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This episode is sponsored by Square. I pay attention to the small businesses in my neighborhood, especially the places where the experience feels easy and the people working there aren't fighting for their lives with the checkout system. One of those places for us is Aussies, our local ice cream shop. It's owned by friends. I'm already happy because ice cream is involved, obviously, but I also notice how simple everything is. Like you order, you tap your card, you get your receipt, and everyone can keep moving with without their ice cream melting. That's what Square helps small businesses do. Square brings payments, pos, inventory, staffing, online sales, and more together in one place so business owners don't have to juggle a million different systems just to keep the day moving. Square helps you run your business more smoothly, bringing payments, operations and insights together in one place so you're ready for whatever's next. Right now, listeners can get up to $200 off square hardware when you sign up@square.com go lazygenius that's s q u a r e.com s get started with Square and build a setup that works the way you do. This episode is sponsored by Cozy Earth. You know how there are certain clothes you put on at the end of a long summer day and your whole body goes thank you. Finally. That's been Cozy Earth for me. Their all day tea and the women's rib knit pajama set are so soft you can't help but notice it. They're not heavy or clingy like a standard cotton tee can be when it's hot outside. The rib knit pajamas especially surprised me. They're soft without being slouchy, cool without feeling flimsy. And they make the whole getting ready for bed situation feel like a little cue to your body that you're done for the day. Cozy Earth stands behind everything they make too, with a lifetime warranty and 30 days of hassle free returns on clothing. If anything isn't right, summer lives here. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code LG POD for an exclusive 20% off. That's code LG POD for an exclusive exclusive 20% off. And if you see a post purchase survey mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Hey there, you're listening to the Lazy Genius podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi. This podcast is not about hacking the system to find more time or hacking your energy to get more done. Hustling to be the best or to make the most out of every opportunity is exhausting and unsustainable. And so here we do things differently on this show. 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. And I am so glad you're here. Today is episode 477, what is and isn't working for me this summer. Last week I shared all kinds of tips from you guys about making summer easier, and this week I'm sharing the things that have and have not worked for for me in my house. What was fun is that the list of things that are working was longer than the ones that are not. I think that comes from trying small things over time and tinkering until they work rather than like lots of big swings and misses and an attempt at complete summer control. So I will share what is and isn't working for me today and I'm really excited about doing it. A list is always a good time. After that, I'll share a little extra something that was actually gonna be an entire episode, honestly, but turned out to be more of a story. So I will share the story, but hopefully you will leave with two simple ideas that can help you practically care for your friends and family who are going through challenging times. As always, we will celebrate the Lazy Genius of the week with a fun idea for how to use a road trip. And we'll end with a mini pep talk for when you don't wanna cook another meal ever again. Before we do that, you have just four more days to fill out our Lazy Genius survey. A rive. I know, but it actually is. Y' all are really, really smart people and have led us to some big decisions over the last few years that have been positive for us. I genuinely want to make things that you like, and I can't do that if I don't know what you like. Our annual survey helps us understand our listeners and readers and figure out how we can best serve you in the coming year. As you may have caught a few weeks ago, another book is in the works, due to come out next spring. I know it's very exciting. So there' there's one particular question in the survey that helps us know how to organize the launch of that book and your feedback there really matters. Not just for that, but for all of it. Obviously. Like I said, y' all are incredibly smart and we just want to understand you better. So you can click the link in the show notes to access the survey. It closes on July 17, so fill it out before then. And if you don't mind sharing your name and email address. We will also put you in a random drawing for one of three $100 gift cards, the store of your choice. We're grateful to all of you for filling this thing out and I'd give you all gift cards if I could. Unfortunately, that is that is not in the budget by a significant amount. So we will settle for three. Three winners. But thank you to all of you who fill it out and help us make the Lazy Genius Collective better. All right, before we get into what is and isn't working for me this summer, let's take a quick break to hear from our sponsors, which makes this show free for you to listen to before we do. As always, here is your quick remind about the podcast recap email that we send out every other Friday. This is honestly like our best most opened email. People really love this. It's called Latest Lazy Listens. It summarizes the episode it shares the Lazy Genius of the Week. I will often share photos attached to whatever episodes we're recapping from my own house and my own life. There are just so many great aspects to this. Namely, you do not have to take notes when you are listening to an episode of the Lazy Genius podcast, we sort of take those notes for you. So if you are interested in getting that email, I would highly encourage you to sign up. You can go to thelazygeniuscollective.com listens
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episode is sponsored by Squarespace. The LazyGenius Collective website has always lived on Squarespace. Every blog post, podcast, episode, book page, event update, all of it. I want our website to feel clean, easy to navigate, and not like I built it in a blind panic at 2 in the morning. Squarespace helps with that. What I appreciate about Squarespace is that everything looks beautiful without me needing to become a web designer in my free time. The design is clean and modern, the templates look elevated, and it's easy to make the website feel like us without having to build every little thing from scratch. I also love Squarespace domains, especially because my brain loves an idea. And sometimes the idea is good. Sometimes the idea needs to go like sit in the corner for six months. But when I have one, I can go to Squarespace, search for the domain and park it before I talk myself out of it or forget what it was entirely. So whether you're building a full website, saving the domain for your next idea, or finally making the Internet home, your work deserves Squarespace makes it feel doable and beautiful. Head to squarespace.com lazygenius for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code LAZYGENIUS to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. This episode is sponsored by Ritual Summer is Sunscreen, Sweat Travel Trying to look like a person instead of like a dried up napkin? I am so glad that Ritual's Hyacra skin supplement is in my life. It's one daily capsule essence with soothing vanilla and it supports skin hydration from the inside out. My bathroom counter does not need another 12 step situation. I want simple and Hyacera is simple. Hyocera is vegan GMO free third party tested for allergens, microbes and heavy metals and Clean Label Project certified. Hyacinth features clinically studied key ingredients to help support moisturized skin that glows. In a clinical study, hyacinth to a 2.9 times increase in facial skin smoothness within 90 days compared to placebo. Start Hyacra to support your glow without compromising on clean science. Save 25% on your first month at ritual.com lazygenius that's ritual.com lazygenius for 25% off your first month. All right, let's get into what is and isn't working for me this summer. Let's start with what has not been working. First thing, it is not working for me to over schedule myself because I think I have more time. I do not have more time, y'. All. I don't. Summers used to have more time. We used to take off the podcast in the summer like years ago. And that combined with like having tiny children who didn't really need to go many places different from one another. Like I had a lot of extra time in the summer and it was fun to plan more things because there was always time for them. Well, that season of life has passed. I do not have more time. I still have the same amount of time as I do during the school year. And weirdly enough, because summertime is so haphazard and inconsistent, like every single day is different. It feels like I have even less time than I do during the school year because there is far less predictability. Basically it feels like less time because time just makes makes no sense. Now I will say we're managing it pretty well and I'm kind of enjoying the like day to day summer planning. We are a lot more spontaneous than we ever have been and that's been super fun. But ultimately the way I started this summer was with all these like exciting plans because I thought we had time to fill and that plan just like laughed in my face within the first week over scheduling is not great. Day to day fun is way better for us in this season. The second thing that has not been working for me is having three drivers and only two cars. I know this is a very specific problem, but holy moly, it has been such a bear. So Kaz is a school counselor, but he is still going to work this far into the summer, which is unusual for him. We didn't really plan for that, but he has had to because of different things. And so he needs his car every day to get to work. Annie and Ben both have activities, as do I. And so obviously I need a car. We only have two cars to drive them, places to drive me places. But Sam, my third driver, also has tons of things to drive through. Particularly there was this band that he was involved in in May and June and it just finish like a week or two ago. But he had rehearsal every day of the week for like a couple of weeks. And then the weeks before that he still had rehearsal a couple of days a week. But it was like every day my brain breaks thinking about how we managed all of those logistics. It was just like so chaotic. We don't live in a town with like easily accessible public transportation, so cars are just, you know, they're kind of the option. We tried to work out rides for people, but it still didn't always work. It's just been really funny trying to figure out like who needs what car each day, you know, Sam has dropped me and Annie off at the pool a couple of times on his way to band practice. And then Kaz will pick us up after work. Like my 10 year old daughter and I are both like preteens at the mercy of our parents schedules. Like it's ridiculous. It's not the easiest thing and it's going to get harder as we move into the school year. So we are prioritizing getting a third family car this summer especially to have in place once school starts. And Ben, my middle kid, is already in driver's ed so he's not far behind. So we gotta, we gotta figure this out because it ain't working. The third thing that has not been working quite as well this year or this summer at least is grocery shopping and like food waste. It's really weird, y'. All. Like everybody's here all the time and they're home. But since the kids, they make their own breakfast and lunches, they don't always choose the same fruits and vegetables that I would pack in their lunches during the school year. So I spent like the first few weeks of summer buying the same fruits and vegetables in the same quantities, Being like, oh, well, of course we're gonna eat it all. Everybody's here. Only to find all those things, like, shriveled into nothing days later. Cause no one ate them on their own. So we've had to toss way more food than normal the last month or two. And I do not love that. I do not love that. Now, part of the issue here, too, is that since every day is different and meal planning and cooking rhythms are also different, I don't have the same grocery shopping rhythm in the summer as I do in the school year. So we're ordering groceries more often than I would like. Like, very reactionary shopping habits. And that's not my favorite energy. Like, it's fine and it is for a season, but it's just not my favorite. It's not my preference. Now, there are definitely ways to solve both of these smaller problems. I haven't thought of those solutions yet, but really right now, I'm not trying to solve them. I'm just living in the season, trying to be kind about it. And I'm making, like, a small adjustment here and there when it feels like a good call rather than some sort of, like, let's sit down and figure out how to solve this problem. Like today, when I order groceries today, I did not order any berries because they're not really getting eaten. And whereas they would in the school year for sure, Berries are like a staple in lunchboxes, but not now. And then another thing, like, before I placed my grocery order for today, I quickly decided what is for dinner the next three days so that I could at least, like, be covered until then. But I'm not really trying to mechanize those things, those shifts because of the season. I'm just. I'm choosing small differences where it makes sense. Now that I've noticed what isn't working as well. And frankly, grocery shopping and meal planning and all of that is just not working as well as it normally does. But it is a season, and that's okay. And then the final thing that has not been working really well this summer is exercising. Have I mentioned that every day is different? Every day is different. Plus, it's, like, far too hot outside to go for a walk. Like, ugh. I have occasionally gone to the gym to walk on the treadmill, but it's just been like, I don't know. It's not been a very pleasant experience to do that recently. I do like lifting weights at home, and I still do, but the consistency of that is pretty off. Plus, the place that I store my weights is not in the room I prefer to lift them in. I have those like adjustable weights where it's just two dumbbells, but you can change the weight that is on the dumbbells so you can't just like lift. Like I can't carry all the weights over and change them without having the, the set that they're. That they live base that they live in. And that's too heavy to move on its own every time, so. And because I used several different weights in one workout, it's just kind of annoying to like keep going back to a different room to switch them. So I have been working out in the room where I keep the weights, but there's not a lot of room in there to do the exercises because usually one of my kids is in that room, which is fine. It's the summer we don't have. I mean, we have a great house, but there's not like a ton of spaces for people to go. So I've had to like move furniture to have enough space to work out. But like a kid is on that furniture. It just feels hard. It's like not a life changing thing, but every day it feels a little bit hard, which is again, not my favorite energy. So I'm treating all of this the same way that I am treating grocery shopping, honestly. Like, I'm not trying to really fix it. I'm just noticing what isn't working. And if there is a different choice that I can make that day, then I do. But ultimately I'm like, it's a season. Although I do think I need to find a different place to store my weights so they're closer to the living room where I prefer to lift. I don't really want to see them in the living room. That's the issue. Like, I don't want the weights to be part of the decor, but I'm realizing that there, there might be another option or two where the weights are still out of the way visually, but they are closer to the living room. Like, honestly, where I work out in my living room and where the weights are stored is just on the opposite end of the house. Like you, it's like wall to wall back to. It's not, it's not an ideal situation. So I'm realizing, you know, that small change, it might be more than enough to make lifting feel like it's working again. I will keep you posted if I decide to move the. So those are the things that have not really been working for me this summer over scheduling. Because I think I have more time, which I do not. Three drivers and two cars. Good gracious. Grocery shopping and exercise. Now let's get to what is working. The thing that is working the best that I cannot wait to keep going into the school year, assuming it keeps working, is our weekly family meeting. This thing has been so good for us this summer. Oh my goodness. So usually on Sunday night, but occasionally on Monday or Tuesday. If the weekend was like cuckoo pants and we weren't together on Sunday, we have dinner and we have our family meeting. It's just an intention to talk about what's coming up. So we talk about what's going on in the upcoming week. A very important thing since every week is different. We work out when Sam needs the car. We sometimes meal plan together or at least like the kids pick a couple of the meals and I'll slot them in somewhere. The only reason, frankly, that I had to meal plan by myself today before my grocery order was because we did not have our family meeting this week. We're having it tonight. We didn't have it on the day that we were supposed to have it already. So, you know, so we talk about meals, we work out chores, we communicate if there are like any big projects going on that the kids need to sort of like plan for. Like hey guys, we're gonna be cleaning out all the stuff in the little back carport and taking it to the street or whatever. You know, just like, like preparing them for manual labor. We plan our weekly game night for a night when everyone is home, which is helpful because we're already talking about the, the calendar that week. So we know the days that everybody's gonna be home. At the same time, we all are getting reminders on what matters and where we're trying to grow. So like at the family meeting, I will ask Annie how she is going to grow in her reading, how she's gonna handle her reading that week. I'll ask Ben how he's gonna grow in his socialization. I asked Sam how he's going to grow in his attitude about doing anything responsible that is not music related. Like we keep those things that matter top of mind and we have a built in place to talk about them. It has seriously been so, so great. Like I said, we, we didn't have our family meeting this week and I feel it and I miss it. I miss that we didn't get to it yet. We will tonight But I miss it now. I'm. I know this might be something that you want to try, and I hope you do. But also, I'm going to ask you right now to not email or DM or ask for a specific formula of how this works. There isn't one. You're not going to make this a successful thing by copying exactly what I do or exactly what someone else does. This is much simpler than it sounds, and I want you to trust small choices. Okay? So just choose one time a week, call it your family meeting or whatever you want to name it, and then have a conversation about whatever matters. It might be schedules, might be homework, family responsibilities, fun, all kinds of things. It doesn't matter. But start small. You can start with just one topic if you want and build from there. You can, you know, just have your family meeting. Be like, hey, what should we eat this week, guys? And then be done. Do that for a few weeks and get into the rhythm of it and then maybe add something else, like, hey, should we plan a time this week that we're gonna do that fun art project we talked about? Or, you know, whatever it is. I want you to just get into the practice and expectation of an intentional family gathering before worrying so much about what you're gonna talk about. What you'll talk about will change over time anyway, so you don't need to lock anything in right now. Okay? This is not a formula to follow. It's just a choice to make. And you can choose one time a week together as a family and say, hey, what matters this week? It's not that we don't care about answering your questions, but I want you to trust yourself rather than me. Okay? The second thing that's working for me this summer, it seems at odds with the family meeting, but it isn't. And that is spur of the moment chores, particularly rotating who cleans up after dinner. So there are, as we know, multiple ways to approach kids and chores, but one that works fairly well for us is to simply set up the expectation that chores are going to happen every day. You might not know what they are yet, although sometimes you do from the family meeting. But, like, don't be surprised, kids, if I'm going to, like, say it's your turn to clean up lunch or whatever. I'm trying to create a family culture that expects to be helpful to each other. Like, we take care of each other and of this communal space of this home, since that attitude is something that will serve my kids, like quite literally forever. So I think it's Good to learn to spontaneously respond to needs and requests of other people. That's worked really well for us and for our kids, especially since the kids, like, expect it. So if I say, hey, Ben, can you take the trash out? He's like, okay. Like, he. You know, a kid may be like. But they're expecting that every day there's going to be something that they're going to do that contributes to the house. So the more we do that, the more we set up that expectation and then follow through where there are things that they're doing every day, the less they're surprised, and then the less they complain. Like, they still complain, but not. Not even close to what they used to. This summer, we just, like, really dug into that consistently, and it's worked really, really well. Okay. The third thing that is really working for us this summer is the World Cup. When this episode releases, it's the week of the semis and the finals on Sunday. Yes. The U.S. is not in it anymore, which is terribly sad. And also, I did not expect them to be. I'm sorry if that makes me a bad fan. I've had all the game times in my calendar since the beginning. And then I edit the calendar item so it's like WC Quarters. And then once the teams are set, then I'll go into that calendar item and I'll change it to the teams that are playing. Like, I'm planning my life around the World cup, and I'm so happy about it. But also, the whole family likes watching. Like, we've watched almost every single match. The only reasons we haven't is if we're just, like, not home or they're at midnight or whatever. And it has been the best. I think we as a family like it better than the Olympics, which is kind of wild because we all really enjoy soccer. And I think the single momentum stream of, like, one sport and one purpose, and it's still happening, like, almost every day, rather than, like, a bunch of events and sports that we might not like as much or even really know that much about. It's. We're just, like, all in on soccer, and it's working. I do prefer the Women's World cup to the Men's World cup, but the World cup is my. Is my actual favorite. Top, top, top sporting event of everything ever. And I love sports. I love watching sports. Like, almost all of them, I'm all in on. And the World cup is my favorite. So Kendra's really happy right now, and Kendra's gonna be really, really sad on the Evening of July, whatever day 19th, when this is over. But, man, oh, it has been so fun. I will miss it next summer, like, a lot. Okay, so that's the third thing that's been working is the World Cup. The fourth thing that has been working for us this summer is that both boys have summer classes. They're taking summer class. Ben is taking PE And Sam is taking Spanish, too. So both of those choices are meant to leave space. Like, they're getting these credits out of the way so that there's space during the school year for more music classes, which they both want. And that's great. I'm glad that they know what they want and we can make it work. But what has made this so great for our summer is it's just giving the boys something structured every day, but it's also independent that they have to manage on their own. Now, some kids get that by having a summer job, but my boys are getting that by taking a summer class. Sam, especially, has to manage his time really well because he's gonna be gone for two straight weeks at a music camp. So he has to work ahead to finish the class in time because he's not going to be able to work on it when he's gone to camp. So, like, he wakes up and he does Spanish for several hours. And that has been really, really great. Now, I think this is why some families, like, thrive on theme days. When your kids are younger and you don't have anything specific planned each day, it can. It doesn't always depending on the family, but it can feel like you're floating a little bit, like you're untethered, and you're just trying to fill time. So you create some kind of structure. Well, my kids are, like, a little too old for me to do that anymore, but these summer classes have offered really great structure for the boys. Like, I'm a big, big fan, Big fan of summer school. Okay. The fifth thing that's working for me this summer is our weekly family game night. So I mentioned this before. We plan it during our family meeting. So in our family, some of us really consistently enjoy games and all kinds of games, but not everyone. It can occasionally be like pulling teeth, which is kind of funny because it's like, who doesn't love playing a game? Not everybody in my family. So consistent family game nights have never happened for us. That's just not something that's, like, part of our family rhythm at all. It's usually spur of the moment. Or if Annie's like, can we please play a Game and the boys are like, fine or whatever. But this summer, playing a game every week was one of Annie's summer bucket list items. That's what she wanted to do. That was like the first thing she said. She said, I want us to have a weekly family game night. So we have done that. We have honored that for her, which makes me super happy because I love games. We picked the day that we're going to do it at our family meeting and we play a game. But here is what has made weekly game night so amazing. Y', all. We have found the best game of any game ever. I don't think I've shared it anywhere yet. I don't think because we've only had it for like a month or two. But you guys, especially if you have kids of like a wide variety of ages and who are also like, reluctant to play certain kinds of games, you gotta try Magical Athlete. Every person in our family loves this game, truly. Like, myself included, like, thinking about it, I. I'm like, let's go play right now. Even though you cannot see the game, I'm gonna try to explain it and why it's awesome because you could just go blindly by it. But I just wanna make sure that you know that this is good. But this, this has been the, like, MVP of our summer. It's the game Magical Athlete. Okay, so it is a classic, like, finish line game. You know, where you roll a die to move your piece a certain number of spaces and then you try to get to the end. So the board is two sided. So you have two, two different, like boards, start to finish boards. One is simple and then one is a little more wild where sometimes you land on a piece that sends you back to. Or you can earn a point by landing on another piece. Or there's like a lose your, lose your turn pieces and all that. So there's two sides. One is simple, one is mild and one is wild, basically. Now what's really fun is that the design of this game is, is so cool. It's sort of like retro yellow submarine style. Really great artwork. So it's fun to look at. It's really fun to look at. All right, so one game, when you sit down with your people to play a Magical Athlete, one game equals four races. And you do two races on each side of the board. So you do mild and then wild, and then mild and then wild. And you win the game by accumulating the most points over those four races. The primary way that you earn points is by winning a race, being first or second place, because those are the only places that count. Once second place crosses the finish line, the game is the race is over and you do your next race. And then there are a few other random ways that you can earn points throughout the game, but your goal is to earn as many points as you can over the four races. Simple enough right now if there are four races, that means each player needs four different racers. And that's where the fun comes in. You get to race with a huge collection of magical athletes. So each athlete has like a different magical power. For example, if you race one of your races with the character Banana, then every racer that passes you trips and loses their turn. Okay, if you race with the character Suckerfish, your magical power is that you can move with any player if they are on your space. So if they're on their space and it's their turn before it's yours and they move six and they score a point, you get to also move six with them and score a point. That's your magical power. If you race with the character the romantic, you get to move forward two spaces every single time two racers land on the same spot. Because you're like, aw, there's two people together and you. It's so ridiculous. If you race with the legs, the character, your legs, you can just move five spaces instead of rolling. So some athletes have magical powers that they have to use every turn. Other athletes, their powers are optional. So you can choose to use the power if you want to when it's your turn. So you play these four races with four different magical athletes who have different magical powers. So the game is never the same way twice. Because the athletes powers can interact with each other in super, super weird way. Like we played a game where I was legs, which means I could move five anytime I wanted instead of. Because it, you know, it's a typical die where it's up to six. But guess who also was playing that, that round Banana. So every time I couldn't use my power because I would pass banana and then lose my turn. So I basically had to choose like, okay, do I go five and just like accept that for, for five spaces for two turns? Because I'm gonna lose my turn because I keep passing Banana and he keeps tripping me. Like, it's just the funniest. It's the funniest game. It can also get like pretty chaotic in the best way trying to figure out like whose magical powers beat other powers. And it's, I mean it's just so much fun. We laugh Every single time we play, and we play all the time. Like, I feel bad for other games, actually, because they all just, like, sit in the game cabinet. Reject it. We just cannot get enough of Magical Athlete. It has been a massive thing that has worked for us this summer. My book twin, Katie. Those of you who get the book list email know about my book twin, Katie. It's my friend Katie who has, like, almost the exact same. She knows when I'm gonna like something, and she texted me one day, and she was like, we found the perfect game. It's called Magical Athlete, and you have to try it. And because I trust Katie implicitly with all things, I ordered it immediately, not having any idea what it was. And when it came, I was like, what is this thing? It is just fantastic. So if you can get your hands on Magical Athlete, go get it. It'll work for you this summer, too. Okay. The sixth thing that has worked for us this summer is having our kids clean their rooms every other week. So we usually do not require our kids to clean their rooms on a fairly regular basis, but it's more reactionary because some of the kids are a bit messier than others. And so I'll go in and be like, like, I think you need to clean your room. You cannot see your floor. This is a problem. But what happened is after we did their big room cleans in the beginning of the summer, where we, like, went through all their stuff and we cleaned their baseboards and, like, I mean, it was a massive chore, right, to clean their rooms. They really enjoyed how that felt. And I was like, okay, so here's what we're gonna do. Every other week. Not every week, but every other week, you have the job of tidying your room and dusting and vacuuming so that we don't get to the point where the massive room clean is, like, so gross that you're like, how have you been living in here, you guys? Like, we're. We're sort of empowering them to do it on a. On their own sort of timeline, sort of, but with a boundary that's more helpful. And that has been, like, really, really great for this, like, chill, inconsistent summer is them doing this every other week. Every other week feels very doable, and it has worked great. As opposed to every week the kids tidy their rooms. They use, like, those Swiffer dusters to dust the surfaces really quick, and then they vacuum, and that's every other week. So in the family meeting, I'm just like, hey, it's room clean week. Everybody have it done by Friday and then move on. Like, and if we get to Friday and I notice that a kid has not cleaned their room yet, I'll just nudge them and be like, hey, remember it's room clean week. And they're like, oh, right, like no big deal. And that has really, really worked well for us to empower them to handle their rooms in like a reasonable timeframe while also keeping their rooms from devolving into chaos, which is is ideal. The seventh thing that has worked for me this summer is cut off jeans. Like, quite literally. I took two pairs of jeans that still fit in the waist but have leg styles I don't love anymore, and I just cut them off. And I created my two favorite pairs of jean shorts ever. I wear them every single day. I like, have a hard time finding shorts, as many people do. And so cutting off a slim leg jean that already fit and was already like, worn in was the best decision ever. I have had several people comment on the fact that I'm wearing cutoffs, not always in a positive way. So maybe are cut offs, like not really trendy or something right now. I don't know. But frankly, I do not care. Like, I love my cutoff shorts. They have definitely worked for me this summer. And then the eighth thing that has worked for me and us actually, the jeans work for me. This works for us this summer is we are really enjoying slow mornings. We sleep in when we can. We like slowly start the day. Ben did not eat breakfast today until 10 o'.
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Clock.
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Like, it's been a really, really great vibe. I think because our school year mornings have to start so early, like 6:30 at the latest. For with the first person having consistently like leisurely mornings. It's just been really, really good for all of us. We don't feel rushed into anything. The boys can start their summer school schoolwork when they've been up for a little bit without having to like jump straight in. I can definitely see the benefit of having something like an 8 o' clock swim practice like some of our friends do. You know, it starts the day off consistently and it starts it off with movement, but for us, that just doesn't serve us as well as sleeping in, frankly. Plus our kids are old and they don't go to bed until super late. And we're watching soccer sometimes until it's late too. So taking the pressure off mornings has just worked so well for us. I have slept until nine a handful of mornings and it's glorious. Annie rarely gets out of bed before 8:30. When you have lived nine months of 6:30 wake up times, that is just the best thing ever. We are a family that really enjoys our sleep. We enjoy this part of the summer season without trying to make it resemble something it's not. Yes, it will absolutely be a harsh transition when we have to wake up again early, but we will start dealing with that mid August. For now, man, is it working for us to have slow mornings. Okay, a couple more quick ones. So number nine, I already mentioned this. My kids make their own breakfasts and lunches like they're old enough to. And outside of answering the question like mom, is it a chip day? I don't really manage it much other than making sure I don't buy fruits that they don't eat. Uh, another thing is dinner time is really flexible and often late, like seven o'. Clock. That's really worked well for us this summer. It gives us more flexibility in the afternoons when we're like going to the pool and stuff. It's, it's really weird how changing my mental expectation of like a 6 o' clock dinner and moving it to 7 or 7:30, it just makes summer feel easier. And then the other thing that makes that really works for us in the summer is that Annie showers and washes her hair at the pool every time she goes to swim. That definitely works. As does having her own pool bag and not having to share mine, which those are both things I've mentioned in other episodes. Now, when I started putting this episode together, I felt like it might be a bit boring. And I don't know, maybe it is. But I also think that most of life's solutions are a little bit boring. They're small and ordinary. They are not flashy, like a slow morning is not flashy. But day after day, that has made our summer genuinely delightful. The same is true in your life. Stop trying to measure summer by like big magical moments or big flashy systems. Just focus on what's small, what's working, and celebrate it no matter how ordinary it is. And that's what is and isn't working for me this summer. This episode is sponsored by Quints. I love quints. Like truly. My closet is slowly becoming like a Quint's showroom. Two things I'm wearing constantly this summer are the flow, knit breeze, high neck tank and their workout leggings. The tank is lightweight without feeling flimsy. The high neck makes it feel a little more pulled together and the leggings are comfortable enough for actual movement, but also for like the deeply athletic activity of returning library books and buying more strawberries. That is what I appreciate about Quint. They make clothes and home essentials that feel elevated without making me feel like I need a steamer and unlimited emotional bandwidth. They're 100% European linen pants, dresses and tops are light and easy for summer and they start at just $32. They also have beautiful bedding, bath, kitchen essentials and furniture. So it's not just your closet that gets to feel a little more grown up. Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to quint.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 for free shipping and 365 day return. Quince.com Genius this episode is sponsored by R Co. We have a mix of hair care products in our house, from drugstore to custom. But R Co is what I would choose for my hair if I could only choose one thing. R Co was founded by a collective of world renowned hairstylists who worked on major fashion shows and editorial shoots. So the products really perform, but they don't make you feel like you need a cosmetology license license to use them. I personally use the Television shampoo and conditioner. Such a fun name. And my daughter Annie loves them too, which honestly feels like a review all by itself. She is brutal. I also love Badlands Dry Shampoo paste when I want texture that looks intentional. And Annie loves the candy stripe detangling spray. Plus it's pink and she's obsessed with the packaging. Head to R&CO.com LazyGenius and use promo code code LazyGenius for 20% off your order. That's R-A N-DCO.com LazyGenius promo code LazyGenius for 20 percent off your order. For today's a little extra something I want to share a story about caring for our people that involves two of my buddies who also happen to be authors and likely known by you, Emily P. Freeman and Shannon Martin. Emily P. Freeman is the host of the Next Right Thing podcast, has written so many amazing books, and is the lazy genius of thoughtful decision making. Shannon Martin is also an author, one of the most beautiful writers I know, and teaches us what it means to be a neighbor that even if you don't know who they are, this story still works. Just plug in two people. It doesn't matter. So a few months ago I was at a bookstore with Shannon on her book tour and in our conversation with readers who would come to see her. She shared about a really difficult season of life, a season that she shared about, talked about in her most recent book, Counterweights, which is so good. She talked about how that season was heavy and felt like it lasted forever. And Shannon started feeling like she was a burden sharing these, like, daily difficulties with her people. You know, it was just this, like, ongoing hurt that she felt. Felt like wasn't going away. But then Emily, who lives in North Carolina with me, went to see Shannon in Indiana just to be with her and listen. She said to Shannon, tell me everything. And Shannon shared in that bookstore conversation how impactful that phrase was to her. Tell me everything. It gave Shannon permission to share as much as she wanted. Like, no amount would ever be too much. And that permission was what she needed. And as Shannon shared that story, it reminded me of something Emily has said to me before that I also shared in that little bookstore, too. Emily has said that she always wants to express both desire and freedom when she talks to someone about something hard. So, like, rather than overstepping, like, worrying that she's overstepping into someone's difficult situation, she will say to that person that she has a desire to be with them in all of it, but they have full freedom to share whatever they need to like or nothing at all. So desire and freedom that works for inviting someone over. You know, you're like, hey, I know you're busy this week, but just know that I would absolutely love for you to come watch the soccer game with us on Wednesday night. And also, you have full freedom to say no. I just want you to know that you're wanted. I think those two little gems from Emily, tell me everything and this combo of desire and freedom are two incredibly valuable tools when caring for our people. We are so worried about overstepping, about appearing nosy, or being in the way. So rather than risk those things, we just step back. But chances are pretty good that the people we care about who are struggling through something, they want people to move in. I'd rather tell someone no than not have anyone ask to help or be with me at all. If you're on the end of a situation of, like, being with someone during something hard, if you're bearing witness to that, I encourage you to bring those two ideas with you. Say to your friend who's struggling, tell me everything. With a spirit of presence, they will tell you whatever everything needs to be and express your desire to be with them or to help them, while also giving them full freedom to do whatever they need like no guilt trips, no tiptoeing, no disclaimers. Share both ideas of desire and freedom with equal voice. I want to be here for you and I want you to do whatever it is you need to do. If I'm not part of that today, that's okay. You know I love you and I am here. So even for those things as simple as like dropping off a meal or running an errand or sending a text, like keeping that heart posture makes you care less about you and helps you care more about the other person, which is always a welcome thing when someone is struggling. They don't want to have to manage your own emotions about your discomfort if you're overstepping or whatever. So Emily P. Freeman and Shannon Martin are two of the best voices around about just being a person with a soul. If you are unfamiliar with them, I highly recommend them both. Shannon's most recent book, Counterweights, is a gorgeous collection of essays about living well in a heavy world. And Emily's most recent book, how to Walk Into a Room, is such a beautiful guide for knowing when it's time to stay and when it's time to walk away. Fun fact, she went on the Today show when she was promoting that book, which is real hard to get done. And girl got to go on the Today show and Hoda copy read her book in order to interview Emily. Hoda clearly loved it. That was in April 2024. Four months later, Hoda announced her retirement from the Today Show. Listen, I'm not saying but I'm not not saying that Emily gave Hoda the tools to know when it was time to walk out of her room. It's like kind of incredible. So you should check out how to Walk into a Room by Emily P. Freeman. And that is today's a little extra something for this week's Lazy Genius of the Week. We have a voice message from Melissa. Here is Melissa with her creative approach to road trips.
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Hi Kendra. My Lazy Genius tip is to use Road Trip Time for Life admin. Whenever I'm a passenger on a long drive, I make all the appointments I've been putting off doctor's visits, dental cleanings, sports physicals for the kids, vet appointments, and anything else that requires a phone call. I already have the time blocked off and by the time we arrive, weeks worth of scheduling is done. It turned otherwise wasted time into a huge win for future me.
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Well, this is such a great idea, Melissa. Like, I, I really, really love this. I love finding pleasant times when I'm, when I'm already still Right. To work on less pleasant tasks. It feels less rushed, too, which is always a nice perk. You know, when you sit down and you're like, oh, I have all of these phone calls to make. I have all these appointments to make, and there are other things staring at you in your house that you would so much rather do. And the time is ticking by and a kid needs something. But if you're in the car and everybody's, like, reading their book or listening to their audiobook or more or less just satisfied where they're sitting, you'll get to just make all the phone calls where you are. And it. There's no rush. Like, this is a great idea. I love this. So thanks for sharing this with us, Melissa, and congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week. And now let's close with a mini pep talk for when you don't want to cook another meal ever again. Hopefully this episode has given you, like, even the tiniest bit of permission in that department. But, like, listen, if you eat, and especially if you're the primary person in charge of choosing and making the food that your family eats, it is supremely exhausting. Right? You can find things that are working and not working, but even if you have all the things that are working, it's still really, really hard. A couple of nights ago, all three kids of mine asked me, literally within 10 minutes of each other what was for dinner. I didn't actually know because I hadn't made a plan yet. And when I said, I don't know yet, all three kids responded individually in their own way, with some level of like, ugh, when will you know? And my poor third kid, the third one of the three to ask, I was like, listen, it just all came out now. What I'm saying is that I understand the meal exhaustion on a very deep level. It's just a lot to do, even if you have things, like, pretty well mechanized in the summer. So when you don't want to cook another meal ever again, don't worry about every other meal. All you're going to do is think about the next one. That's it. Either decide or delegate the decision to someone else. And then you walk away from all future meals. Just do the next meal in front of you. Truly, I think when we have frustration, it often leads us to big systems, to big black trash bag energy. You know, you find yourself buying a new cookbook or signing up for a meal planning system, or declaring to your children that they are in charge of all the cooking now. And then they just have to deal with it. Like, don't do any of that. Don't do any of that. Big decisions should never happen under duress. Just figure out the next meal by choosing something simple or pleasant or letting someone else choose and they take care of it. And then you just walk away. Like, enjoy the margin of that one decision and leave it alone. Take a breath. You don't have to figure out all the meals because you're frustrated with all the meals. Just deal with the one in front of you. That breath, that time, it helps you remember that you do in fact love your children and that they don't need to go to overnight camp for the rest of the summer. That would cost you thousands of dollars because you're just so frustrated that they're asking you what's for dinner every day. And you like, you don't need to do that. You're just gonna start small where you are and it's all gonna be okay. Just deal with the meal in front of you, take a deep breath and begin again with the next one. And that's a mini pep talk for when you don't wanna cook another meal ever again. And also check out the Lazy Genie's Kitchen if you need help. That's a really great book book that I wrote that will help you with any of your meal planning woes. If this episode was helpful to you, or if you've been looking for a way to support the show, you can share this episode with someone you know. You can leave a kind review on Apple Podcasts. All of those things make such a difference to get the show in front of people. So thank you. This podcast is part of the Odyssey family and the Office Ladies Network. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, and except executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Special thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production. If you would 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 lazygeniuscollective.com listens to get it. And don't forget to click the link in the show notes to complete the Lazy Genius survey by July 17th. 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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What if everything you learn in history class was only half the story? I'm Dr. Haruni Bhatt, host of Hidden History. Every Monday I go where history gets mysterious vanished civilizations, doomsday prophecies, paranormal phenomena and events that science still can't fully explain. On Hidden History I treat these moments like open case files. Not myths, not superstition, just incomplete explanations waiting for a closer look. Listen to and follow Hidden History available now wherever you get your podcasts.
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This episode is sponsored by Children's Miracle Network. Everyone knows someone who has been to a children's hospital, and when that happens, everything else in life gets very small, very fast. You just want the people you love to have what they need. Children's Miracle Network is a leading charity impacting the health of all kids. Children's Miracle Network raises funds for 170 children's hospitals across the United States and Canada, particular protecting healthcare access for millions of families. Their fundraising network includes caring corporate partners, grassroots fundraising programs, and everyday donors like you and me. Donations raised in your community support your local children's hospital, with each hospital able to direct funds to where they're needed most. Wherever you see the Children's Miracle Network balloon, your support helps a local child get the care they need. Visit cmn.org today to learn more and make a donation to your local children's hospital.