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This episode is sponsored by Quints. Fall is here and even though it's not technically sweater weather in North Carolina, I am forcing the issue with the help of quince. They've got $50 Mongolian cashmere sweaters that feel wildly luxurious, premium denim that doesn't squeeze in weird places, and wool coats that look like they cost a fortune but don't. I'm eyeing one now that looks designer level, but it's under $150 and the quality honestly just as good, if not better. Because Quince works directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. They offer luxury quality pieces at a fraction of the price and it shows. Find your fall staples at quince. Go to quince.com genius for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com Genius to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Genius beef fat on your face sounds crazy until you try it. Tallow isn't a gimmick, it's skin identical, vitamin rich and wildly effective. 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That's because most products don't address your skin's actual needs. They just mask symptoms from skin, body, baby, hair and home. And you can't forget their cult following natural deodorant and Tallow skincare products. Primally Pure products are handcrafted with real raw ingredients to optimize your results and your overall health. From their cult following natural deodorant to deeply nourishing body butters, creams and baby care primly Pure's tallow based products are rooted in real ingredients and designed to transform your skin and your health. Use Code genius to get 15% off your primally pure purchase. That's www.pr P-R-I-M a l l Y-P-U-R-E.com and use code genius at checkout for 15% off your order. Hi there, you're listening to the Lazy Genius Podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi. This podcast isn't about hacking the system to find more time or hacking your energy to get more done. Hustling to be the best or make the most of every opportunity is exhausting and unsustainable. So here we do things differently on this podcast. We value contentment, compassion and living in our season. We favor small steps over big systems. Here we are, Lazy Geniuses being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Then I'm so glad you're here. Today is episode 440, how to make the rest of 2025 easier. So we've done this episode for the last three years and it's one of our highest downloaded episodes on all year long. It is around this point, towards the end of October, that we all start feeling the pressure like the rest of the year is coming like a like a snowball rolling down a hill and we're all just like, oh my goodness, there are too many things. How. How is this gonna happen? Am I going to get crushed by all of it? So today we're gonna tend to that energy and create some ways to make the rest of this year of 2025 easier and also more joyful, grounded and rooted in whatever matters to you, but not in the way that we have done it the last couple of years. More on that in just a minute. After we make the rest of our year easier, we're gonna have a little extra something in the form of how I make visual clutter disappear without doing much of anything. It's a little trick I learned from Michael Lynn Smith, AKA the Nester, that I'm excited to share. As always, we'll celebrate the Lazy Genius of the Week and we'll close with a mini pep talk on releasing the pressures of memory making. Before we get into the episode, two things. Number one, I apologize for the fact that I'm still y' all had a cold for I think we're going on nine days now. It's a whole thing. We are recording literally hours and hours before this podcast episode airs and lands in your ears. So I appreciate your patience with my Phoebe Vocal fry. The second thing that I want to share with you. This is very exciting. I want to give you a Team Lazy Genius update. So we have this huge Facebook group that has over 50,000 people in it at this point. It is a private group, so it is full of lovely people. They're all smart as a whip. Well, also smart as a whip is the newest member of Team LG that I would love to introduce you to. Her name is Kara Smith and she is our community Experience Manager. She's a person who takes care of that Facebook group and would love to welcome you into it. So if you, if you listen, for example, to like Office Hours episodes and you're like, man, I really, I wish there was a place that I could get answers to my questions like this all the time. The Facebook group is such a great place to do that. The folks in there are crawling with product recommendations, ideas for small solutions to small problems. They celebrate you when you need cheering on. Like, it is such a great community and we would love to have you join so you can click the link in the show notes and Cara will be the one to let you in and you'll see her name floating around as the moderator keeping things kind and in a flow. So you can join that group if you would like. And also welcome to Cara to tmlg. All right, let's get into how to make the rest of 2025 easier. The episodes from the last two years have been incredibly practical. I have offered comprehensive but like, fairly straightforward processes for you to look at all the things that you have to do that is out of the ordinary during this time of year. Triage those things and then make them happen in a way that hopefully doesn't drain you. So you can certainly go back and listen to those episodes. We are going to actually summarize those processes in an email that's going out later this week to our mailing list. So you can join that mailing list if you're not on it. The lazygeniuscollective.com join. And that's really just gonna give you like here, here's what you do practically to make the rest of the year easier. Practical solutions are so helpful, of course. Now, in addition to those episodes from previous years, we've created a number of other resources that are practical solutions for your busy season. So you can check those out. There's the Holiday docket. That is a printable PDF that helps you figure out what special seasonal activities you want to make room for. It's helpful to anyone, but especially to families with kids. Younger kids too. It is undated so you can print it multiple times over multiple years. It's currently on sale in the Digital Store store because it's not going to be sold again after this calendar year. Another practical resource is the Playbooks. Those are seasonal planners that help you focus on what matters most to you right now in this season. It helps you organize those tasks and not lose track of them in the craziness of life. They are the primary way I personally am staying afloat with all the things that are going on in the the life of the Adachi family for the rest of 2025. But that's not all said in my best ShamWow voice. We also have a ton of episodes that are written specifically to make busy seasons easier. Episode 330 How I handle a busy season Episode 431 Five things to avoid when planning a busy season Episode 364 when life feels like a fire hose Episode 385 how to manage an odd stretch of time Episode 395 how to finish Last Minute Lists I am an expert on compassionate time management, so a good portion of the 440 episodes that we have made over the last eight years, they are going to be all about making life a little bit easier, more manageable, and more rooted in what matters to you. So there is no shortage of practical information and resources for you. Now, why do I share all of those things right now? Because today we're going to approach this differently. I believe that one of the simplest ways that you can deal with the busyness around you is not to get everything more ordered, more essentialized, or done faster. I believe that you can better deal with the overwhelm of your season by becoming more connected with where you are right now. When you pay attention to the small joys in your day, to what anchors you to ordinary good things that exist in your life already. When we notice and cultivate those things, they make the rest of that busyness feel less frenzied. Being connected to where you are helps you feel more grounded, more like yourself, and more connected to the goodness of right now, rather than the energy of what you didn't get done yesterday or what is waiting for you tomorrow. There is so much power in the smallness and existence of today, and I'm really excited to share ways that you can do that. You can cultivate that. Now, before we do, we're gonna take a quick ad break which makes this episode free for you to listen to. So thank you for that sponsors and here's your quick reminder that we send out a podcast recap email every other Friday. It is called Latest Lazy Listens and it summarizes the episode. It shares the lazy genius of the week as well as other segments that we have on the show and and it has a little extra note from me to help encourage you through the weekend. So if you would like to get that recap, you can head to thelazygeniuscollective.com listens this episode is sponsored by Little Spoon. You know that moment when it's 5:59, the kids are melting down and you're hoping that the fridge has a miracle hiding behind the mustard. That's why I'm so glad there's Little Spoon. They deliver real delicious food for babies, toddlers and big kids straight to your door so mealtime doesn't have to be a daily drama. The current MVP at our house? Chicken Dunkers Lunchers. My kid thinks it's fast food. I know it's packed with hidden veggies and zero dinner prep, so it's a win. And now you can grab Little Spoon at Target. So next time you're making your way through the candle aisle, you can toss some of their snacks and Target exclusive frozen meals like their chicken nuggets, meatballs and sliders into your cart. Little Spoon is the mealtime hack parents can't stop talking about. Try their no Prep Nutrition packed meals and snacks for babies, toddlers and big kids. Get 50% off your first online order at littlespoon.com lazygenius with code lazygenius at checkout that's L I T T L E S P O-O-N.com lazygenius and don't forget to use our show's code for 50% off your first order.
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All right, let's jump into how I think we can make the rest of 2025 easier. Yes, you can make helpful lists and triage your tasks with kindness and clarity. You can even create a little system for your life if you want. Lists and tasks and systems are very helpful when used with compassion. And if you need that kind of help, you can check out any of the resources that I already mentioned. But let's stay a little closer to the ground. Today I'm gonna share five ways you can make the rest of 2025 easier that do not require much of you at all. Not organizationally anyway. These five things, if you do them, they will make each day more alive, more full, more fun, more grounded in who you are, more connected to your people. When all these things are true, you are in a much better place to tend to the lists and the tasks and the systems. Being centered as a person, being a human being, focusing on the things that really matter, no matter who you are, finding joy in this life. These things create a foundation for the other stuff. So if these five ideas are present for you most days, even in a tiny way, your life is gonna feel easier. Like guaranteed. So let's jump in. Number one, you can make the rest of the year easier by putting non essential projects on pause. This is the work of essentializing, of getting rid of what's in the way. I first heard this word by Greg McEwen in his book Essentialism that it was written more for the workplace and like entrepreneurs and stuff, it's a great place to practice essentialism. But I was like, man, I think this has bigger implications at home. So Essentialize is one of the 13 original Lazy Genius principles and it works wonders, especially during busy seasons. If you are entering one, which you probably are, I want you to simply choose to pause projects that are not essential right now. Let's say that last year around this time you thought to yourself or even said out loud to like a partner or roommate or somebody, I'm going to clean out the garage before this next holiday season. You have big project energy, but then life Kept happening and you kept putting it off until the next month and the next and the next until you forgot altogether. And now here we are a year later with a garage that is still in the same shape and you just remembered because you're going in to get, you know, decorations or something, that you were going to clean it out before the holidays hit. Well, how essential is it? I know you want it done and I get that. And I know that cleaning out the garage, like once it's done, it would probably make life a little easier. But honestly, is this absolutely necessary for you to make it through the rest of the year? Is it essential if you can get into January with your garage still in its current state? I say press pause on the garage project. Why does this matter? Well, when you press pause on a non essential project, you're giving yourself permission to not think about it. Right now. You are releasing the guilt of the undone project. Because, you know, that's a thing. We see all of these like well intended, unfinished projects in every corner of our homes or on our to do list, or even just in our heads. And the longer they sit, the longer they sit, the worse we feel that they stay undone. The weight of that project guilt, it only makes your busy season harder. It's like a back burner simmer, but it's there. You know, you don't need to waste your precious energy keeping that guilt alive. Just press pause. Here's an example. So we have a porch swing on our porch that's still in the box and it's been there for several weeks now. Our swing is old. The swing that's like currently there is old. It works, but it's like very old. And we scored a new one that I love when it was on sale during some like end of summer thing while the box is still on the porch. Now here are two roads that I could take every time I look at that box. One road is that I feel guilt and the pressure of the undone every time I pull into my driveway or look out the window or walk out onto the porch. The box is like a talisman for something that I'm supposed to do. Okay, so that's the first road. The second road, which is much preferred, is that I declare this swing in a box a non essential project that is currently on pause. Our lives are wild right now and hanging that swing is not essential to surviving the wildness. Now. Sure, maybe there's like a Saturday where Kaz and I both have the availability and the energy to get new hardware and drill new holes. And hang the swing. So we'll just unpause it and we'll get it done. But we don't have to. If we don't unpause it. It's okay. It's just a box on the porch. It's no big deal. The choice is a mental one, but it is massively impactful. So simply decide to pause. Not stop, not ignore, just intentionally pause. Just make the choice. Because if you're living under the shadow of an undone project that is not essential to this season of life, you're gonna, like, really lose it with that back burner pressure. You have plenty of going on already, right? Adding another project to the mix, especially one that drains your energy and doesn't even elevate the season that you're in in a significant enough way to merit the effort of doing the project that the project is not worth doing right now. Just drop it, put it on pause. That alone is going to take so much pressure off of your busiest seasons. So that's number one, press pause on non essential projects. Number two, you can make the rest of the year easier by protecting your white space. Last week, a friend of mine asked my kid how life is going to and he said it's the calm before the Adachi storm, which made everybody laugh. But, like, he's right. We are about to enter the Adachi storm and it's gonna be a wild ride. Now, it's pretty much all good stuff, like, great stuff even, but it's still a lot. So it is a high priority that we protect our white space. We protect our empty times on the calendar. We protect our rest. In fact, we create white space so that we can protect it. I'm like, real vigilant about this. So our typical weekday, it does not have consistent white space for everybody. Like, all three kids have various things before and after school on different days. Sometimes Kaz and I both do as well. We. We really only have one night a week where we get to have family dinner together, where there's no place to go or someone's not coming in late. It's just Mondays, that's the only day that we get to really have dinner together. So there's no weekday with consistent white space for our entire family. And because Sundays are generally like popping with church in the morning and community group at night. Plus, I'm often like planning the upcoming week on Sunday afternoons. Saturdays are really our white space day, y'. All. Saturdays are kind of sacred. They can be because our kids don't participate in activities that typically require weekends. We, since everything that they do is pretty much through their schools. But of course, there are plenty of things still happening on any given Saturday. And when something is, we purposefully let go of everything that is not absolutely essential for the rest of that Saturday. So if we have something in the morning, we protect the evening. If we have something in the evening, we protect the morning. If we have a full Saturday where everyone is just, like, beat, and then we know we're, like, hosting community group on Sunday night, we'll probably skip church on Sunday morning. Our family needs open time at home. We need white space. We stay home and we take naps and we watch sports and we do, like, weird science experiments that annie finds on YouTube. And we order pizza because I do not cook during white space time, and it's the best thing ever. We vigilantly protect whatever white space we have each weekend. And we rest. When my kids are like, are we doing anything today? And I say no, they literally cheer, like, especially the younger two. They're both homebodies and they run out of battery after a long week at school, as does my husband. So we are a family. That's our makeup. It's not the case with everybody that our family enjoys, desperately enjoys doing nothing at home. Now, your protection of white space doesn't have to look the same as ours. Obviously, it won't. But here's what I would encourage you to do. No matter your situation, don't automatically fill what is empty. Sometimes folks are surprised when I say we didn't do anything all day when we had a free Saturday because, of course, there are so many projects we could finish. We'd hang that porch sling. But to me, I am happy predicting and prioritizing white space over a finished project. Now, that doesn't happen every time, but it is a decision that we make most of the time. So if you have a half a Saturday free, don't automatically turn it into project day or clean everything day or let's catch up on a million things day. Stop and think first, maybe there are some essential tasks that would serve you well later that week that you can get done quickly, but then you enjoy the rest of your white space. So often we just fill whatever space is empty. A lot of y' all aren't good at resting. You gotta be doing something. You gotta have some something to show for your day. You can't just spend an entire Saturday watching football and doing a puzzle. What is this, Christmas break? Well, it could be if you shift your thinking a little bit. I'm here to invite you to think differently about your white space. Just like you're pressing pause on non essential projects, press pause on the thought that you have to fill all your empty space with something productive. And that rest is something to feel guilty over. It is not. In fact, the more you protect your white space, the more energy you will have for the noise of the rest of the season. I promise you. It is counterintuitive, I know, but it is true. Start practicing protecting your white space. All right, Number three. You can make the rest of the year easier by looking for lightness. When we are stressed out and busy and overwhelmed by all there is to do, life feels heavy. To counteract that heaviness, we need lightness. Now what do I mean by lightness? We need to laugh. We need to have fun. We need to cultivate joy in ordinary ways. We need to act like kids and find wonder in small things. You might, because I'm recording on a Saturday. You might actually hear my neighbor kids being light and joyful outside and backing up in my backyard watching. We need to play games. We need to make the silly choice. We need to look for lightness and enjoy it. Lightness is why I stop what I'm doing and watch a chickadee that lands in my bird feeder. Lightness is why I play wordle competitively with friends every day and keep score and talk trash. We're going on like four years now. Lightness is why I communicate in gifts as much as humanly possible. Likeness is why I play bananagrams with my family at night and I get sassy when I beat them every time. I'm like basically undefeated. Lightness is why I talk in silly voices and accents with Annie. Lightness is why I watch the Great British Baking show. Lightness is why I read Likeness is why I slowly walk Annie to school in the mornings and listen to her stories. Lightness is why I stay up late and watch postseason baseball. Holy moly. Go Mariners. Lightness is why I love a spontaneous cookout milkshake run with my kids. Lightness is why I listen to Jacob Collier and Olivia Dean and 90s country. Lightness is why I go thrifting. Lightness is why I frantically point when I see a rainbow or a pretty sunset or like a balloon floating in the sky. Lightness. Things like fun and play and laughing and joy and wonder. All of those things. They can be spotted and enjoyed every single day. Now lightness can also be cultivated and created every single day. Maybe one of those is easier for you than the other. Maybe you're really great at noticing the lightness when it's just presented to you, when it's in front of you, that you don't do as much like thoughtful planning of it. You know, there's a difference in the choice to make Wednesday night trivia night during dinner, and then the choice to like spontaneously hop in the car to try and get a great view of tonight's supermoon. You know, one is created and planned, one is noticed and responded. So maybe something you can name even right now is which one of those is easier for you to do. Especially when it comes to lightness. Lean on what you're good at. You know, are you a planner? Are you a noticer? Are you a preparer or noticer? If we look at our plan acronym, but also pay attention for opportunities to do the other one, to cultivate the other one. If you need a little bit of help with that, you can try episode 306, what we need to have more fun or episode 347, how to know what brings you joy. There's a guy I know who has become kind of like a dad to me. And when I met him, I asked him what his favorite thing was, the thing that made him feel the most like himself. And he said, laughing, if I can get in a good belly laugh every day, that was a good day. And that's when I knew I liked him. Because who would say laughter? He did. Because he knows that lightness and fun matter. So just like we choose to pause non essential projects and just like we choose to protect white space, I encourage you to choose lightness and laughter and joy and that'll look different from person to person. But if you keep an eye out and enter into those moments, even if it's just for a moment, they're gonna help balance out the busyness. And as you plan your season, I want you to put like a big old star next to those things that you have planned that are fun and joyful and then be there in them when they happen. Be. Be present when you're at the parade or you're at the movie night, or you're at the Christmas tree lighting, or you're on the couch watching football after Thanksgiving dinner. Whatever it is, pay attention to the fun moments that you have worked so hard to make space for and enjoy them. Be present in them. Invite in lightness as often as you're able. And if your life is missing lightness, fun and joy, you probably feel their absence. So go find some it's worthy work. Henri Nouwen. He's a priest and a theologian. He says laughter and play are divine healing. And I 100% agree. All right, so that's number three, lightness. Number four. You can make the rest of the year easier by being kinder about chores. When lists and production, even for good things, dictate our energy and attention, we start to resent the ordinary things that keep life on its axis. Things like tidying and meals and school runs and laundry and errands and homework and all that. They're in the way. They're a problem, they're annoying. And I get it. The ordinariness of life is really tough. Home can be boring or discouraging, especially if you're experiencing some discontentment there. But your energy in your ordinary life at home, it is also kind of the essence of everything. Kathleen Norris, she's an American poet. She says it is a quotidian mystery that dailiness can lead to such despair and yet also be at the core of our salvation. And if you stop and think about it, you know that's true. Like when you've gone through a season or even just an afternoon, where you honor the dailiness of your life, where you remain present in the ordinary of your life, in the repetition of your chores, in the weird liturgical comfort of folding laundry. When you're in that place, you feel better. You feel more at peace, you feel more like yourself. You feel more content with your life in this moment, being kinder about chores, about their purpose, about their value, about your job, however much you share it as a homekeeper, it is going to make a big difference in your energy during a busy season. If you're like, boo, I don't have the margin to change my thinking here, you can hack it. You can actually hack it. This is why so many people imbue those ordinary moments of homekeeping with sensory things, with sensory delights. So if you're about to make soup and you're like, I gotta make dinner again, play Nat King Cole or light a candle or wear an apron you love, or choose the wooden spoon that feels really good in your hand, or pretend you're on a YouTube cooking show, I don't know, do them all at once, engaging your senses while you're making your regular pot of chili or spaghetti and like pretending you're Julia Child, that can help you be kind about chores. I'm often, like, struck by my own struggles in this area. How I can get so resentful of the things that need doing at home when there are so many other things that need doing outside of it. That home is where it starts. I want to create and tend to a home even in its boring dailiness. That creates calm and comfort for my family. The tasks of replenishing those good things like food and clean clothes. That's honorable. Those aren't just annoying tasks on my never ending to do list. I mean, they are, but that's not all they are. So I totally agree with Kathleen Norris that dailiness is at the core of our salvation. It's starting small, right? It's being content right here right now with the person I am in the life that I have and honoring the good work of cleaning toothpaste out of the sink again. So be kinder about chores. Catch yourself when you're being resentful. Your attitude around the dailiness of life, it really does make a difference. And finally, number five, you can make the rest of the year easier by remembering every day that good is here right now. So busy seasons create blinders. You know, we get so in the thick of getting things done and preparing for events and pivoting plans because like, who knew your kid's football team would get so far in the playoffs? Like, everything moves at a quicker pace during a busy season. And that quick pace makes it harder to stand still and see where you are right now. It's a bit of a cliche to say be present, but it doesn't have to make it any less important. The speed of a busy season, it makes it harder to be present. And presence is deeply valuable. Noticing the good that is here right now, it is helpful in managing stress because it slows you down and it grounds you where you are. So it's like good for your mental health. Noticing the good that is here right now. It develops contentment when your pace is anything but but content. It fights that productivity complex that we all live under, right? Noticing the good that is here right now identifies what all the hustle and bustle is for. It helps you see your people and your place with brighter, kinder eyes. And if you notice the good that is here right now, by recording it somehow, you get built in opportunities for nostalgia and reflection. Two of my favorite tools for this are a one line a day journal and one second a day videos. Now there are a million one line a day journals out there and none are more magical than another. Just get one you think is pretty. But the idea is that you write just one sentence. Fragments even. They don't even have to be full sentences. Just write about the good of today. And since most of these journals are five years Long. You have five years worth of daily presents, like, right there in a book. I keep mine beside my bed and I write in it, like, really quick before I go to sleep. Another idea is the One Second a Day app. It is a fantastic app, like truly, that allows you to capture one or two seconds from every day, and it stitches them together in a video of whatever time frame you want. Now, I want to tell you a story about that app because it might tap into some of the insecurity that you might be having about recording what you notice. So for several years, I did One Second a Day. Pretty much every day. We have full videos of the entirety of 2017 through 2020. In fact, to confirm those dates, I just went back in my photo app to, like, make sure I was like, what are the years that we have these? And I watched them all. Of course I did, y'. All. I'm like 10 pounds lighter and 30% happier than when I started. I was already mostly fine. But that those videos, they are memories. They capture these ordinary things. The 2020 video was just like all of us at home in so many repetitive, ordinary ways. There are a half dozen seconds of Annie making my coffee in the morning, and it is the dearest thing. Life happens in those single little seconds. That's why they made the app. It really matters. But anyway, that's not even the story. Here's the story. So I don't remember how it happened, but essentially I lost all the videos from 2021. Like, all the seconds, all the little videos that I had taken for that entire year. And when I discovered that happened, I cried. I cried and I cried. I remember we were on a trip. I think it was our train trip to Raleigh. And I was sitting in the hotel room in the dark with Annie, who was either sick or just going to bed at, like, 7 o' clock or something. I don't know. I was sitting in the dark and had time to kill. And so I was like, oh, I will stitch to. I'll make our 2021 one second video. And all the videos were gone. I remember texting Kaz, who was in, like, on the other side of the wall in a different hotel room with the boys, and I just cried. It was such a loss. But what happened is that because I lost most of the year, I didn't think it mattered to keep capturing that year. I was a memory completionist. If I can't get them all, it's not worth getting any now. Y' all know that sounds crazy and it's super not True. But also I think we all get the feeling of thinking that memory keeping has to be so consistent in order to matter. Like if you miss days or you start a tradition when your oldest kid is 16 or whatever, like what good is it if your one second video only captures 30 of the 365 days of the year? What's the point? Well, intuitively we know. We know that there's still a point. It's so good for so much, especially in busy seasons, because we're trying to be where we are and notice where we are and honor the good things that are here right now. Even running down a line a day or taking one second of a video a day for just the next few weeks, whenever you remember it is still a worthwhile practice. It still puts you in a position to capture the good that is here right now. So if you've never done a one line a day journal or a one second a day video or anything like that, because it feels weird to start in the middle of something, in the middle of a year, in the middle of a. In the middle of a season, in the middle of like family dynamics or whatever, and you also don't even have the guarantee that you're going to continue. Please don't let that stop you. In fact, if that's how you feel about it, I would argue that you need to capture those ordinary moments even more than other people. If you're a memory completionist like me. We need help seeing, even if it's just for a few days or just one day, the smaller the better even we need that practice. And we need to remember that not everything has to be all or nothing or completely planned out. That's its own kind of practice. So to summarize, it's a busy season. The end of any year always is. It's mostly full of good things. But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. So if you need help dealing with the busyness on a practical, organizational level, you can check the show notes for some episode ideas, or just hang tight for a couple days and you're going to get that email in your inbox with all kinds of practical help. But for right now, for everybody, doesn't matter who you are, what your life is like, what your season is. If you live alone or with six other people, here are five things that you can do that require very little of you to make the rest of 2025 easier. Maybe even on a different level, a deeper, more significant level than the practical stuff. 1. Pause. Non essential projects. 2. Protect and enjoy your white space. 3. Look for lightness, laughter, joy, play and wonder. 4. Be kinder about chores and the ordinary life that you live. And five Notice that good is here right now and maybe even market somehow even if you don't do anything past right now. And that's how to make the rest of 2025 easier this episode is sponsored by Ollie. While the Adachi household does not have pets, my producer's dog Griffin has made it very clear that he's an Ollie dog for life. He's more energetic, his coat is shinier and he waits by the fridge like it's his job. Griffin's human loves that. Ollie's meals are made with fresh human grade ingredients crafted by vet nutritionists and slow cooked for nutrition and taste. Ollie creates a personalized meal plan, sends perfectly portioned packs and includes a scoop and puptainer so it's mess free and fridge friendly. And with the Ollie app you can access free health screenings and expert advice whenever you need a little peace of mind. Your dog's well being starts with their food and that's why Ollie delivers fresh human grade food that your dog will love. Head to ollie.com genius tell them all about your dog and use Code genius to get 60% off your welcome kit when you subscribe today. Plus they offer offer a happiness guarantee on your first box so if you're not completely satisfied, you'll get your money back. That's O l l I e.com genius and enter code genius to get 60% off your first box. This episode is sponsored by IXL Learning. The first month of school is behind us and this is the point where you start to see what's clicking for your kids and what might need a little support. That's where IXL comes in. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning, whether they're brushing up on math or diving into social studies. IXL covers math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade with personalized content that's actually fun. It's great for smoothing out rough spots before they become struggles. Plus it adapts to each child's level and learning pace, which makes a huge difference in our house. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US and studies show that kids who use it consistently score higher on tests make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and the lazy Genius listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixcelearning.com lazygenius visit ixcelerning.com lazygenius to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. All right, for today's a little extra something I'm going to share with you a trick I learned from the Nestor AKA Mike Willyn Smith that has helped me continue to create spaces in my home that I love. Mike Woolen has a fantastic book called House Rules. It's a hardback coffee table book with amazing photos and it's a hundred rules on making your house into your home, no matter your style or budget or season of life. She is truly the lazy genius of home decorating. Also, I do not understand how this book is consistently around $10 online. Guys, this book is gorgeous. It's gorgeous and it makes an amazing gift. Anyway, one of her rules, one of her house rules, which I love and I use often, is Rule 66. If it sits out, it's a decoration. This little rule has helped me easily make my home something visually pleasing based on my own style without a lot of effort. So busy seasons, they don't just impact our schedules, right? They impact our homes too. And most of us want to rest when we're in our homes. We want to enjoy our rooms and spaces and not be visually overwhelmed when we've just come off of a day of overwhelm. Well, one of the things that can make any home feel more cluttered than it actually is is forgetting this rule. Forgetting that whatever sits out is basically a decoration. For example, we have a coat rack by the back door. The coat rack itself is like simple and fine, but it's covered in coats. You don't see the rack. It's just full of coats. And those coats are always there because, you know, everybody needs a sweatshirt or a jacket on their way out the door. I need the coat rack to stay. I do. The convenience of the coat rack, it matters more than the visual decoration that it creates. I mean, I would love for the coat rack to be completely gone, but we need it to be there. However, I always make sure that the neutral colored jackets are hanging on the outside, not like the bright red Kansas City Chiefs hoodie. Because in my kitchen is being decorated with a bright red Kansas City Chiefs hoodie. This is why I decant hand soap into a pretty glass pump bottle. That's why I have tissue box covers that hide like the pastel flowers that exist on most tissue boxes. This is why our kitchen often feels more cluttered than other rooms because it's decorated by our drink spinner, which is that lazy Susan with all the water bottles on it. But guess what? Some things that are left out are worth being out right now. If I can make them a little prettier, if that matters, like putting the black coats on the outside instead of the red, then I will. You know, the drink spinner is wooden, so that helps. But the bottles and the cups themselves, they're all over the place in terms of color. Again, the kitchen is often decorated with a Kansas City Chiefs water bottle. Ben is a big fan, you guys. The point here is not to hide everything that's ugly or to change every single functional piece into something more aesthetically pleasing to you. It's just more about noticing if you have a room that feels consistently cluttered, notice why. It could be that the things that are always out are just a bit more colorful or branded or whatever than you realized, and they've disappeared from your site because they've become normal, that they still have a visual impact. So what do you do with that information? Well, you might get a tissue box cover to hide the primary color swirls on your tissue box in your living room. You might move the tissues to a different room altogether without a cover because no one ever needs them where the box is anyway. Or you might say, you know, this doesn't really matter to me. It is okay that the tissue box is bright and not my style, but what that knowledge does is it helps you identify why your room might feel more cluttered, which helps you channel your energy into directions that matter. You might not need to rethink systems or feel resentful of a cluttered room when you notice that, it just feels that way because you have a lot of things out that are kind of acting as accidental decorations. You could totally do something about it visually, but you also don't have to. But the knowledge sometimes is enough. So I love this house rule from the Nester. If it sits out, it's a decoration and you can choose what to do with that. So that's a little extra something about a unique way to think about clutter. And now for the lazy genius of the week. This week it is Kathy from Goshen, Indiana. Goshen is where my friend and delightful author Shannon Martin is from. Shannon is the one who teaches us about counterweights and has a book coming out by that same title in just a few months. So that is so fun. So, hi to Goshen. Hi to Shannon. Okay, now back to Kathy, who writes during the fall and winter, Sundays are soup making Sundays. That batch of soup gets my husband and I through the week and I store the leftovers in quart jars in my fridge. If by the end of the week I'm tired of it, I throw it in the freezer, but not if there's dairy or pasta in it. Then later in the season, on nights when I don't know what to cook or I have no leftovers, I have jars of soup to pick from in the freezer. My future self, thanks. My past self, I love all the soup ideas. Like bring me all the soup ideas, all the meal prep ideas, because at some point you hear one and you're like, oh, that one is for me. That would work for me. So maybe this one from Kathy and Goshen is for you also. There is something so satisfying about a glass jar of soup in the fridge. I swear, the aesthetics of that are just like spot on. So having that as a little constant in your fall winter fridge is lovely. Thank you for sharing, Kathy, and congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week. All right, now let's have a mini pep talk on releasing the pressures of memory making. Now, I already alluded to this, but we're going to hammer it home now. There is so much pressure to make memories. You need to prepare for them. You need to turn them into into traditions. You need to record them for posterity and do the good work of your children and your friends and your people. Having this thing imprinted on them for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember this forever, you guys. It's so much pressure. It's too much pressure. If you were to think about some of your favorite memories as a kid, even as an adult, I bet you have way more small, ordinary ones than big ones. You probably remember the ordinary things. There's just so much beauty and value there. So as we enter this busy holiday season, for many people, the season where memories are supposed to be made, magic is supposed to happen and you feel in charge of all of it. I am just here to invite you to take a breath and let it go. Let go of the pressure to manufacture and capture. Let go of the pressure to make everything memorable. Let go of the pressure to label something as a core memory before it's even begun. Just live your life, be yourself, enjoy your people, be present where you are. Mark it when it's easy and small without the pressure of continuing on forever. And chances are you will remember what matters. And that's a mini pep talk on the pressures of memory making. If you liked this episode and thought of someone who would also love this episode while you were listening, why don't you go ahead and share the link with them? Most podcast apps allow you to share an episode with just a click or two, so go ahead and send this to a friend. Even to a friend who might already be a lazy genius listener. Some of us sometimes stop listening to shows that we usually listen to because of a busy life life. So maybe a nudge from you to your friend might be just the thing that they need right now For a little bit of encouragement. You can also leave a kind review on Apple Podcasts, which helps the show get in front of more people. Then we're really grateful for that. It's a small, easy way to support this work in a really big way. This podcast is part of the Odyssey Family and the Office Ladies Network. And speaking of the Office Ladies Network, we are so excited to extend a warm welcome welcome to the newest show Joining the family, How We Made youe Mother. It is a super fun rewatch of the hit TV show How I Met yout Mother hosted by Josh Radner, who played Ted Mosby and co creator Craig Thomas. You can find it anywhere you listen to podcasts. Josh and Craig, welcome to the Office Ladies family. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, an executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Special thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production. If you'd like a podcast recap every other week, be sure to sign up for latest Lazy Listens. It's an email that goes out every other Friday. You can head to thelazygeniuscollective.com listens to get it. Thanks y' all for listening and until next time, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'm Kendra and I'll see you next week.
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Hey, slight Changers. If you love the range of stories and insights into human behavior we share on a slight change of plans, I have another podcast I think you'd love. It's called TED Talks Daily. Ever wondered why social connections are the key to happiness? Or how to navigate grief? Or if aliens actually exist? TED Talks Daily dives into big ideas like these every day, featuring some of the world's brightest minds. Don't miss out on your daily dose of inspiration. Tune in to TED Talks Daily wherever you get your podcasts.
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This episode is sponsored by Smile Generation. What does a confident smile say to you with Smile Generation? It says you're taking care of more than just your teeth. Because confidence doesn't start and stop at a bright smile. It's about your oral health and wellness. Oral health issues have been linked to heart disease, diabetes and even cognitive conditions, so Smile Generation empowers you to understand the connection between your mouth and your overall health so you can stop issues before they start. Smile Generation Trusted providers prioritize personal, patient focused care that truly listens to you all. With education and preventative care at the corporate core. Here's your chance to take the first step. Smile Generation is offering a $59 new patient special. It's a comprehensive exam, cleaning and X rays a $290 value. New patients only offer not valid for TRICARE or Medicare Advantage May be covered by insurance, subject to plan restrictions. Booked by December 31, 2025. Visit smilegeneration.com Genius for full terms and to book now.