The Lazy Genius Podcast - #203 - 10 Things Saving My Life Right Now

Episode Date: March 29, 2021

I love sharing lists like this and also encouraging you to make and share your own. We are still in it after a very long year, and paying attention to the things that bring us joy, make things easier, make us more ourselves, those things deserve a spotlight. Stuff Mentioned The Ginger Smoothie recipe I shared on Instagram. I’m @thelazygenius, by the way. You can listen to the episode about my skincare routine here that’s a couple years old, or you can hop on the list to receive the Latest Lazy Letter and read about what I’m using now later this week. The Lazy Genius Asks For Help (spoiler alert: you don’t have to be in crisis to ask for help) The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk (affiliate link) Winter Sun, Calling Spring, and Breezy Instrumental (or just follow me on Spotify if you want) The Lazy Sisters Podcast on Patreon Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine (affiliate link) If you haven’t read it yet, pick up a copy of The Lazy Genius Way at your favorite bookseller or your local library. Our Lazy Genius of the Week is Wendy Toops-Lauer with her Decide Once Pannukakku Sundays. 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 there. Welcome 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 203, 10 things saving my life right now. I love sharing lists like this and also encouraging you to make and share your own. We are still in it after a very long year and paying attention to the things that bring us joy, make life easier, make us more ourselves. those things deserve a spotlight. So I'm doing that today with my own list, and I highly, highly encourage you to name even one thing that's saving your life right now. Okay, let's jump into the list. The first thing that's saving my life right now is ginger in smoothies. You guys, I am obsessed.

I shared this last week on Instagram. There's even a post with like a loose recipe that I've been using if you want to check it out. But putting fresh ginger in your smoothie, especially green smoothies is absolutely incredible. It adds this brightness and a unique little bite that just makes the produce thing. I don't know. Plus, I feel like I will never get sick again. I don't understand it. It tastes like my body loves it. My body's like, oh, thank you. Thank you. This is what we have been waiting for. I use the Trader Joe's frozen ginger cubes that you just get in their freezer section one per smoothie but you could easily like great fresh ginger from a ginger root in there or use like a little squirt from those tubes of grated ginger that you can get at the produce

section of a lot of grocery stores i would avoid powdered ginger that you put in like cookies because it's just not bright enough it's a different i think it's just a different vibe you you do you but go to town it is the best thing ever one cube if you don't have a trader joes or cube ginger It's about like a teaspoon of fresh ginger. So if you're grading from fresh ginger root, you know, you could start with like a teaspoon, but everything is kind of to taste anyway. Some of you might want less, some more. But the point is the number one thing, saving my life right now, is ginger in smoothies.

Number two, a cleaned out freezer. So last weekend, I opened my freezer and I realized I could not access anything without moving five other things first. It was just packed to the gills, but not even so much because a lot was in there. I mean, a lot was in there. But it was even more that things were not in their best places and everything was just on the verge of falling out. This last year, I think our freezer has just been operating in a very, like, cram it in. It'll be fine sort of way. And last week it was no longer fine.

So I cleaned out the freezer. I threw out a couple of bags of frozen food that wasn't labeled. always label you guys and stuff that was so covered in freezer burn I could not identify what the food was and I want to say that that happens to me too like just because I am quote the lazy genius which feels even weird to say just because a person knows a really great way to approach something it doesn't mean we always do it right so be kind to yourself when your freezer starts eating itself I mean you're doing fine we're all doing fine you're not a failure just because you have unidentifiable meat in the freezer. Just like take a step or two to make that a little

less likely to happen again if that is important to you, you know? So I pulled everything out. I threw away the things that needed throwing away. And then I grouped everything else together. I made zones in the freezer so that the same type of food goes in the same general place. This is a way that we batch as lazy geniuses, right? Batching is lazy genius principle number nine. We batch our tasks by doing the same type of task all at once, but we can also batch our stuff and our access to that stuff by grouping things together in zones that makes sense for our space and what matters to us. So I put all of the frozen breakfast foods, the pumpkin bread, the waffles, the bean cakes, the hash browns, and then all the smoothie stuff. I put all of that in one drawer. I put all of that in one drawer.

I have dinner stuff in another drawer. I moved all the ice cream to the shelf since those containers stack better on shelves than when they're crammed in drawers, vice versa. Like cramming bags of things on a shelf is much harder than if you put the bags of things in a drawer because it's more contained or whatever. Now when I open the freezer, I like it. Like I have what I need. I use what I have and it is much more enjoyable that way.

So number two is a cleaned out. freezer. Number three, a skincare routine. I have been really enjoying taking care of my skin in the morning, but especially at night over the last couple. I mean, I've been a skincare routine person for a couple of years now, but there's something about the last few months. I've really been paying attention to the products that I absolutely love and I'm just using those again and again. it is very easy for me to get wooed by all the new products that everyone else swears by. And while I have 100% chosen a lot of my products based on someone else's recommendation, and some of those have stuck around as my own recommendation,

I think that enjoying what works for me and kind of ignoring the rest has been really, really helpful. I am essentializing my skincare routine. Essentialize is lazy genius principle number 10. It's the idea of keeping only what supports what matters to you and then kind of getting rid of the rest. I've been doing that with my skincare products in recent months. And it has just made the whole process so lovely because I know what to choose. I know I'm going to love it. And then my skin feels great. I'm not going to go into products here because you might not care about that. But two things that will come up this week if you do want more product info are.

first I will be sharing my list of my personal essential skincare products and why they have worked for me in the latest lazy letter that's going to go out this Wednesday. The latest lazy letter is my monthly newsletter with all kinds of extra content deep dives like my list of essential skincare. So if you want to sign up for that, there's a link in the show notes or you can go to the lazy genius collective.com slash join. This week I will also be posting a video on. on IGTV at The Lazy Genius of Empties. I have never done an empties video, mostly because I'm not a beauty blogger, but also because I'm usually trying out so much stuff, I never finish anything. Well, now that I've stopped that and have found more of what I love, I'm actually finishing

some things. So I will share those on Instagram this week. Again, not a beauty blogger, but it's still fun. So number three, a skincare routine. Number four, counseling. I will make this quick, but I cannot emphasize enough how much therapy and counseling is helpful for every single person in this world. You do not have to have some deep trauma to go to therapy. Going doesn't mean that you are an absolute mess either and you cannot get your life together. Like, it's not something to be ashamed of. We think it is, but it very, very much is not.

I did an episode a good while ago called The Lazy Genius Asks for Help, where I talk a little bit about counseling and therapy and why we really need it to be good humans in this world. So you can listen to that if you kind of want more info. And I will also plan on sharing some like favorite therapy adjacent accounts and resources on Instagram this week if you want some of those. But ultimately, for the sake of this conversation, counseling has saved my life well many. times, but really, really continues to in recent weeks. I started with a new counselor about two months ago. And the things that I've learned about myself and how I see myself in the world, the weight that I put on myself, the ways that I show up and don't show up for people, it has been remarkable. It has been hard and very painful. But the results on the other

side, after being willing to enter that pain, have been beyond worth it. I was talking to my church community group about this just last week about how therapy is such a hard sell, right? Because you're like, hi, first it sucks and then it's great. And most of us are like, no, thank you. I'm doing fine. But then when you break down those things that have been keeping you from who you really are, you see how not fine you were doing. You weren't really fine. There is such freedom in the process, not just on the other side. but the doering as well. And I just cannot have a list of things saving my life right now without including counseling. So that is number four. Number five is pajamas. I think I've shared this before

somewhere, but y'all, there is something so special and empowering and lovely to me about wearing actual pajamas, like matching top and bottom. I have a set I bought from the loft, Ann Taylor loft. Do they still call it Ann Taylor loft? Anyway, I got it like six months ago. maybe. It's like pants and then a short-sleeved button-up pajama top. They have this really chill like floral pattern on them. They're so soft. I love wearing them. I have three sets of pajamas, all from different places for different temperatures, actually. And I essentialized, there that is again, I got rid of all the other shirts and pants that were sent down to the pajama drawer after they did not work as real clothes anymore. You of course have those because we all

have those. But I don't ever feel special in those leftover clothes. I do feel special in my pajamas. They've been like, they've been almost like a marker for my evening routine. I put Annie to bed. She goes to bed like an hour and hour and a half before the boys do. And then I get on my pajamas and I do my skincare routine and it is the best. I feel like I'm ready for the next hour or two before I go to sleep in a way that just feels like me. Like reading is more fun. Watching Schitt's Creek is more fun. Pajamas are just fun to me.

They make me feel like a grown-up and they make me feel special. And I don't know. I just love them so much. And I'm so glad I invested in some. They have like legit save my life, which is why I'm sharing them here. So number five is pajamas. Okay. That is five down.

Five to go. Let's break really quickly to hear from this episode's sponsors. and even though y'all listen to podcasts, you already know how ads work. I don't need to tell you that. I did want to say thank you so much for your encouragement over having new ads in recent weeks, especially as we've ironed out some kinks. And please know, I look at every single brand that wants to advertise on the show and I try to be really thoughtful in what I share here for you. I want you to hear about brands that have something to enhance your life in ways that matter. So if you listen, instead of clicking through the ads, which I understand people,

clicking through the ads, I'd do it too. I do very much appreciate you listening to them. It means a lot to me and to the brands that want to, you know, make your life better. So now, now in my best podcast, boys, let's take a break for a quick word from our sponsors. 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.

Okay. Let's jump back into our list and do our final five things that are saving my life right now. Number six is getting a massage. Okay. I realize that this can be seen as a luxury. But the reason I'm listing it here is because I have had three massages in the last month. And it has improved my life in ways I very, very much did not expect. So I used to get a massage once every, I don't know, six to eight weeks maybe.

I started a couple of years ago when I was writing The Lazy Genius Way and I was very stressed. Like many people, I hold stress in my body, particularly in my shoulders and my upper back. So I started going to see this woman named Corey, who was lovely and very good at her job. And it was great. but when the pandemic hit, like nobody's getting massages. Well, after I finished writing The Lazy Genius Kitchen, just like a month ago, which we'll get to in a second, I had like constant pain in my shoulders in my back. It was starting to interfere with my life, like my daily life. So I emailed Corey and I was like, hey, what's the deal with you? Are you massaging people still, even though the COVID?

And it turns out she is. She had been in recent months. I was very at ease with her COVID precautions. I wear a mask while getting a massage just like she does. So I made an appointment. That first session, it felt like my back was made of popcorn. Like you could hear it. It was so crackly. It was like, it makes me shudder thinking about it. There were so many knots. I was so tight. Poor Corey. It was a situation. I knew. All right. I knew that March, the month of March needed to be a month where I focused on getting back to normal, like getting back to some kind of physical and mental equilibrium. I had pushed so hard to write a book in such a short amount of time, and my body had paid the price. Now, I agreed to that price because it's a season, right? And lazy genius principle number four is to

live in the season. Live in the season you're in. And remember that it won't always be that way. It makes it easier to endure, right? So coming out of that season of intense work on top of just like living in an intense world. I knew I needed to prioritize my body and my stress. Going to therapy was one of those things and going to see Corey and getting regular massages these last few weeks. It has opened up some things that I did not, I did not expect. I realized that I think I have some trauma stored in my left hip, which is kind of a weird sentence to say. But if you have read the book, The Body Keeps the Score, it's a textbook almost. It's like, It's kind of dry, but it is very informative and very compelling about how our bodies hold trauma.

And realizing that was super helpful in lots of things. Change how I pay attention to my yoga, like how I approach my yoga. I also realized that my body immediately responds to stress with pain in my back. The first couple of days after my first massage with Corey, like a few weeks ago, were really, the days after that were kind of chill. Like I had a massage on Thursday. I took that Friday off. I wasn't working. The weekend had a lot of space in it. So it was a really easy few days after. There was no stress. And I had no back pain. Now, I thought that that was because of the massage. But then sometime on Monday, I think, I was walking with Annie to get the boys from

school. And I started to think about something that was causing me some stress. And immediately, my back started hurting. It was the wildest thing. So paying attention to my body and how it holds and responds to stress and how the massages help keep the physical muscles, like more relaxed, which helps less than the impact of the stress a little, like it's all connected. The massages have helped me pay attention to how my body speaks to me. So I've been listening and it's been really, really helpful. So number six is massages. Number seven is my spring reading cue. So I love to read so much if you've been around here for any amount of time, you know this to be true.

And I have a lot of books on my shelf and on my Kindle paperweight to read. So many at this point that is overwhelming to choose from. Now you could have the same challenge with just a TBR, whether you own the books or not. There's just so much to choose from. We do the same thing with choosing meals. right? There are millions and millions and millions of recipes. If you try to choose five for this week from the millions, that is impossible. You will lose your mind. You have to limit your choices. You need a queue. That's why we have a dinner queue. These are things that we're pulling from right now, right? This

is our dinner queue. Well, I have a spring reading queue. I have a list of books that I can choose from when it's time to pick up the next book this spring. And because I'm choosing them on purpose, for this particular season in my life and the season in the air, it's just easier to choose and also more fun, right? It's intentional. And it keeps me reading. It keeps the momentum going. I am a momentum reader. If I lose momentum, it is hard to get back. So my primary goal is to keep reading. In a spring reading queue, it really helps that. I mentioned that I will share my skincare essentials and Wednesday's latest lazy letter, I will share my spring reading queue too. So if you're interested in the books on that list, you can join the newsletter.

So that's number seven, my spring reading queue. Number eight is my spring playlist. More specifically, my breezy instrumental playlist. Did y'all know I like to make playlists? Have I mentioned that before? I very much do. I very much like to make playlist. Music in the right order for the right mood and the right setting.

golly day. It impacts my life so deeply, which is why I like to share playlists with y'all in case you feel that way too about music. P.S. I learned all of my playlist skills from my sister Hannah who shares secret playlists with our Patreon community. Hannah and I do a monthly episode called the Lazy Sisters podcast where we talk about all kinds of things in a way that only sisters can. It is a very unedited Kendra. And you also get Hannah's seasonal play. which are fantastic. So I will pop a link in the show notes in case you want to support the lazy genius on Patreon. But playlists, I love them. And while I have very much been enjoying winter sun and calling spring, my two most recent playlist, and I know you guys have too,

because you've told me, I really wanted something instrumental that covers afternoons with kids doing homework. It covers morning work and writing for me by myself. I can listen to it going for a walk in the woods. I'd wanted to create something that captures like that breezy windows open spring chill vibe without it being too sad or too jarring or too upbeat or too weird so that my kids asked to play kids bob instead. And that playlist is breezy instrumental. And there will be a link in the show notes for that too. Do not shuffle. Friends, if you have a pro Spotify account, do not shuffle. Shuffling ruins the playlist. Okay, it does not ruin it. I'm sorry. It's not ruined, but it is not as intended. I realize that is okay. You can do you,

but if you do listen and you have the ability to listen straight through, I highly, I highly encourage that. I'm very passionate about playlist. So number eight is my spring playlist. Okay. Number nine, it kind of combines the last two. And it is this. It is knowing what matters and not deviating from it. I talk a lot about reading and music. But do you know why I do that? Because those two things are integral. to my feeling like a person. They matter so much to me. So why would I move on from them or stop talking about them when I share my own life just because I'm always talking about them? I'm always talking about them because they matter. I think we get caught up sometimes in this idea that we are supposed to be like, I don't know,

well-rounded and really graded a lot of things and have varied interest and not be boring and all of that. but if I were to spend, if I were to spend all of my free time reading or listening to music, maybe you throw in some walks, a few TV shows and just like hanging out with people, particularly with food, I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. That is all I need. That's all I need. So it's been saving my life to realize that, to not stop reading or, you know, be like, chill out on the music, Kendra, just because, like, it's what I always do.

I always do it because it matters. So I want to stop trying to broaden and instead go deeper with what I love the most, with what makes me feel like myself. So number nine is knowing what matters and not deviating from it. And finally, number 10, the number 10 thing saving my life right now is my book is done. It is written. It is finished. And I can breathe again. Oh, my gosh. If you are new here, I am a writer of books, really just two in particular, just two, and only one you can read right now. That first one I have mentioned already. It is called The Lazy Genius Way. And it is a book of 13 principles that you can apply to any area of your life from skincare to reading, to organizing your

freezer, to finding a job or having a baby, like all of it. It is a book that helps you lazy genius anything, no matter your life stage or personality or situation. I just finished writing The Lazy Genius Kitchen, which comes out in a year, so that's a bummer. But I had to write it in 10 weeks. And then I had another 10 weeks to edit. So that is basically a book from idea to locked manuscript in four months, which is very, very, very, very, very short. Very short. And my body and schedule and sanity have taken a hit for sure.

but I knew that going in. I already said that. I knew that going in. My family, we made the decision that it would be worth it, that we would rally, that we would be lazy about some things for a while. And we did. We did it. I wrote the book and we're still here. But what's saving my life is that it's done because that process was hard. I lazy genius did as best I could. And I really think it went well considering the circumstances, writing a book in such a short period of time. But I would be lying if I said like, oh, it was normal. It was fine. It didn't change our life. Of course it did. Of course it changed our life. But now that it's done, we can go back to before life changed. Just because a different season goes well, you know, in terms of how you plan it or want to lazy genius it. It doesn't mean it wasn't hard.

And it definitely doesn't mean that you want to keep living that way. For me, no, thank you. I do not want to keep living under that kind of stress. So I'm glad the book is written. The hardest part for me is now over and I can rejoice. Some authors I know actually feel the opposite way. They love writing the book or editing the book and it's the marketing part and the sharing it that's like kind of that's harder. Not for me. I love sharing the book with you. It makes me so happy. I love coming up with fun ways to get the word out and show you what's inside the book and see it in your hands and celebrate it. Like that is my favorite part. And we're heading that way. We're going in that direction, which is super fun. So I'm so glad the book is done. That is saving my life right now.

So those are the 10 things that are saving my life right now. Remember, all the links are in the show notes. And if you want more in-depth info, particularly about my skincare products and my spring reading queue, be sure to join the mailing list so you can get the latest lazy letter. And I would just encourage you to share your own things too. Even just naming them for yourself is really helpful and encouraging and inspiring even, but doing it in community is so great. We've learned that from our friend Laura Tremaine at 10 Things to Tell You, haven't we? Who wrote the book?

Share your stuff. I'll go first. Share your stuff. It makes a big difference. So go make your own list. Okay. Before we go, let's celebrate our lazy genius of the week. It's Wendy at Unearthing Home.

Wendy's post caught my eye because she shared a recipe for a food. I do not even know how to say. Panukaku? I think. I don't know. Apparently it's a finished pancake. I had to look it up. But the point is, Wendy shared her panukaku recipe because she decided once, which

is lazy genius principle number one, back in September, she decided that she would make the panukaku recipe for breakfast every Sunday morning and has been doing that since September. She says this, quote, in my mind, weekends are four. relaxing. So pick one recipe and make it every Sunday. And mine is Panukaku. I love that because it was so simple. It's such a clear way of using the principal decide once. And also it was a recipe I'd never heard of before, which was fun. So thank you, Wendy, for being a lazy jean. Yes. I'm excited to see what else you all post this week and who will be the lazy genius of the week next week. It's like a treasure hunt every time. All right. That is it for today. Thank you so much 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. 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 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.