The Lazy Genius Podcast - #119 - Plan Your Opening Ceremony

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Starting point is 00:01:07 genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'm really excited about today's episode. It's a concept I talked about two years ago maybe in episode 36. The Lazy Genius conquers holiday overwhelm. But today I want to breathe some new life into it. This episode will be short and a fun reminder as we really start to transition into fall. Even if it's hot where you are, school's still starting. And the holidays are going to be here before we know it, which is insane. But here we are. And be sure to hang out until the end.

Starting point is 00:01:38 Again, this is a very short episode, so the end is not far. But I have something that will make that very transition, not just easier, but incredibly fulfilling and fun. So I can't wait to share that with you. But this is episode 119. Plan Your Opening Ceremony. Opening and closing ceremonies are the magic pill that can make different seasons and transitions come more alive.

Starting point is 00:02:00 The problem with moving from one season to another, one holiday to another, one season of life to another, is that we have our feet in two different camps most of the time. Part of us is trying to be present where we are, and then the other half is feeling overwhelmed by what's coming. Or maybe you're not a future thinker at all and are just parked where you are, but you feel like you're drowning because Christmas is suddenly here, and you were seriously just on summer break. The transitions are relentless and they can easily strip the joy away from the seasons of life that we really love. That is where opening and closing ceremonies work. They're magic. Our overwhelm is mental. Our calendars can definitely be crazy town. Hear me. But how we feel about them and think about them is often what creates stress or

Starting point is 00:02:50 even delight. So if we can approach the mental side of moving from one season to another, it makes the actual calendar way less stressful. And maybe, maybe. Maybe. Maybe. even fun. Your tangible to-do list is secondary. It's important, but it's secondary. How you interact with it day in and day out is where you can make some real change. Saying goodbye to one season and saying hello to another is incredibly powerful and doing it with intention even more so. Right now at the time of this episode, my kids are exactly one week away from starting school. So we are about to officially say goodbye to summer. Now that is not super hard for me because summer is my least favorite. of the four seasons, but there is such value in looking back, maybe even reflecting a little

Starting point is 00:03:37 on what happened, how I've grown, what I enjoyed, and being grateful for that season for what it was. It's a way to close out the summer with intention by maybe saying goodbye on purpose. The same is true entering into a new season. It is lovely to intentionally say, hello, welcome, and recognize the beginning of something new and have an opening ceremony. it's putting yourself in your life in context of what's actually going on around you. Knox McCoy, one of the hosts of my favorite podcast, the podcast with Knox and Jamie, he essentially picks his kids up from school on the last day of school and goes straight to the beach for vacation.

Starting point is 00:04:16 It is such an obvious opening ceremony to summer, like time at the most summary of all destinations. And I love that. Now, yours doesn't have to be that grand or even tangible. I have found really great fulfillment in mental. marking the open or close of something, even if it's an actual day. Like mentally saying thank you for the day that's about to start and then saying goodbye when it's over. Opening and closing ceremonies can be whatever you need them to be. And that is the point.

Starting point is 00:04:47 What you do is personal. It's based on what you need, what your family might need in order to mark that transition. Do you need a hello or a goodbye? Do they need a hello or a goodbye? Is there a tradition you already have every year or every season that could be infused with just a touch more intentionality and act as an opening or closing ceremony? Now, I call them opening and closing ceremonies because of the Olympics. Now, think about if the Olympics did not have those ceremonies. Like events just happen and we enjoy them, but there's no gathering.

Starting point is 00:05:23 There's no marking of the beginning in the end. There's no intention. It's just all the stuff that happens in the middle. So many of our seasons, especially this upcoming holiday season, they feel that way. We just go from one thing to the next. And it's hard to know where we are in the context of the season and our calendars even. And it doesn't help, obviously, that Christmas stuff is up in the stores by October, but still, we can take control of how we engage in seasons and transitions by having

Starting point is 00:05:53 opening and closing ceremonies. I share some specific ideas in the first episode I did. so if you'd like to listen, you can scroll all the way down to episode 36. There will also be a link in the show notes if you want to go quicker. But ideas can only take you so far. That's really helpful to name what you need in the context of your own holiday calendar and your desires for how the holidays unfold in your actual personal life. And that is what I'm excited to tell you about. I've made something for you to make the holidays what you long for them to be. Fun, intentional, full of memories. absolutely magical. The default these days is to be so tired of the holidays before they're even over because there's just so much to do. And that is why I've created the holiday docket. It's the lazy genius guide to celebrating well. The holiday docket is a downloadable PDF guide that I highly recommend that you print out and have found. In fact, like when you order it, we'll send you an email with super detailed instructions on how to do that if you feel overwhelmed by technology and printing like I am.

Starting point is 00:06:55 The holiday docket is a super practical guide. that helps you name what matters during your holiday season. It helps you plan out those three months so that you actually enjoy them rather than survive them. It is broken into seven super practical steps that I cannot wait to see how they transform your holidays this year. When I was putting the holiday docket together a few months ago, I went through the process myself with my own calendar and my own life to make sure it actually worked, right? I got so excited. I even shed tears. I'm not even kidding, like sitting in my office crying, because the holidays, they just came alive. I was able to see what I wanted to do and make plans to actually do them.

Starting point is 00:07:35 I was super bummed that I was doing all this in June because I wanted to be September, really, really badly. Now, I know it's only August, but the beginning of fall and the holidays, they always catch us off guard, always, every single time. So opening and closing ceremonies are a great way to not feel those drowning effects. But you can take it seven steps further, by getting the holiday docket for yourself. I recommend going through it now so that you can start thinking about later. It's likely there are things that you always want to do

Starting point is 00:08:06 or you want to make happen during the holidays, but once you're deep into November, there's just not enough time. It's too late. The holiday docket is the tool you need to celebrate well. The guide will be available through the end of the year. So whenever you feel like you need it, it'll be there. But it is available at a special early bird price for the next few weeks from today, August 19th,

Starting point is 00:08:26 until September 5th. So that's like a smidge over two weeks. The holiday docket is $22 and then after that it'll be 39 until the end of the calendar year. Now I'm telling you this because I really believe that this will be like maybe like the best decision that you can make to get ready for the holiday season. And again, I know it's only August and you're like, it's still hot where you are. My kids aren't even in school yet. This does not mean that you're going to spend like three hours every single day thinking about Christmas time when it's August. No, no, no, no. But what it will do is even if you take just an hour to sort of think ahead, there are things that you might could do in August or September to make October and November and December feel the way that you want them to feel. It will help

Starting point is 00:09:11 you celebrate well, not just be like a drift in the land of celebration. There are not too many people that I have met who don't like the concept of the fall and the winter holidays. It's just the execution that's the worst, but not anymore with this. I have loved the other two things I've made, the swap and the meal plan, but the holiday docket is my absolute favorite thing I've ever made. I cannot wait for you to print it out and start using it. It can be kind of like your own personal opening ceremony to kind of the gauntlet of the next few months that hopefully won't feel as much like a gauntlet after you go through the steps, but it'll feel more like a really peaceful, cool, lazy river or something. So I want you to head to store

Starting point is 00:09:55 the lazy genius collective.com to get your own holiday docket. Early bird pricing of $22 is available until September 5th and then after that it goes up to 39 and you will find the information that you need on that page. And notice if there is something in your life right now in this moment that could use an opening or closing ceremony. The mental intention is surprisingly powerful. All right. So this episode would be quick. It is indeed. That is it for today. Thank you so much for listening. I'm going to go get my kids ready for this last week of school. Oh, my goodness. And have our own little closing ceremony to the summer. But 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.

Starting point is 00:10:39 You ever felt like you were living just a B or B plus life? It's so dangerous to live that. More dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life? Because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast. podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A-plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.

The Lazy Genius Podcast - #119 - Plan Your Opening Ceremony

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