. But when you find yourself scrubbing the shower grout with a toothbrush for the third time this week, it’s probably time to return to your desk – or in my case – return to the kitchen.

Yes, around October last year I caught the baking bug. In just two weeks I went from owning a couple of wooden spoons and a pack of all-purpose flour to being in possession of an assortment of mixing bowls, cake storage tins, baking trays and measuring cups, a set of scales, a cupboard full of every possible type of flour, sugar and decorative confectionery, a cake decorator’s set (including a ‘how to’ book on getting that icing just right), a rather large electric mixer and a silicon spatula.

In 8 weeks I went up a dress size, but that’s not the point. You see, while in the midst of my new culinary frenzy, I found a brand-new form of procrastination which not only brings happiness and joy (and an extra few inches on the waistline) to those around me, but that I can now unashamedly share with you  – BAKING.

I’m no Marco Pierre White and I’d get kicked off the first round of Masterchef, if I was ever so inclined to enter, but here is a recipe I chucked together after a moment of quick ‘cookie recipe’ searches in Google. I call it:

So within half an hour I had myself a huge plateful of thick, soft, slightly chewy white and dark chocolate peanut butter cookies. Not only had my procrastination produced such sweet happiness but I now had an excuse to leave my desk and grab a cookie from the kitchen whenever I felt I’d had enough of footnotes.

Be warned, they were utterly moreish and my boyfriend has banned me from baking them ever again. So have my hips. Alas, I have a cupboard stacked with baking ingredients so I doubt this will be the last you’ll hear of my cooking escapades.

Until then, Happy Monday and I best get back to, er, what was it again?…oh yes, the shower grout…