diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5ad6620..6bdf822 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ A system can consist of multiple worker servers and brokers, giving way to high
 - Scheduling of tasks
 - Durability since tasks are written to Redis
 - [Retries](https://github.com/hibiken/asynq/wiki/Task-Retry) of failed tasks
+- Automatic recovery of tasks in the event of a worker crash
 - [Weighted priority queues](https://github.com/hibiken/asynq/wiki/Priority-Queues#weighted-priority-queues)
 - [Strict priority queues](https://github.com/hibiken/asynq/wiki/Priority-Queues#strict-priority-queues)
 - Low latency to add a task since writes are fast in Redis
diff --git a/processor.go b/processor.go
index 6a97178..1614d41 100644
--- a/processor.go
+++ b/processor.go
@@ -191,9 +191,19 @@ func (p *processor) exec() {
 				p.cancelations.Delete(msg.ID.String())
 			}()
 
+			// check context before starting a worker goroutine.
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				// already canceled (e.g. deadline exceeded).
+				p.retryOrKill(ctx, msg, ctx.Err())
+				return
+			default:
+			}
+
 			resCh := make(chan error, 1)
-			task := NewTask(msg.Type, msg.Payload)
-			go func() { resCh <- perform(ctx, task, p.handler) }()
+			go func() {
+				resCh <- perform(ctx, NewTask(msg.Type, msg.Payload), p.handler)
+			}()
 
 			select {
 			case <-p.abort:
@@ -202,10 +212,6 @@ func (p *processor) exec() {
 				p.requeue(msg)
 				return
 			case <-ctx.Done():
-				p.logger.Debugf("Retrying task. task id=%s", msg.ID) // TODO: Improve this log message and above
-				if p.errHandler != nil {
-					p.errHandler.HandleError(ctx, task, ctx.Err())
-				}
 				p.retryOrKill(ctx, msg, ctx.Err())
 				return
 			case resErr := <-resCh:
@@ -214,9 +220,6 @@ func (p *processor) exec() {
 				// 2) Retry -> Removes the message from InProgress & Adds the message to Retry
 				// 3) Kill  -> Removes the message from InProgress & Adds the message to Dead
 				if resErr != nil {
-					if p.errHandler != nil {
-						p.errHandler.HandleError(ctx, task, resErr)
-					}
 					p.retryOrKill(ctx, msg, resErr)
 					return
 				}
@@ -255,7 +258,11 @@ func (p *processor) markAsDone(ctx context.Context, msg *base.TaskMessage) {
 }
 
 func (p *processor) retryOrKill(ctx context.Context, msg *base.TaskMessage, err error) {
+	if p.errHandler != nil {
+		p.errHandler.HandleError(ctx, NewTask(msg.Type, msg.Payload), err)
+	}
 	if msg.Retried >= msg.Retry {
+		p.logger.Warnf("Retry exhausted for task id=%s", msg.ID)
 		p.kill(ctx, msg, err)
 	} else {
 		p.retry(ctx, msg, err)
@@ -284,7 +291,6 @@ func (p *processor) retry(ctx context.Context, msg *base.TaskMessage, e error) {
 }
 
 func (p *processor) kill(ctx context.Context, msg *base.TaskMessage, e error) {
-	p.logger.Warnf("Retry exhausted for task id=%s", msg.ID)
 	err := p.broker.Kill(msg, e.Error())
 	if err != nil {
 		errMsg := fmt.Sprintf("Could not move task id=%s from %q to %q", msg.ID, base.InProgressQueue, base.DeadQueue)