Optimal formatting of a paragraph is delayed during the time a user is editing an optimal paragraph. When a user begins to edit a line within an optimal paragraph an attempt is made to preserve the current break point of the line during the editing. When the current break point of the current line may not be preserved, the formatting of the current line is changed to normal, i.e. non-optimal, and a new line break is calculated. If the new line break causes text on the current line to move to an adjacent line then that line break is attempted to be preserved. The formatting process continues until the end of the paragraph is reached or the current break point may be maintained. Delaying the optimal formatting of the paragraph results in less distraction to the user.