Bonus: Office Hours with the Office Ladies

Summary

The Lazy Genius Podcast

Bonus: Office Hours with the Office Ladies

Host: Kendra Adachi (The Lazy Genius)
Guests: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey (Office Ladies)
Release Date: May 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively bonus episode, Kendra Adachi welcomes Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey—the beloved hosts of Office Ladies—for a candid, insightful session of “office hours.” The goal: bring real-life organization and mindset challenges to Kendra and receive her signature blend of systems advice and permission-giving pep talks.

The conversation is full of practical tips, funny anecdotes, and genuine moments of reflection. The group discusses digital photo overwhelm, the never-ending cycle of home organization projects, and the importance of embracing contentment over perfectionism. Throughout, Kendra provides clear frameworks and emotional support, championing small steps and self-kindness as paths to sustainable progress.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Follow-ups: “Lazy Genius” Solutions That Stuck

[03:06 - 07:12]

• Email Division for Parenting: Jenna gives an update on a previous tip from Kendra about splitting school-related emails and tasks between parents, swapping kids each year.

  “It was like, of course, of course. So we've been doing that and we switch each year now… It’s so cool.” — Jenna [03:43]

• Baskets for Laundry and Alterations: Angela raves about her system of “later zones,” baskets for socks missing a pair, clothes requiring alterations, and more.

  “I have a basket now for my friendless…socks looking for friends. And I would say about once a month I go to that basket and I try to make pairs…” — Angela [06:23]
  “‘Later zone’: When you have a chore…with several steps, you find a place until it's time to move it along.” — Kendra [07:20]

Insight: Small, intuitive systems—paired with permission to adapt and tweak—create lasting solutions that bring calm and order.

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2. Angela’s Digital Photo Crisis

[08:56 - 25:17]

• The Dilemma: Angela documents life obsessively, accumulating 43,000+ photos on her phone over the years. Facing an impending phone upgrade, she feels overwhelmed by digital clutter and wants a routine to manage it.

  “What is happening for me, and it has been for a long time...I am looking at how many pictures are on my phone…It goes all the way back to 1980.” — Angela [09:48]

• Photo Library Confessionals: Kendra has ~2,500 photos, Jenna over 50,000. Lighthearted comparison ensues.

  “This is the first time in our friendship history…you have more digital clutter than I do. Shut the front door.” — Jenna to Angela [12:56]

Key Questions & Kendra’s Framework

Kendra’s Clarifying Question:

“What is your digital clutter preventing you from doing?...Just because you can make something…more organized or smaller doesn’t mean you have to.” [13:28]

• Jenna realizes the number doesn’t bother her; Angela feels it does create friction and is motivated to declutter before moving to a new phone.

Solutions & Mindset Shifts

1. Be Kind to Yourself: Adjust expectations—accept that searching for the right photo in a big library might take a little longer, and that's ok.

   “Rather than set our expectations to match the ideal circumstance, adjust your expectations before you try to change the circumstance.” — Kendra [18:18]

2. Start Small: “Every photo you delete, even if it’s just one, matters. Small steps do count.”

   “It’s like you wanted to practice yoga and you’re like, I’m going to do one down dog a day. This is like one photo delete means something.” — Jenna [20:41] “Fold a towel, delete one photo, wash one mug. That counts. That matters so much.” — Kendra [21:07]

3. Ms. Freddie’s ‘Daily Delete’: Inspired by digital decluttering expert Ms. Freddie: set an alarm and, each day, delete redundant/irrelevant photos taken on that day. Optionally, go by calendar day ("May 7th" for all years).

   “You just take care of that day's pictures…and you tend to them and then you’re done until tomorrow.” — Kendra [24:36]

4. If It Doesn’t Bother You, No Need to Change:

   “It’s not bothering you, so just keep it. It’s great. Keep your snack bites.” — Kendra [17:32]
   “If I don't do it, it's also okay...Because it's not impeding my life if I don't do it.” — Jenna [25:06]

Memorable Moment:

“If you were to sit down and be like, I’m gonna take four hours…on your phone…just saying that out loud breaks my spirit.” — Angela [24:31]

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3. Jenna’s Garage Project & The Chasing of ‘Done’

[27:27 - 41:42]

• The Scenario: Jenna embarks on an extensive garage cleanout, removing everything, organizing bins, fixing the garage door, etc. She’s proud but starts feeling "itchy"—shouldn’t she declutter the shed and basement while the junk-hauling truck is coming? Is it possible to ever be truly done?

  “I am having a little bit of a hard time staying on task because there’s still so much to do. …I have this itchiness, even though I’m not even done with the garage, to dismantle all these other spaces and I can’t do it. We’ll drown.” — Jenna [29:08]

• Kendra’s Pep Talk:

  1. Recognize the 'Doneness Fantasy': The desire to “be done everywhere” is understandable but unattainable.

     “It is a fantasy. …There will always be something to fix… There are people who love to fix and improve… But if you chase that…at the expense of actually enjoying…the garage…you’re not going to finish all the rest of them. …You’re just going to end up in a house of piles and you’re going to hate it.” — Kendra [34:35]

  2. Celebrate Progress: Choose to “stay” and enjoy a completed space before leaping to the next project.

     “I want to enjoy this accomplishment. I don’t want to finish the garage, take one breath and be like, now the basement. Like, that’s a bummer.” — Jenna [36:28]

  3. Decide Once; Be Present: Actively choose which project you’ll do, and don’t rob yourself of satisfaction by chasing the next thing:

     “It can be a really life giving, celebratory choice to say…I am not going to do anything in the shed or the basement…because…it's taking away the fun of like finishing the garage. Let’s stay here.” — Kendra [38:56]

  4. The Ongoing Process:

     “Be where you are and clean out your fridge and look for big scissors on the Internet. So good.” — Kendra [40:41]

Memorable Moment:

“When that garage is done, I want us to have a little celebration…Everybody gets to press the button to watch the door open.” — Angela [39:14]
“I will come and I will take probably 25 pictures, and I’m going to keep five of them.” — Angela [39:38]

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Notable Quotes

• On Permission & Perfectionism:

  “[We] value contentment, compassion and living in our Season. We favor small steps over big systems…be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t.” — Kendra [01:00]

• On Small Steps:

  “Every single task you do matters. Every single photo you delete matters, even if it’s once that day and then you don’t do anything else again.” — Kendra [20:12]

• On Being “Done”:

  “You’ll never be done. …We don’t do a good job of staying in moments of celebration…It’s hard to enjoy your life when you’re chasing the next thing.” — Kendra [36:52 & 40:00]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:06] — Jenna’s updated email system for family/school
• [06:23] — Angela’s “basket system” and “later zones”
• [08:56] — Angela’s digital photo stress & context
• [10:54] — Group compares photo library counts
• [13:28] — Kendra’s core clarifying question on decluttering
• [17:32] — Permission not to change if it’s not a problem
• [18:18] — Advice: Adjust your expectations
• [22:13] — Ms. Freddie’s “Daily Delete” system
• [27:27] — Jenna’s garage project as an overwhelming “project”
• [34:35] — Pep talk: The illusion of being done
• [39:38] — Celebration for completing a project (“25 pictures, keep five”)
• [40:41] — Closing thoughts: Be present and enjoy what you’ve accomplished

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Updates from the Office Ladies Podcast

[42:07 - 43:50]

• Recent episode: “Travel Journals”—Angela’s journaling is compared to Michael Scott’s style; reveal of a new show format.
• Special guest: Billie Eilish returns for chat and Office trivia; discussion of her upcoming James Cameron-directed documentary.
• Upcoming guests: Calvin Tenor and Melora Hardin (Jan).

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Conclusion & Takeaways

This episode encourages listeners to embrace "lazy genius" solutions—making intentional, small choices that matter to you without succumbing to guilt or the pressures of perfectionism. Whether managing digital clutter or wrangling the never-ending list of home improvement projects, Kendra, Jenna, and Angela provide a reassuring reminder: contentment, small steps, and humor go a long way toward a more sustainable (and enjoyable) life.

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For more wisdom, humor, and real-life problem-solving, find The Lazy Genius Podcast and Office Ladies on your podcast app of choice.

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“It’s a wonderful thing to want to make life a little easier and more enjoyable, but you don’t do that at the expense of right now. …Be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t.” — Kendra [41:15, 44:09]

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hi, my friends.

[A]

Hi there.

[B]

Hey, gal.

[A]

Oh, so fun. So this is we're going to do today one of my favorite things, which is to, like, lazy genius a problem and solve a problem, which we have done before together, the three of us. Jenna, you're we lazy genius.

[C]

Your school email situation and Kendra, it has changed our lives. My husband and I talk about it all the time. We did exactly what you said. We divided up the kids. Cause, you know, our problem was you get all these emails. We didn't know which one of us was reading them, which one of us was taking action. And you're like, well, there's two of you and two kids. Why don't you just divide it? And it was like, of course, of course. So we've been doing that and we switch each year now we. We swap so that, you know, it doesn't become where it's just like you. You're doing one kid all the time.

[B]

So also, so at least the parents in the different grades, you're. You're getting to know all of that sw. Sort of like email relationship with the different parents.

[C]

Yes, exactly. And it's really cool because I got my son into middle school. I launched him into middle school, which was lots of extra orientations and paperwork and reading and learning new teachers and all of that. But now, this coming year, my husband is going to launch our daughter into middle school.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

So it's very cool, like, the way the trading off has worked. And so. Yes. Thank you. So happy to be here.

[A]

I'm like, so

[C]

my husband is so excited. By the way, he has an office hours question for you.

[A]

I cannot wait. I'm so happy. I'm like, it's, it's one thing to solve a problem for a short amount of time, and that's okay. Like, we should be willing and happy when we solve something and it makes life easier for two weeks. But when something sticks for a long time and it just continues to. To get better and you can, like, adjust as you go, and it just gets into more of a flow and you start to feel the benefits of something long term, it's just like, it makes my. It makes my heart so happy. I'm so happy.

[B]

Oh, man.

[A]

Okay. And Angela, we did your. Didn't you have, like, half dirty clothes all around your bedroom and your dress? I did.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, it's like. It's like that jean, the pair of jeans you wore, like, twice. Are they really dirty? I mean, you know, if you're just kicking around the house and maybe did carpool pickup, they're fine, right?

[A]

But.

[B]

But I didn't hang them back up. I just threw them on the chair in the corner and that would pile up. So I do have a basket. You acknowledged my love of baskets. And so. But I have gone a little basket crazy. But I have a system that works for me. Jenna, I haven't even shared this with you. First of all, one of the things that drives me crazy in our laundry room is this pile of socks that have no friend. You know, where are their friends? No one knows where they are. Where do they go? And so I have a basket now for my friendless. My socks. Looking for friends. And I would say about once a month, I go to that basket and I try to make pears, and I always end up making a few pears, and I've saved them. I feel so victorious. I'm like, you have your friend back. And then some never get a friend back. And then they finally have to find a new home. But so I have the. I have the sock basket now. And then I have my I need to put these clothes away basket. And then I have one other basket, and they're not, like, cluttering up. I just. It's a little basket I put in the corner of the laundry room for the socks. But I have this basket in my closet in the corner that's anything I need altered or dry cleaned because I'm short. And I'll go buy something and everything has to be hemmed. Everything I buy. And so sometimes I don't get to it because I don't know where to put it. And I'm like, what am I going to go? So now I have this little, like, tote. It's like a basket, but it's like a tote, you know? And I just take it once it's full and I put it in my car. And then I have a dry cleaning slash alterations day.

[A]

I love it so much.

[C]

Wow, that is awesome, you guys.

[A]

You're doing great.

[B]

Well, this was all you. This was like. Like, let's just batch some of that stuff and not let it bog me down.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Right.

[A]

I call that a later zone. Like when you have. When you Have a chore or a task that has several steps, you know, but you can't. You can't buy. You're not gonna buy a pair of pants and go to the tailor that day. You're not gonna do that. It's crazy.

[B]

No.

[A]

So rather than, like, having it hang over you as you find a place until it's time to move it along, and I think the fact that you wait until your basket is full, you're, like, using the natural boundaries of the basket to go, and now it's time, but until then, it's later. It's just gonna wait until it's full, and then I'll go. It's so good, you guys.

[B]

And it's a little bad. It's not a huge basket. Right. So it's not, like, in there forever. So I do have a little time frame because it's not a deep basket.

[A]

And I would say to anyone who is, like, curious about maybe trying this. This basket trick is that if you find that the basket fills up for anything that you're doing, fills up faster than you're ready to do the task. Make the basket bigger.

[B]

I was going to say get a bigger basket.

[A]

Just get a bigger basket.

[C]

Yeah, like, don't feel bad.

[A]

I have to do it again. No, just get a bigger basket. It's fine. It's fine.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Doing the same job. Yeah. Listen, well, we're done. Thanks for being here. That was great. No, let's. I'm so excited. Okay, so. So you both. I don't know what you're going to ask. I don't know what you guys want. A lazy genius. This is. This is purely spontaneous for me, which I'm super excited about. Okay, who wants to. Who wants to go first?

[C]

I want Angela to go first because Angela told me what hers is, and I want the answer to Angela's, too.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Okay. All right. Well, here's the thing, Kendra. I am a genius at documenting life. I am our family's historian. I take a ton of pictures. I am within my friend group, my tennis ladies, or whatever we're doing for the podcast. I'm the one that takes the pictures. I have a great selfie arm for someone as short as I am. I know lighting. I have good angles, especially if you're, you know, over 50 and want to hide that neck. So, anyway, what is happening for me, and it has been for a long time, and the reason why it's pressing on me now is that I'm due for a new phone. I have an older phone, and with My phone plan. I'm eligible for the new phone, and it's got a little nicer camera. You know, all the things. And I am looking at how many pictures are on my phone, and they go all the way back to. Oh, my goodness. Oh, man. Do I tell you?

[A]

We can see her shoulder moving, scrolling.

[B]

Okay, okay, okay. It goes all the way back to 1980 is one of my first photos because I have sort of like some old photo libraries, but really I got this phone in 2004. And so it starts with a lot of the office. Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And do you want to know how many are on this? Do you want to.

[A]

Almost afraid. I'm almost afraid to ask.

[B]

It's going to hurt.

[C]

I'm worried it's going to.

[B]

It might hurt your feelings.

[C]

I don't know what it's going to do to me.

[B]

But wait, how do I find out how many I have?

[A]

Okay, I'm pulling up my own photo app just because I always have historically fewer photos than anyone that I know. Okay, so we're going to compare phone photo numbers. Ready? Go ahead.

[C]

How do you find out how many you have?

[A]

If you open your photo app, it actually tells you under photos. It's like, gives you a number of how many items are in there.

[B]

Or it will say under your library. Now, I also do video. I do video as well.

[C]

Okay, I see how many items I have.

[A]

And.

[B]

And here's my. My question for you. My office hours question is, I would like a system, and I clearly don't have one in place. When you hear my number on my phone of. I don't know how, but to somehow make it part of a routine. I don't know how often I'll have time to do this where I go through and somehow edit. You know, like, I. I don't have to hold on to all of these.

[C]

There's.

[B]

Sometimes there's duplicates, there's multiples. And I used to try to do it on the plane and then, like, going somewhere. And then usually if we were going on vacation, I was gonna have a plane ride, but then it would. It would bum me out. It would start out the vacation. Like, I had this huge chore on my vacation. I'm like, I don't want to chore on my vacation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, I'm gonna.

[A]

I'm confident that I have. I'm gonna answer your. I'm gonna give you some ideas, but. Okay, first I'm confident I have the. The smallest number. And then we'll have Jenna say her number, and then Angela Will see how much your number is, so.

[C]

Well, I hope it's not cheating, but while we were talking, I just deleted a picture of some bagels that I sent to Lee because I'm like, we don't need that, so.

[B]

Well, I'm glad this is inspiring you already.

[A]

All right. That's exactly right. Okay, I have 2,468 items in my photo app. Does that feel like a lot or a little? What do you have?

[C]

It feels like so little.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I usually.

[B]

All right, Jenna, what do you have?

[C]

I have 50,604. Okay, but a minute ago, I had 50,605. Okay, but look how much progress I've made already.

[A]

You have. Angel, what do you have?

[B]

This is the curveball I did not see coming today, ladies. I have 43. 200.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

This is the first time in our friendship history, and we've been friends a long time, that you have more digital clutter than I do. Shut the front door.

[C]

Well, you know what? I'm sorry, but apparently I needed five photos of the steak bites that I made the other night to send my sister.

[B]

I know my photo. I have so many pictures of flowers, like, things I saw on a walk. I'm like, come on, lady. Trim it. Trim it down.

[A]

Yeah, I get it.

[B]

When and how. It's like, it feels overwhelming. I don't know how to start this task.

[A]

Okay, I have a couple of questions to begin. One is, what is your digital clutter preventing you from doing? Because here's the thing. You can have 50,000 photos and keep them. You know what I'm saying? Like, it doesn't. Just because you can make something, like, more essential or more organized or smaller doesn't mean you have to. But if that is preventing you from something, then that's what we can pay attention to. So what is there something that is actively being. That's an obstacle that you're 43 to 50,000 photos is creating an obstacle for

[C]

Kendra. This is why you are you. Because basically, you just made me realize that it doesn't matter that I have 50,000 photos, because I don't think it is keeping me from doing anything. I was gonna say, oh, no. Is it keeping me from making photo albums? Is it keeping me from, you know, putting photos where I really want them? But when I go on trips with my family, I make little folders, and then I make photo albums. I organize the photos that are important to me, and then I let all the bagel and steak bite photos and the pictures of my airplane confirmation, because I'm afraid I'm going to lose it. You know, I just let all that sit there. Seven pictures of the dog sleeping next to the cat.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

I mean, I use my photo library a lot for work, for making the social media slides for the podcast for Office Ladies, and I like having it there. It's very handy. But I think for me personally, it's not. It's not slowing me down. It's not holding me back, but I have to dig through a lot of stuff sometimes to find things. So maybe it's just. I need to make folders.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I need to go through and make. And I did. I started this, you guys. I did, like, an Office Ladies folder and stuff like that, but it didn't really help, actually, because they stay in your main library, so I'm still scrolling through them. Does that make sense?

[A]

Sure. Yeah. You're not going. When you're looking for something for Office Ladies, you're not necessarily going to the folder. You're just going to your main library and scrolling till you see what you need.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because it's like. It's like I made more work for myself making the folder.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Why? Why is it more work to make the folder? Like, as soon as we take a picture in the studio, you immediately put it in a folder called Office Ladies. And then when it comes time to post something, just go to the Office Ladies folder.

[B]

What's nice about it being in my main library is that it's in some ways easier to find the timeline for me of what we were doing that week, because I jump around, I research sometimes a few weeks before we record, and I take screen grabs and, like, I thought the folder would help me, but it just ended up. Then I would be like, oh, wait, I don't see this in there. Then I'd go back to my library. I was just like. But I think the big thing for me, what I would like to achieve, and this is my question for you, Kendra, is I would like to get rid of the things in my photo library that I don't need anymore. Like a picture of a receipt from a parking garage that I needed for whatever reimbursement. Like, I. And I don't know, like, I just want to structure the time to give my phone, like, the photo library on my phone, the same kind of time I give a laundry day at my house where I'm like, okay, I'm going to do some tidying today, but it's just going to be on my phone.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I Think what's great about this is that Jenna feels the freedom to not do anything.

[C]

My problem. You solved it. You solved it with that question.

[A]

Yeah, it's not bothering you, so just keep it. It's great. Keep your snack bites.

[B]

Yeah, it's bothering me. I want to get rid of some of the clutter. Okay. Maybe also because I think about getting this new phone, and I'm like, it's like moving broken furniture into your new house because you didn't have time to, like, you know, like, you know, it's like. It's like, oh, that old couch that's got the hole in it that we kept saying, you know, we were gonna give to our nephew who's in college. We never gave it to him. And now I'm moving that couch with a hole in it to my new house. Like, I don't wanna move a bunch of junk to my new phone.

[A]

If you weren't getting a new phone, would you feel the same way?

[B]

I don't know that I'd have a timeline. I'd still want to tidy my photo library, but I don't know that I would have it as much in the forefront of my mind.

[A]

All right, all right. So here are a couple of ideas that are coming to mind. The first one, as you move through the process, whatever that process might look like, I'll give you some specific ideas. But as you move through a process of, you know, kind of decluttering your photo app, I would encourage you first, when you are going in to find things in your main library for social media or whatever, that you need to first adjust your expectations before you do anything else about your photo app. I feel like going in and being like, I'm so frustrated by. I can't find that, like, this is taking longer to go in and be like, I have 43, 000 photos, and this might take seven seconds longer, or I may have to, like. You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah. Rather than sort of like, set our expectations to match the ideal circumstance, adjust your expectations before you try to change the circumstance. And I think that just kind of helps everything feel a little lighter and easier, where it's like, man, here we go. This might take a couple minutes, but it's fine. Is fine. Until I figure out a system over time that's okay. So that's the first, I think, most important thing about it. That's a. That's, like, adjacent to being kind to yourself. It's like, it's fine if it takes a little while. It's no big deal.

[B]

Right, Right, right.

[A]

So that's the first thing. The second thing that I would say is any deleting that you do of the receipt of the parking garage receipt is just like what Jenna did with deleting the bagels. She didn't have to delete the bagels, but every photo that you delete, even if it's just if it's not sitting down, like folding a basket of laundry, and this is true of folding a towel inside of a basket of laundry, every single task you do matters. Every single photo you delete matters, even if it's once that day and then you don't do anything else again because that's one less photo that you're doing.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So just to sort of take the bigness of it out feels really important as well. Because it, it, what you're doing is teaching yourself that small steps do count. You don't have to wait to sit down with your phone for two and a half hours with like a four step system and then you're going to send it into the other. You know that you don't have to wait for the system to be real in order for the small steps to count.

[B]

Yeah. I think in some ways this is

[C]

reminding me of your once a day down dog that you did.

[A]

Yes. Yes.

[C]

You wanted to practice yoga and you're like, I'm going to do one down dog a day. This is like one photo delete means something.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

I think in some ways me trying to have some big process with it was just making it. I was setting this task that felt too big, so then I didn't do anything at all.

[A]

Of course, that's what we all do.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Very normal. Yes. Is if we can't attack at all and we just don't start. And I'm here to tell you that's why if you have like a mountain of laundry that you haven't gotten to, or like I think about people who are really struggling with grief or they're struggling with mental illness or things where there literally are chores and tasks and things that just keep growing and feel insurmountable. And when things get bigger and you're like, I don't know where to begin and you don't begin at all. And that's because we think that it has to all be done at once or we have to have the big system or whatever. And I'm like, fold a towel, delete one photo, wash one mug. It that counts. That matters so much. And if we discount those small things, then we're just chasing big systems all the time or, like, procrastinating on things that will actually help us or whatever. So, yeah, I think. I think just deleting one photo is so good. Which leads me to. This idea is not mine. This name is not mine. But there is a. There is a photo, like a digital photo. Lazy genius who I love, and her name is Ms. Freddie.

[B]

Ms. Freddie.

[A]

Ms. Freddie with a Y. And that's Ms. Freddie's job. She, like, helps people with digital clutter and photos and stuff. She's very smart. She's been on the podcast ages ago, but she has something called the Daily Delete. You can set an alarm on your phone for a time that you're, like, on the couch or you, like. No, no shade here. Like, if you poop at a. On a regular rotation and you know you're gonna be, like, just chilling for a couple minutes, you know, whatever it is, like, wherever you're gonna be settled for even just like three minutes. And you go in and that day, the photos you took that day, go through them and delete the. Delete four of the five steak Bites photo kept. Keep the best Steak Bites photo if you want, and then delete the rest of them. It is. And then the other thing that you can do, especially for you guys that have so many photos, is if you search that date, you know, if you're in there on May 7th and you search it, it'll give you all the photos from all the May 7th, and you delete all the May 7th you go through just for that day. And so then the idea is, in a year, you kind of have decluttered your whole thing, but you've done it slowly.

[B]

Oh, I like that.

[A]

That's a Ms. Freddy technique that I

[B]

just think is brilliant. Yeah, that is so great.

[C]

That's pretty awesome.

[B]

And doing searches like that would be really smart. Like, I could search paper, you could search flower. I know, but here's the thing. I don't want to delete all my flowers.

[A]

You don't have to.

[B]

I know, but yeah, I could definitely, like, delete receipts.

[A]

Yes. So those are the three. So the three principles that we just pulled out. Be kind to yourself in changing your expectations of how long a search is going to take, and be softer about that. If it's. If it's in a. A cluttered photo album, start small.

[B]

1.

[A]

One photo delete is great. It's. It's like, better to me than a big system of it. Because you're. Because guess what's going to happen. If you were to sit down and be like, I'm gonna take four hours. I'm gonna go through this whole dagum thing. In six months, you're gonna be back where you started because you didn't believe in small steps and you didn't practice them to get you to the end.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it matters anyway, so you might as well just do that first.

[B]

Just do it in four hours on your phone. Kind of just saying that out loud breaks my spirit.

[A]

I know. And so then you can kind of add in this sort of like, decide once thing of like every day I'm gonna. Or maybe once a week maybe, you know, every day is too hard. But because it's so small every day, it might be doable to do Ms. Freddy's daily delete, where you just take care of that day's pictures for as long as as many back to 1980, and you tend to them and then you're done until tomorrow. Yeah. What a beautiful thing that is.

[B]

All right, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'll report back.

[C]

That was awesome.

[B]

Yeah, that was awesome.

[C]

I might do it too. But you know what? If I don't do it, it's also okay.

[B]

It's exactly I can if I want. If we want to take this on, great. And if not, it's not not a big deal.

[C]

Because it's not impeding my life if I don't do it right.

[B]

It's not a hindrance.

[A]

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[B]

All right, Ms. Jenna.

[C]

So I think I need one of your pep talks. I think that's what I need because I am in the middle of a project and I really appreciated your podcast lately about the difference between like a sort of a routine or a system or a to do list and a project and how a project has its own to do list.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's not going to get done in one Sunday or one day or a couple of hours. And so I, with that mindset, which was really great, I took on the project of cleaning out and organizing my garage. And I was able to anticipate a lot of the things that were on that to do list. But there were a lot of things I couldn't. That have, you know, built up. But here, here's the thing. Here's what's happening to me, and this is where I think I need the pep talk. Is that so one thing on the list. We have removed everything from our garage. Everything. It was a clown car. I didn't know so much stuff could fit in it. I don't get it. So we're very excited because now our cars fit in the garage because everything is out. And now we.

[B]

Lady, that's a big accomplishment.

[C]

It is.

[B]

I know. I know plenty of people who can't fit a car in their garage.

[C]

I know. Also, we fixed the garage door. We have a functioning Garage door. Now, these are big, cool, awesome things. One of the things now is, you know, differentiating between donate keep and trash.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

So we're making the big trash pile. This is. We're going to have to, I don't know, get a dumpster, have got junk, or somebody come and haul this away. But here's the thing, Kendra. As I'm doing this, I'm getting that itchy feeling in my body because we also have a shed. We also have a basement. These two areas also have junk in them. And I'm doing that thing where I'm like, well, if the truck is coming, we should get the junk out of the shed. We should get the junk out of the basement. But now the shed is its own project. The basement is its own project. And that's what my husband's saying. He's like, we're doing this project right now. When we decide to clean out the shed, we will get rid of that junk. But we're not. The assignment was not get rid of all junk in the house. Yeah, but I'm itching. It's like I'm having. Do you know what I mean? And same thing with donate. I'm like, well, there's stuff in my closet I could put in this donate pile. Now I'm dismantling my closet. So I'm having a little bit of a hard time staying on task because there's still so much to do. I mean, we still have to put shelves back in the garage and reload everything into the garage. And I went through every bin, you know, and got like pared down. I got Easter down to one bin. Okay. I got Easter decorations down to one bin. And I'm really proud of that. So this has been like a long term project. And I don't know, I think that that's what I'm in right now. And I have this itchiness, even though I'm not even done with the garage, to dismantle all these other spaces and I can't do it. We'll drown. We'll drown in it.

[B]

That's too much chaos. Too much chaos.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It's kind of like renovating your entire house at once.

[C]

Right.

[A]

As opposed to, well, let's start with this bathroom and we'll finish the bathroom and then we'll move on to another room in six months or whatever. But I know that feeling, that itchy feeling, and I. I'm wondering how much of that feeling is connected to the satisfaction of like, finally being done, you know, like being now the house is Done. Now all the places that hold the clutter are done. And now we can just, like, live and breathe. How. How much of. How much of that is true?

[C]

A lot of it is attached to this. As you're saying it, I'm realizing it's sort of a fantasy, because you can never be done.

[A]

You're never done.

[C]

I'm chasing. Done. I'm chasing that idea of.

[B]

Yeah. As Kendra said that I. Jen, I don't know if you could see my face, but I was like.

[C]

Because.

[B]

Because you.

[C]

I've said it out loud. I said, and then if we do the basement and then that'd be done.

[A]

Then we're done. We're done.

[B]

Literally just said that to me this week. And then. Then after the basement, that's it.

[C]

As if the junk drawer in my kitchen isn't still a mess. Yeah, you'll never be done.

[A]

You're never gonna be done.

[B]

But, yes, I remember, lady, one time you were like, you know what? Today I am taking everything out of this pantry, and I'm reorganizing this pantry.

[C]

Yeah, I do that a lot.

[B]

I think some of it's healthy. But, I mean, I don't know Kendra.

[A]

What.

[B]

What does she do with that itchy feeling?

[A]

So there are certain personalities that. And I. I'm gonna say I'm one of them. I'm one of them that love doneness and function and completion. And, like, we did it. Like, there's a. There's a sense of accomplishment at the end, and it is a. It is a chase. There's almost. I don't get a runner's high, mostly because I don't run, but, like, there is a high for certain people when they, like, organize a closet or when they finish a project that's been waiting. And. And it's like the. The chasing of. Done chasing of, like, okay, everything is cleaned out. There is nothing in this house that can be donated. There is. Everything has got its own bin. And every, like, you know, that there's this, like. It's the same concept as Angela's photos, where we have this sense sometimes of, like, that everything has to function at its highest efficiency, and it has to be essentialized in the most ideal way possible for life to, like, really start moving now. And it is a fantasy. It is absolutely a fantasy. I remember when we were doing. We moved into this house that I. I live in now, 15 years ago, and we did a bunch of renovations to it before we moved in because it was very old and all the things. And I remember speaking to some the new neighbors that I had met who were retirees. And I was like, I'm so excited that when we're. When the renovation is done, like, we won't do any more work on the house. And they both laughed, like, out loud, laughed in my face. And they were like, sweetheart, there will always be something to fix your heart. You're always going to want to fix, improve. And that's what I mean about the personality thing. There are people who love to fix and improve. There are people who love to say, look at how well this works now. Look at how much order there is in here. Look at how much, dare I say, control I have over this room now. I know where things are there. And Angela's right. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong that can serve your family well. It can serve your own, like, inner peace well. But if you chase that in. In the whole. In the whole thing, at the expense of actually enjoying the fact that the garage. You can fit your cars in the garage and that it's working and that you have a. Like a bear. Enough of a project to do right now. It's like, it. Defeat. It takes away the. The accomplishment of the one project in search of, you know, finishing the rest of them. And you're not going to finish all the rest of them. You're just going to end up in a house of piles, and you're going to hate anything, and it's not going to do what you want it to do.

[C]

Wow. I really needed to hear all that. I really did. I'm actually really moved by it because I don't want to deny myself the joy of standing in my organized garage that we've been working so hard on it. This has been like, we're going on over a month of figuring this out and, you know, multiple people, you know, fixing the lights in the garage and the garage door, like, those were different people who we had to call and figure out and schedule.

[B]

Brady, you haven't had a working garage

[C]

door in 10 years.

[B]

In 10 years like that, you have a working garage door.

[C]

I know.

[B]

Hallelujah.

[C]

No, it's really exciting and. And I want to enjoy it. I want to enjoy this accomplishment. I don't want to finish the garage, take one breath and be like, now, the basement. Like, that's a bummer.

[A]

It is a bummer.

[C]

That's a bummer.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So if you can't, I have to let those other spaces go right now. I really do.

[A]

Yeah. It's almost like a. I mean, it is a Choice. It's a choice that you need to make. And, and it can be a, it can be a really life giving, celebratory choice to say. It's, it's almost, it's almost like, let's see if this metaphor works. But it's almost like, you know, when you have a work accomplishment, you know, like, maybe, you know, you guys have both written and published books. Like, you have a book come out and then you're celebrating and then someone's like, what's your next book going to be? I just put no. Or, or your kids, like, if you, if your kids are like having their, you know, their senior night at a thing or they're starting middle school or whatever it is that they're doing, you're not going to go to them on the day that they start middle school and be like, are you, are you really looking forward to the last day though? Isn't that fun that you've now started this thing that you're going to end? Like, we don't do a good job of staying in moments of, of, of celebration. We do it better with people, but I think we need to do it more with, with projects and things that are like, more intangible but that still impact our lives. Then it's a choice you get to make that you can go, I am, I'm deciding once right now that I am not going to do anything in the shed or the basement or even this sweater that I could throw in the bin of the dumpster or whatever. I'm not going to do any of that right now because not. I don't have the energy for it. It's not needed. And also it's taking away the fun of like finishing the garage. Let's stay here. We're going to, we're going to stay here and do this. And it can be an active choice. And then you can make another active choice when it's like, okay, it's basement time now. Let's do the basement. And we're not going to worry about the shed and we're not going to worry about. Because you again, you will never be done. So you have to choose that you're going to be done with what you're doing.

[C]

I love it. You've made me actually excited. Today's task on my garage to do list is to scrub out the garage fridge and freezer.

[B]

We do it, girl.

[C]

I'm gonna scrub it up and I'm gonna be happy about it.

[A]

Yeah, you are. Yeah, you are.

[B]

When that garage is done, I want us to have a little celebration.

[A]

I feel like you need to have a little party. Yeah.

[B]

Like, I.

[A]

Everybody gets to press the button to watch the door open.

[B]

I. I want to stand there next to you and watch it go, gang.

[C]

And we're like, lady, I will take you up on it. Like, I actually, that makes it so fun.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

For me to finish it, to have a little, like, ribbon cutting. Can I get some, like, novelty scissors?

[B]

And you know what, lady? I will come and I will take probably 25 pictures, and I'm going to keep five of them.

[A]

Oh, yes. Yes.

[C]

Full circle.

[A]

So good. It's so good. I. I think for, like, for both of you and for anybody, for all of us, it is so easy and understandable and normal to, like, over complicate stuff and, you know, whether we just have to make it the best it can be and the, you know, the, like I said, the most efficient and the greatest and optimized and all of that. And it's like, that is. I said that at the top of the show. That's unsustainable. That's just. It's not even that fun because you're just always, like, in the hamster wheel of a project in production rather than really enjoying your life. And it's hard to enjoy your life when you're chasing the next thing and so be where you are and clean out your fridge and look for big scissors on the Internet. So good.

[C]

Yay. I love it.

[B]

This is awesome. Kendra, thank you so much.

[A]

I'm so. I'm so glad to be able to.

[C]

I don't know.

[A]

It's just fun. It's fun to hear how we all have, like, different types of. The specificity of our problems is different, but really, like, the core of. Of all of it for so many of us is the same. And it's good to just remember that, like, it's. It's. It's a wonderful thing to want to make life a little easier and more enjoyable, but you don't do that at the expense of right now. You don't do that at the expense of who you are right now and your energy right now. Just, like, it's okay if things are done lazily. It's okay if things are done halfway or if you keep all 50,000 photos and you don't delete a single thing. That's okay. That's also a beautiful way to live. It's all the same. We're just making different choices based on what matters to us, and that's what it all comes down to. So thanks for, like, real life examples of that today.

[B]

Well, there's more where that came from, Kendra. So we'll come back.

[A]

I can't wait. I know this is like an annual thing now. Office hours for the Office Ladies. We're gonna.

[C]

I hope so.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

Yeah. So fun. Okay, y', all, well, thanks for being here with us today. Before we go, you have your own podcast, which everybody knows about the Office lease podcast. But tell us, like, what's going on on the show right now.

[C]

Well, we have some really fun episodes coming up. This week's episode that just came out yesterday is called Travel Journals. And Angela and I read from our spring break travel journals. This was requested. Someone wrote in. Angela's journaling is a little famous over in Office Ladies land, and we're going to give everybody what they've been asking for.

[B]

Apparently, I journal like Michael Scott. Who knew? I have the same prose voice as Michael Scott.

[C]

It's pretty amazing. Also in that episode, we reveal a new format that we have for Office Ladies. So we're excited for people to hear that. And then, Angela, do you want to tell them about our special guests coming up?

[B]

Oh, my gosh. You know when you get that email and you're like, did I read that correctly? And it just happens to be, like, from Billie Eilish. And she's like, I really want to come back on the podcast. We're like, what?

[A]

I'm sorry, what?

[B]

With these two old gals. She's just such a delight. She wanted to come back on our podcast one because she is one of the biggest Office fans you will ever meet. And we play this really fun Office trivia game with her. But we also talked to her about her documentary that's coming out. It is a movie that she co directed with James Cameron in 3D that follows her whole big hit tour, the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour. And it's. I'm excited to see it. She's a lovely person, just a really lovely gal. And we also have some fun episodes. We have Calvin Tenor, who was one of the characters in the Warehouse, coming up on the Office. And we recently had Melora Hardin on, and we talk all about Jan. So we've got some fun stuff happening over at Office Ladies.

[A]

Jan is, like, the most iconic character.

[C]

So wonderful.

[A]

I just. I will watch Dinner Party when I'm sad, and it's the best thing ever.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

And Melora shared some amazing stories. Like, it was really great. She came in person and we had a little reunion. It was awesome. It's a great episode.

[A]

Well, this was also a great episode. What a what a treat to have Jenna and Angela on this bonus episode. I hope that this was fun for you to listen to and just appreciate them and their support of our show and would love for you to support theirs too. If this episode was helpful to you or super fun and you just want to share it with a friend, turns out that's a great way to support the show. So thank you for sharing with your friends. Leaving Reviews on Apple Podcast Every mention helps. This podcast is part of the Odyssey Family and the Office Ladies Network. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jennifer Scher 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 the latest Lazy Listens email that goes out every other Friday. Head to the Lazy Genius collection 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 on Monday. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail]

[B]

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