The Lazy Genius Podcast - #124 - The Lazy Genius Weekly Plan

Episode Date: September 23, 2019

If you’ve ever purchased multiple planners in a year, this episode is for you. Today, we’re walking through three questions to ask when planning your week, and then we’ll use my own weekly plan for this week as a kind of case study to see how the questions are put into practice. It’s a simple approach but incredibly impactful. Helpful Companion Links If you want to tackle learning how to freeze food this fall, don’t miss out on The Naptime Kitchen Guide to Freezing. If nothing else, give @naptimekitchen a follow on the ‘gram. Kate is an absolute delight. I’m currently using the Sacred Ordinary Days planner, and it works well for me. When I have a busy week, I lean on my list of brainless crowdpleasers to make dinner easier. Listen to One Simple Step That Changes Meal Planning Forever if you want to know how I develop that list. I share my Meal Plan Monday every week on Instagram. Follow me there to grab the template and share your own. Speaking on Instagram, I’ll be there LIVE this Thursday around noon EST to answer questions about this episode. Join me. Download a transcript of this episode. This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi everyone. You're listening to The Lazy Genius podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Today is episode 124, the Lazy Genius Weekly Plan. I'm guessing that you have purchased a lot of planners over the years, possibly more than one a year, if you're like me, looking for some kind of system to help you stay on top of your week and also your life. In this episode, I'm going to walk through three, three, questions to ask when planning your week. And then we'll use my own weekly plan for this week as a kind of case study to see how the questions are put into practice. It's a simple approach, but incredibly impactful. Before we jump into that, I'd love to quickly tell you about a resource I think you will love, especially if you are looking for ways to find a little sanity and savings in the kitchen. Kate from Naptime Kitchen has created the Naptime Kitchen guide to freezing. It's a 30-page digital download with everything you could ever need to know about how to freeze and defrost food. She covers how to wrap food, storage containers, how to avoid freezer burn, what you can and can't freeze, how to reheat things straight from frozen or after they've been thought.

It is seriously so rich in information and you will absolutely reap the benefits so quickly. and if you avoid freezing food because you have like one small regular freezer, don't ignore a guide like this since it can actually really help you be smart and intentional about how you use your limited freezer space. So I will put a link in the show notes for you to check out the guide that I am so happy to be an affiliate for. And be sure to follow Nap Time Kitchen on Instagram at Nap Time Kitchen. She is remarkably generous with information about getting dinner on the table. So be sure to check her out.

Okay, let's talk about creating a weekly plan. Why do we plan out a week? Or if it's more relevant to your style, maybe plan out a day or two weeks or a month. However often you plan, we obviously do it because we don't want to miss anything that's scheduled or forget to do something important. But I think beneath the surface, for a lot of us,

having a weekly plan can quickly morph into a desire for control. We plan our faces off so that we know exactly what's coming, and then we won't experience stress. That sadly is an impossible goal. You cannot control everything. You can't plan your way into serenity. No amount of scheduling out a week can calm your crazy completely. It might a little, but not completely.

Based on the majority of comments and DMs and emails that I receive, a lot of you resonate with the same all or nothing, mentality that I do, at least in some areas. And when it comes to making a weekly or daily plan, if you experience any amount of stress, then sometimes you think the plan failed. You need a new planner, a new system, a new something. But really, we have to remember that we will never eliminate stress, or more accurately, the stressers that cause stress. We can't plan our way out of a regular life that ebbs and flows and throws curveballs and like all the other up and down clichés you can think of. It's just life. It happens. But that doesn't mean you have to throw out

plans altogether. You can sit in the middle of planning everything and planning nothing. For me, that process involves three questions. One, what matters this week? Two, what can I do to be a genius about it. And three, what will likely be a distraction? So let's walk through those. First, what matters this week? This is different than asking what's happening this week or what do I need to do this week. By asking yourself what matters, you broaden the scope of what to consider as you plan a week. That might include something that's happening or something you need to do, but it can also include things like rest, connection, play. things we often forget about in the face of lists and appointments.

By naming what matters for the week, you're better able to put everything else in perspective. Second, what can I do to be a genius about it? Once you name what matters, think for a moment how you can be intentional about making that thing happen in a way that fills you up rather than drains you dry. If it really matters that your guest room gets cleaned out because your college best friend is coming to stay with you for the weekend,

You can be a genius about your limited time by, for example, making super easy dinners for that week. Consider how you can make what matters happen in a way that doesn't contribute to making you crazy. Then the third question, what will likely be a distraction? Even though something matters, a lot of things can take our attention away from it. Something like rest during a busy week matters, but we can get sidetracked by so. many other things on our list that made it busy in the first place and then not rest at all. You want what matters to get top billing. It should get your best time and your first effort. Distractions make what matters fall to the status of like, oh, I'll fit it in or I'll do it later,

even though it's important enough to do now, even if the doing is not doing anything at all. By naming what will likely be a distraction, you can set yourself up a little better to notice when those distractions come and even take a practical step or two to keep them from taking control. Okay, so those three questions can make a big difference in planning your week. Simply by helping you set your intention and your attention on what matters, not just on what's happening. Remember that those are two different things and recognizing that is super helpful. Okay, so in just a second,

I'll go through planning my own week to give you an idea of how it can come together. But first, I'll mention a couple of other considerations that might help bring a bit more clarity to your weekly plan and round it out a bit. The first is weather. I am very affected by the weather on an emotional level, but it also affects things like what you make for dinner, whether or not you play at a park one afternoon after you get the kids from school, or if you can go for a run after work. Whenever I pull out my planner and I ask myself the three questions, I also look at the weather. The second thing I consider is sleep. I try and pay attention to how well or not well I've been sleeping as I make any plans for the upcoming week. If I'm worn out and need to go to bed on time

or even early for a couple of nights, it's important to consider that as I plan. That's not written in my planner anywhere to sleep. I have to think about that separately. Even something as simple as like what to make for dinner plays into my sleep. I usually don't make meals that have a lot of cleanup anyway, but I definitely don't want to plan a meal that requires like multiple pans to wash on a night that I want to go to bed early. If you're tired and therefore like running on fumes, it's easy to forget sleep as a thing to consider because it happens no matter what, but it's good to give yourself a little grace in your soul and a little more. margin in your plans by thinking about sleep on purpose. And then the third thing I consider is my family.

Now, they're not, they're not third in like matters of importance just on this list. My husband and one of my sons are introverts and home bodies. They need space and time at home. So it's really important for me to remember that as I look at a weekly plan. I'm fine if we have evening plans four out of the seven nights of the week. So it's easy for me to forget. that that percentage is not great for other people in my family. Now, sometimes I can't do anything about the appointments that exist in a week. But by considering my family's energy, I can do other things to help them feel more comfortable and cared for when our schedule is like a little more intense. Okay, so a quick recap. A weekly plan isn't so much about gaining control or eliminating stress.

Hold it loosely. Don't expect everything to go exactly as planned, especially if you tend to think of stress equaling a failed plan. They're not the same thing. Then you have your three questions. What matters this week? Not just what's happening or what needs doing. What can I do to be a genius about it? And what will likely be a distraction? Then you might consider things like weather, sleep, and your family's energy if those are irrelevant. You might have other considerations that I don't. So name those, whatever those are for you. Okay, now let's walk through my own weekly plan for this week to see kind of a case study on how all of this can work. Aw isn't something we need to travel for. It's something waiting for us in everyday life,

whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dr. Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. My first step is to open my Google calendar and pull out my paper planter. I have a digital calendar and then I do analog planning. I've gone through lots and lots of iterations of like how I organize my life and my time. And this one is currently working really well for me.

I am also using the Sacred Ordinary Days planner if you're interested in what I'm using. And I love it. Okay, so the next thing I do, pull out my calendar, pull out my planar, next thing I do is I ask, what matters this week? After a quick glance of my calendar, I see that my assistant is out of town on vacation this week, which means I have to do all of my own work. Oh my goodness. I also am gone two weeknights, and I have one early afternoon occupied too. Now, early afternoons are when Annie is taking a nap and my other two are still in school. So that hour, like one-ish to two-ish is usually a really restful one for me. I usually try and not do anything except just be a person, but one of

my afternoons this week is taken up by an appointment. Now it's an appointment that I love, but it's an appointment nonetheless. So by noticing those things, I can very easily see that one thing that matters this week is white space. I need to leave space for myself and sometimes use that space to relieve stress. A second thing that matters is intentional afternoons with my kids after school, especially on Thursday. I'm gone both Wednesday and Thursday nights. So if I'm not connected to my kids in the afternoons, especially on that Thursday afternoon,

which is, you know, on the tail end of being gone one night and then still being gone that same night, my kids will suffer. Now that sounds dramatic to say that they're going to suffer. But like, I can tell a difference in them. So intentional afternoons matter, especially this Thursday afternoon. And then the third thing that matters is the podcast. I'm not ahead right now in terms of having the podcast recorded. So I need to get at least one, if not two episodes in the bank this week so that I'm not

scrambling on my own. And then so my assistant isn't scrambling when she gets back from vacation. And also so that you get like a new episode next Monday on schedule, on time. It's a good thing. So those are the three things that matter for me this week, personal white space, intentional afternoons with my kids, especially Thursday afternoon, and getting the podcast done. Okay, so the second question is, how can I be a genius about those things? The first thing is to plan my runs now. I've mentioned this before, and I don't know if it was another podcast episode or on Instagram,

but maybe it was the newsletter. I have been required by my counselor to either walk really fast or run three times a week for my stress. If I had a Patronus, it would be like a feral cat. So I need some help in like getting my stressful energy out of my body very tightly wound. I've never been an athlete. And I have a tricky relationship with exercise. But I've been going for a jog slash fast walk at least three times a week for the last couple of months.

And it has made an incredible difference in my quality of life, truly. to the point where I'm like, no, I'm not missing my exercise. It's too important. So it's really, really important that I schedule those exercise sessions this week, especially since I usually do them in the evenings and two evenings are already taken up. So I'm going to run tonight and tomorrow for sure. The weather is hot, but it's not rainy and I can deal. I can make it. I can handle the heat. So those are now entered into my Google calendar as appointments for those two days. I'm going to run tonight and tomorrow night. The weekend is surprisingly empty for us, which is, I mean, it's shocking. So I'll easily fit in like a morning or evening run over the weekend without,

I don't need to plan that. It'll happen very easily. Okay, so the second way I can be a genius about what matters to me this week is to have a mental health chunk of time. The only open window for that is on Friday, but I'm going to put that in my calendar too. I need some time to not be productive, especially since I'm busy a couple of nights and working really hard when it's time to work. So I need some time to not be productive to just like piddle around my house or go to Target or something. Like I said, I have a lot of energy. And it's often very productive and spinny in nature. It's always spinning. So planning a mental health day where I require nothing of myself will help me recover from a busy week on purpose. And when I see a mental health day, I mean like two or three

hours. Like I'm taking a couple of hours that like the kids are in school and I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to do whatever I want to feel like a person. The third way I see that I can be a genius about what matters this week is to not have a task list on Thursday. If I have a long to do list on a day where I want to spend the afternoon like super engaged with my kids, I won't be super engaged with my kids because I'll be distracted by what's still on my list. So once I run my errands or whatever, you know, needs to get done in the morning. I am going to mentally burn any remaining list. If I have a written one, I'll throw in the trash can. The only thing I need to do on Thursday is sit at the table with my boys while they do their homework, make them a snack platter,

have dinner that's already made, so I don't even have to worry about that, and read to my daughter, all the things that matter about connecting with them on Thursday afternoon. And then the fourth way I can be a genius about what matters as it relates to getting the podcast done this week is to not have my email open or my phone facing up while I am working. I need to get it done quickly without distraction. So I'm going to go ahead and make plans to eliminate those distractions when I work this week. I don't always do that because I don't always need to. But this week I need to. So I'm going to. Okay, so that's how I can be a genius about what matters this week. The third question of the three planning questions is what will likely be a distraction from what matters. I just answered that. I just answered

in one way, email and boxes and texts are distracting when I'm trying to dig deep in a task and get it done quickly. So having that commitment to turn those off this week is a way to eliminate that distraction. Another answer to that question is to actually put my runs and my mental health blocks of time in my calendar. Like I already said, because if I don't, I'll forget or think it's not as important as I think it is right now. When something is on my calendar in black and white, it's harder to ignore it than if it was just like an intention in my mind. I can get distracted by just life in general and forget those things that matter like running and white space. So I schedule them in my calendar like I would if I was going to the doctor. Another thing that could distract me

from what matters is to see our strangely open weekend as an invitation to fill it up. But if I need white space and my people need it more than I do, it's important to keep the weekend open, not to be distracted by what could fill it just because we can. And finally, another thing that could distract me from my matters this week is complicated dinners. This is a week where a simple meal plan full of brainless crowd pleasers that don't require a lot of effort from me and that my family will gladly eat. This is important. It'll help my mental health, my family's mental health, since we have two nights in a row where I'm gone, and it will eliminate a lot of prep and mess because my brainless crowd pleasers pretty much all require minimal prep or mess. You can catch this

week's meal plan on Instagram. I always share it on meal plan Monday. I am at the lazy genius on Instagram. And if you're new around here or need a refresher on brainless crowd pleasers, check out episode 97. It's called One Simple Step that changes meal planning forever. It is a bold statement, but it is still a very true statement. And that's it. I have appointments, you know, like typical and personal things on my calendar. I have written down what matters. I have created a meal plan that supports that. I also have a very limited task list this week because I don't have to have a long one because of what's happening, but also because I'm actively choosing to keep my tasks focused and limited since the week is a little busier than usual. And that's how a lazy genius creates a weekly plan.

I really love this way of approaching a week, and it helps me feel connected to myself, my people, and what I have to do without being distracted by what's urgent or by what doesn't actually matter. I would love for you to try it this week and pay attention to how you feel. Remember, the goal isn't to eliminate stress completely or to gain a ton of control. You are simply setting an intention and aiming your attention in the direction of what matters. But stress doesn't mean your plan failed. It just means you're a person living life.

Plans don't make you perfect. They're just a tool. Okay, that's it for today's episode. I'll be live this Thursday around noon, Eastern, a little earlier than usual, on Instagram at The Lazy Genius, if you'd like to join me to ask any questions about this episode. And don't forget to check out the link in the show notes

for the nap time kitchen guide to freezing. It is a great, affordable resource, and I hope it makes your time in the kitchen much more pleasant. Thank you so much for listening. 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. Have 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 called

Becoming You. People think, okay, an A plus life is not a 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.