The Lazy Genius Podcast - #365 - How to Have an Easier Maycember

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

We know the feeling of Maycember. May has a similar energy to the beautiful chaos of December, but we forget it’s like that until we’re in it. I never remember how crazy May becomes until literally right now, and then it feels too late. If that’s you, this episode will help. Helpful Companion Links Pre-order my new book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy once it releases in October. The Summer Docket The Essential Calendar (Use code LAZYGENIUS for 10% off!) Episode 258 - The Seven Kinds of Rest and How to Know Which One You Need Summer Sanity podcast playlist (Spotify) Sign up for the Latest Lazy Listens email. Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links) 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

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Hi there. You are 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 365. How to have an easier Maysember. We all know the feeling of Mayssember. May has a similar energy to both September and December, like going back to school and then also like the holidays. There's the beautiful chaos of December especially. But we forget. that it's like that. We forget that May is like that until we're in it. I never remember how crazy May becomes until literally right now. And then it feels too late. So if that's you, this episode will help. Before we jump in, let me talk to the folks without kids. If you're not a parent or the traditional school year is not part of your life rhythm, may not feel as chaotic to you. I'm genuinely so happy for you in that. And you can certainly decide to skip this episode. But I do think many of the mindsets and steps in this episode apply not just to May, but also to any kind of seasonal transition, especially if one is slightly chaotic. So while this episode is definitely geared towards folks who have kids or are connected to the school year somehow, I think it does have helpful, compassionate planning ideas for everyone.

Okay. Here's how we're going to have an easier May December. First, it is important for us to slow down and look at where we are. We need to name why things feel so crazy so that we can be. more accurate in our problem solving, but also in our kindness that we direct towards ourselves. I'm going to share the five things that are at play. And once you hear them, I think the fog will lift a bit and you'll be like, man, no wonder I'm overwhelmed. After that, I will share five practical steps to make this time feel easier and maybe even allow you to thrive. Imagine that. Surviving is great.

Thriving is a bonus, but maybe you actually can. All right, let's quickly look at the five reasons why Maysember feels the way it does. First, you are finishing something. You're finishing the school year. It's a big deal. Endings, particularly in school, always come with markers and celebrations, too. So not only is the year ending, you're dealing with class parties and field days and award ceremonies and EOGs to study for and teacher appreciation gifts and all the things. And that's for every individual kid. So if you have more than one, multiply that by the appropriate number. And what is it? And what if your kid is in an even bigger transition with the ending of school. Are they finishing elementary school? My son finished elementary school last year and it was emotional chaos.

Like, oh my goodness. And then so many last things, right? So many celebrations. The award ceremony for the fifth graders was adorable. It also lasted over two hours in the middle of the day. Gracious. Do you have a kid graduating high school or college? Holy, actual moly. That is huge. That is the an era, the beginning of another, right? Lots of lasts and celebrations and weird emotional things to probably navigate. The end of any school year is a big deal, but yours for whatever reason, it could feel even bigger than usual. Your kid might be finishing something big, like we said. You might be graduating yourself. Maybe it's your first year teaching or your last year teaching. So the logistics and the emotions are plentiful. Y'all May marks an end. It's just the way it is.

even though our last day of school in Gopher County is not until June 7th, May is really the end, you know, and ends are complicated. They are fun and sad and chaotic and surprising and they sneak up on you and all the things. The people in your family might even be processing the end of this school year differently from one another. Maybe one kid is graduating and really sad about it while another kid did not have a great year and is so ready to get out of there. there are many details, both emotionally and logistically, that exist during this time.

And if you're a parent, particularly a mom, you're deeply aware of every single one of those details. It's just a lot to manage on a lot of levels. And ending something is just the first thing that goes into Maysember. The second thing is that you are also starting something. And that is its own energy. You're starting summer. or gearing up to, summer has its own schedule no matter what. If your job does not change, but you have kids, child care for your kids probably will change. And even if the schedule of

that child care is relatively the same as school hours because of your job, the energy of summer is obviously different than during the school year. If you have a flexible job and kids who are about to be home, you're starting a season of figuring out how in the world you're going to make all the details work without taking the fun and the ease out of summer. If you have a kid, who is graduating high school or college. This summer might be starting a move to a new city or transitioning into a new job or an apartment. No matter what, May Sember has you on the cusp of starting something.

Ending energy and starting energy feel different. They feel different in our bodies, but they are right next to each other on our calendars. Sometimes they even overlap. When we end something, we're winding down. We're probably worn down emotionally and logistically, but then, suddenly we have to gear up again for something new. At least that's how it might feel. In fact, I think this overlap of May to June or the end of school to the beginning of summer, I think it's actually one of the hardest seasonal transitions we face,

especially people with kids or who work in education. In December, we're busy too. But when we transition into January, there's a routine kind of already built in. You know, kids still go to school. We still go to work. Things quiet down. We're moving. from an exceptional level of chaos to kind of regular calm or even exceptional chaos to regular chaos. But January is still regular. The summer is not. The summer is its own thing, right? So notice that you are both ending something and starting something. And the thing that you're moving into might just have its own level of unusual chaos you have to figure out. This is why you're overwhelmed. And again, that's just number two. I have five,

things on this list. Number three, there are extra details in May you don't usually have. It's not that there are just more activities to put on the calendar, even though there are. Every award ceremony or team party or school dance comes with some kind of extra detail you have to take care of. You need to bring gifts for the teachers on awards day. You have to remember to remind your kid to turn in his track uniform at the last meet. And also you need to bring cupcakes for the team to that last meet, but you have to figure out who to ask to find out how many cupcakes you're supposed to have. The school dance, that should be easy, right? Nope, not until your kid wants a new dress or a sport coat to look fancy. And oh, wait, they don't have a phone. Would now be a good

time for them to have something to get in touch with me during the school dance? Oh, good. And should we get my kid a phone? Like, in short, there are many events, which is already extra. And almost every single event brings some kind of decision or task along with it and often way more than one. So all the extra details to incorporate into regular life. That's the third thing. Number four, all the seasonal changes that likely sneak up on us. Suddenly it's hot outside and things like shorts are necessary. The other day I was getting ready for the day and it was going to be 87 degrees that day. Cool, cool, cool. Let's wear shorts. It was the first time I opened my shorts. I opened my shorts. drawer in almost a year. And nary a one seemed to fit me. Some are too big, some are too small,

some are too short, some are too long. I could not find a pair of shorts I owned that I was like, oh good, these work. None of them worked. Literally none. And it's May now and kind of always 87 degrees in North Carolina. But as we have already discussed, there is a lot on the calendar right now. Your girl does not have time to go shopping for new shorts. That kind of errand could exist. for us and for our kids. There are actual seasonal transitional items that we need, like clothes for a warmer weather and swimwear. Plus, there are seasonal changes like the meals we cook for dinner.

Just like we tend to transition out of pants and layers as we move into warmer weather, we also transition out of cold weather foods like soups and chilies and stuff. Sadly, most of our families go to brainless crowd pleaser dinners are best suited for cold weather. y'all it's not cold anymore so that's another transition you might end up thinking about i know i am and we'll get into this in a minute but there are things like oh wait i need child care this summer or oh wait is that camp full already or oh wait did i sign them up for the swim team or oh wait should we go on vacation do you think there are any beach houses left her in like seasonal changes and their needs sneak up on us and often take us by surprise during the month of may that's number four and number five is the energy

holy moly the energy. We are feeling worn down, at least I know I am, but the kids are also feeling it. They can feel the end coming. There's this weird push pull of like end of your testing, right? Like things are super important to study for. And then also class parties and watching movies in class because like we're just trying to make it through here. And it's not just our kids feeling that way. It's every kid in all their classes too, probably even the teachers. And if you have a kid who absorbs the energy of everyone around them, they're going to be worn out just because everyone else is chaotic and worn out. Double whammy. It has been like pulling teeth to get my kids to do their homework and even just go to school the last couple of weeks. We need to remember that

our kids are beat too. The energy, whether they're worn down or jacked up, is its own thing in May. That's number five. So let's recap. So you can be kind to yourself as you understand why this month feels this way. First, we are finishing something. And for many of you, it's something big. Ending a school year is a big deal. And it could have many layers added on it, depending on the age of your kids or your own education or career. So number one, we're ending something. Number two, we're also starting something. That's something being summer. And it's its own unique animal to tame. The transition for May to June is one of the hardest there is. So we're ending something. We're starting something. Number three, we also have all these extra details we don't usually have that we have to

manage so many one-off things to remember, at least with the holidays, the chaos is usually grouped into bigger projects, like gifts or celebrations or whatever. In May, it just seems like the longest list of individual tasks that have nothing to do with each other. It's death by a thousand errands. Not only that, we've got number four, where we're having to think about the transitional logistics of clothing and food and work schedules and child care amidst all the other chaos as we move into summer. and everyone feels it. Everyone feels the intensity that is the Maysimber time and it comes out sideways in us and our people on various days. That energy is number five. You guys, do you see it? It's not just that you have a lot to do. It's that those things are tied to endings, beginnings, beginnings,

transitions, unusual events and needs that sneak up and everyone else is feeling it. Maysimber is uniquely challenging. So what do we do to make it easier? I have five ideas. Welcome aboard via rail. Please sit and enjoy. Please sit and sip. Play. Post. Taste. View and enjoy. Via rail. Love the way. 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. All right. Here are five essential things that you can do to have an easier May Sember in the last couple of weeks that we've got. And I don't want you to just survive the rest of this month. I also would love for you to thrive there even a little. And by Thrive, I don't mean get it all done like a robot.

I mean, enjoy it. Be patient with it. Embrace the chaos in a way that is memorable and lovely. Thriving can also mean getting your things done and not forgetting too much. But I don't want to just survive a crazy season. I'd like to be myself while I'm there. I want to stay human and be compassionate. is I figure out how to get my stuff done and be present for whatever is happening, right?

And when you're in that headspace, it does feel a little easier. The events themselves don't change. We're not going to take away graduations and team parties, but we can make our energy and the logistics around all of those events a little easier. So let's do that together. By the way, the first four things on this list are a little simpler. the last one is more practically robust. I'm saving it for the end so that it can catch all the other details that we talk about.

Okay, the first essential thing I want you to do for the rest of Maysember is to tell yourself the truth. It is true that it is a busy time. It's true there's a lot to do. It's also true that you have probably done this before and it did not destroy you. It's true that you can forget something and not be a terrible person. It's true that most people feel like this and you are not alone. Tell yourself the truth. So in moments when you feel really overwhelmed, ask yourself,

okay, what is true right now? There's sometimes a difference between what we feel is true and what is actually true. When we feel overwhelmed, it is easy to spiral and tell ourselves things that actually are not real or true at all. We're terrible parents. We'll never get all this done. We can't figure it out. We should have been better at volunteering in our kids' classroom so we know what the teacher actually likes when it's time to get a gift. We should be able to go to all. the events, even though we have a full-time job and literally everything is scheduled at 10 a.m. We should be better at this by now. No, no, no, no, my friends, none of that is true. Tell yourself the truth. Just because you feel like an uninvolved, over-stimulated,

stretched-to-thin parent or person, it does not mean you are, or that those things like any sort of claimed your identity. They are neutral. You're feeling, are real and true, but they are not necessarily indicators of what is real and true. So tell yourself the truth. When you're feeling chaotic, ask yourself, what is true right now? Accompany that with like a few deep breaths to calm your panicking brain, and you'll be able to see things more clearly. I highly recommend doing this as often as possible. Okay, that's number one. Number two, catch the sneaky stuff. What's the sneaky stuff? Swimwear, summer clothes, summer camps, summer child care. Those are sneaky for the upcoming season, right? Teacher gifts, concert or dance

or event outfits, graduation party supplies, hot weather that makes you suddenly hate soup now. Those are sneaky for the season you're currently in. So a way to prepare for this is something we are all familiar with and it's the magic question. What can I do now to make something easier later? What can I do now to prevent the rest of May from sneaking up on me? This is a lot. This is a This is especially true for summer things. You haven't had the energy to think through yet. Make a list of what would be helpful to do now to make this month or the summer that's coming to make it easier later.

Think ahead for just a beat and see how it might help. You don't have to do all the things and don't do them all right now. That's not the point. The point is seeing them, just seeing them on paper, could help offer a little clarity for your overwhelmed brain. so it doesn't sneak up. Okay. Now, what about the things

that do sneak up right now? What about something that is suddenly urgent and you had no plan for it? You will likely get a few of those things this month or you have already. And they're not the most fun

to deal with, you know? A lot of you really love being organized and ahead of the game. You thrive there. So when something goes against that, when something sneaks up, when something causes

you're carefully planned to plan to have to pivot, you find it very frustrating and overwhelming. I get it. Remember, pivoting is more important than planning. And you can do it. Sometimes things might feel more chaotic than you hoped,

but that is often the nature of this season. So don't see those things that sneak up as assaults on your perfect plan or on your character as an organized person or whatever. They just happen. And you can roll. You might have to be a little stressed out for a minute, but like you can roll. You can deal with the sneaky stuff. y'all last week was our final middle school band concert i have two kids in middle school band one of whom had to miss his last middle school concert because he had COVID so terribly sad

anyway i was going to this middle school band concert not just as a parent but also as the band booster club president i had responsibilities during the concert and to give an announcement organized a gift for the band director all the things so on the day of the concert family logistics were chaos. Like we had no choice in the matter because of when people had to be certain places and when they had to eat and like if they had to bring certain clothes with them, all the things. Logistics were just going to be nuts that day. They just were and that's okay. Cause and I had a plan of when we each would leave and take the people and the things where they needed to go at the appropriate time. It was wild, but it was planned. Then right before I was about to leave to cover my part of the plan,

I was making sure that Ben, my middle kid, who was going to get to perform, that he had everything he needed to get dressed for his concert, you know, his black pants, his white button down shirt, his black dress shoes. And when I handed him his shoes, he said, Mom, these are Sam's shoes. Mine have a square toe and have laces. Where are my shoes? Y'all, I had seen those square-toed laced shoes recently. You know where I had seen them?

In a bag full of stuff, I just donated to our church's yard sale. Yep. I donated my kids' band shoes. I thought they were too small. I didn't ask him if they were because I definitely had a touch of big black trash bag, get her done energy that day. And his shoes were gone. And Sam's shoes were too big. Ben understandably started to panic and I had to pivot. So my plan had me leaving my house like in the next 15 minutes. I was going to have to target to get the final bit of the band director's gift along with something to munch on on the way to the concert because I wouldn't be able to eat dinner.

But now I had the shoes to consider, right? So instead I pivoted. I left right then instead of in 15 minutes. I grabbed a banana on the way out the door since I would not get food at Target. I went to a store that was closer to me to get a different but similar enough gift for the director. And then I stopped by my church, which thankfully is right across the street from the middle school. I got the key to where the yard sale stuff was being stored. And miraculously, I found his shoes. amongst all the donations. I got to school two minutes later than I planned, but who cares? Was it chaos? Yes. Did I feel crazy and need a few extra minutes to come down from the adrenaline of having donated my son's band shoes days before his band concert? Definitely. Did I pivot? I did.

And it all worked out fine. Ben wore the two big shoes to school and then I found him in the auditorium and I gave them the ones that fit. That situation was definitely more surviving than thriving. But emotionally, I feel like I was actually thriving a little. I was kind to myself. I knew it would be okay. I didn't start questioning whether I had done too much by agreeing to be booster club president or I had done too little for my kids because I didn't prioritize their clothes and experiences as well as I should have because I donated his shoes. None of that self-talk happened. I was kind, even in my adrenaline rush and crazy energy. And all of that happening in my head, that kindness and like a realism about telling myself

the truth about what was really going on, all of that made my actual circumstances, crazy as they were, easier. Easy doesn't always mean simple. Thriving doesn't always mean calm. I think having an easier may and even thriving. it, it means being the most yourself you can be, even when the circumstances are bonkers. Sometimes you thrive logistically and everything works seamlessly and gets done, and that's great. But thriving really is embracing who you are, where you are, and being kind in the process,

no matter what is happening. And when that happens, life does feel a little easier. So the first thing to do is to tell yourself the truth. The second is to catch the sneaky stuff before it sneaks up, but also be kind to yourself when it does anyway. Okay, number three is plan your hot dogs. This is a season to absolutely plan your hot dogs. And by season, I mean like the next two or three weeks. If you're new here or have not heard me say this before, what on earth does plan your hot dogs mean?

So when life goes a little crazy, we tend to fall back on emergency things like hot dogs for dinner, right? if we don't make a plan for something, the default safety net is the metaphorical, well, I guess we'll just have hot dogs for dinner. Now, sure, your hot dog meal could be cereal or eggs or frozen pizza or whatever. The food is not the point. That it's food at all is not the point. Hot dogs are a metaphor, you guys. They are a metaphor for the fallback things we see as settling or being lazy about or not being prepared for. But really, hot dogs are so helpful. making easy decisions everywhere you can is enormously important during May. So instead of just falling back on them accidentally or guiltily at the very end, plan them. Plan your hot dogs.

So some examples of planning your hot dogs right now are literally planning to eat easy meals for the next couple of weeks. Who cares if you have spaghetti or cassidias or cereal or hot dogs, whatever easy meal, several times for the rest of May. Well, you might care. Some of you might. Having different foods might matter to you the most right now. But if they do, you have to let other things go. You have to. Not everything can matter, especially during May.

And I tend to think that meals are one of the simplest ways to make life easier. So plan your literal hot dogs as often as necessary. You can also see hot dogs as a metaphor for the easy way out. If you're thinking about the shorts thing or the swimwear thing or the teacher's gift thing, make it easy, play in your hot dogs and decide once. If you find a pair of shorts that your kid likes while you're on a target run, just go ahead and get that pair in five colors. Done, done, done.

Maybe the swimsuit you liked from last year is too small now. So rather than stress out about finding a new swimsuit completely, just order the same suit you had in the next size up. Instead of getting all the teachers different things, get them all the same thing. You just write them a note specifically for them. Make it easy wherever you can. plan your hot dogs guys metaphorical hot dogs everywhere okay number four schedule rest in this whole

logistical cacophony of may you are likely worn down last week we talked about when life feels like a fire hose and when it does we're so tired we're so tired we just want to sit down stare into the void or do something fun here's the problem with may the times that we might normally schedule for ourselves to do that, to stare into the void or to have fun and to rest, they might get eaten up by all the May cember things. And then we're left with very little time to refuel and feel like ourselves on top of being extra busy. That's happened to me several times the last couple of weeks. The times I normally have set aside to do something for me and to rest, they have been filled up with all this extra from May. And unless I schedule something at a different time,

I will be extra tired and have no rest time set aside. So number four is schedule some rest. You don't have to schedule it for the rest of the month, but even just this week, even today, when are you going to rest? When are you going to recharge? When are you going to go do something fun or joyful or that makes you feel like yourself? I love to draw as a way to rest and have fun and refuel. And I have not been able to draw in the last few days because of all the things,

of needing to just like go to bed and actually sleep instead of spend my evening drawing another face. And I can feel it. I can feel a difference and how I'm moving through the world because I haven't done something gratifying and slow for me in several days. Since May Sember is changing how I normally spend my time, I need to be proactive in scheduling rest for myself. And I encourage you to do the same. Schedule it on purpose. And finally, number five. the most practical planie of the five, centralize your logistics. Centralize your logistics. Does everything on your calendar and in your head currently have a place?

And do you know where that place is? And would it be helpful for this season to maybe have everything in one place? Chaotic seasons often bring extra details, as we have already established. And sometimes when we're caught up in the sudden chaos of all those details, we stick them in random places. tasks that used to get thoughtfully placed on a to-do list app or in a notebook, they are now scribbled on the back of a bill and then maybe promptly lost both the task and the bill. Or maybe the systems, however loose, that we use the rest of the year, they just are not robust enough to take on the onslaught

of May. And so things are metaphorically or even literally like falling over the side, you know? Or you just do what we normally do. Like when a kid says they need a bag of lollipops for the school field day or you get an email about a party you're supposed to bring the kid early for, but you don't have to be there until an hour later and you got to figure that out. Or your partner texts to you that he used the last of the milk this morning. You know, you do what you normally do. You quickly text yourself a reminder or you put something on the calendar or you put a sticky note where you might see it or you think you're just going to remember. That's hilarious. But if you're likely getting more reminders and details to manage than usual and all of those reminders

are now in different places. Oh my goodness. Of course you're forgetting things. That's normal. Now, I'm not saying don't do that. I'm not saying like don't put those reminders in random places. But if there is a way for you to centralize your life's logistics just right now, just for right now, it might be really helpful. You can use a planner for this or like a separate little mace, cumber notebook, or a shared Google doc with your partner, Notes app notes, whatever you want to do. But having everything in one place, at least all the things that don't currently have a place, it could be really helpful for you. So examine where your current life logistics are. Notice what is not making it into that current system and see if there's a way to kind of widen

your net to catch everything in one place. I personally find a lot of value in kind of a master may to-do list. Now, this might not work for everyone, but it works. so great for me most of the time. Definitely in really busy seasons like May, I have one list that I just keep adding to. Everything goes there. It's where I put the random things that pop into my head, the task that comes through emails, from the papers my kids bring home, whatever. I have one task list for May.

Then every week, when I'm planning my week, I pull from that list and I decide what has to be done this week. And then also what I hope to get done this week. Remember, we recently had that episode a couple weeks ago on half tos and hope to's in your to-do list, that could be a great way to organize. You're centralized to-do list. But no matter how you organize the things on that big list, I wonder if it would help you to have a big list, to have it all together. It's like a closet. You know, you put all your clothes in a closet so you know what outfit to choose today. But if your clothes are in the

closet and also in the dirty clothes hamper and also the dryer and also on your floor and also in your daughter's room because she sometimes steals your sweatshirts now. It's harder to get dressed. Everything is everywhere. The same is true of your tasks and planning your day. If you can keep all of your logistics or more of them than you do now in one place, it might really help you. Now, centralizing your logistics, it does not have to mean every task is on one list, but maybe it's that things are kind of in one place. For example, you might have separate lists for work stuff and parent stuff and home stuff and summer stuff, like reminders and whatever. So they're separated by a category, but maybe they all live in one notebook or one binder or one

document. I like having things centralized because so often are decisions in one area impact decisions in another. So it's helpful to not have to go digging for information that you might need somewhere else, right? If it's all relatively together, it's a lot easier. That's why I love Google Calendar. I have a personal calendar attached to my personal email, a work calendar attached to my work email, a work team calendar attached to another work email. And then I also use colors in my calendar. Yellow is birthdays. Purple is carpal, like transportation stuff. Red is urgent stuff. Pink is work. Blue is life. Task reminders are like green, you know, et cetera. My calendar logistics are centralized in Google Calendar. Everything pretty much that I'm doing,

that I need to know about is in Google Calendar. But I don't have to look at all of it at the same time. I can click off work if I need to. I can pull in or out whatever information I need, right? It's not that my entire calendar is one calendar, but ultimately it's centralized. The logistics of my calendar are all in one place. This is why I love the Summer Docket.

The Summer Docket is a digital resource we created a few years ago that helps you keep all your summer hopes and dreams and logistics in one place. It is currently available in our digital store if you want to check it out. This is also why I love the summer break calendar from the Essential Calendar Company. It is a simply designed wall calendar that goes from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and it keeps all the visible, important summer things in one centralized place. It's huge for my kids. They don't have access to my Google Calendar.

They don't need to. that we put all the things for the family in one place. So as much as you're able and to whatever degree is helpful, centralize your logistics. Now, I'm not saying you have to have a Macember notebook or one master to do list or you suddenly need to switch to Google Calendar. Those are just examples of how I centralize my logistics. I am simply encouraging you to notice if your logistics are all over the place. where can you bring things together a bit more? How can you make all the details a bit more centralized?

So they're not everywhere and you don't even know where to look for them, right? This is a great place to remember the lazy genius principle, put everything in its place. When things are in their place, you can find them. You can use them. You know where to go when somebody has a question. Your energy is already limited. So if you're spending it, trying to find something that doesn't have a place yet, that that makes life slowly harder and harder. Instead, set aside a little bit of your existing energy and find a place

for your logistics. And I think a simple way to create that place is just to have it be one thing, one place. You know, you don't have to keep a notebook of everything in your life every month, but maybe you do for May. It doesn't have to be cute or organized or indexed. You just know that all of your lists and details and reminders are in this little field style notebook, you know, that you keep in your pocket or your purse all the time. It doesn't really matter what it is or how you do this. Just consider the concept and what might work for you. Okay, so let's recap. How can you have an easier time and maybe even thrive for the rest of May? First, remember the reality of the season. There is a lot happening. You're ending something. You're starting something else. You have extra

details you don't usually have. You have seasonal changes that sneak up on you. and everyone's energy is probably all over the place because everyone is actually all over the place. So be kind to yourself and others in this reality. It is a crazy season where you're just trying to stay above water. So be kind. Now what can you do practically? Five things. First, you can tell yourself the truth. You're very likely going to make it. It feels crazy, but some seasons do. So tell yourself the truth about the real ramifications of this season and be kind to yourself in that. second pay attention to what might sneak up on you take a beat to just think ahead about the next few weeks and what might sneak up ask yourself the magic question so your future self can have a slightly

easier time third plan your hot dogs go ahead and automate whatever is easy don't wait until you have to fall back on those easy things do them proactively to take the pressure off fourth schedule rest you likely need some so schedule it and remember that the times you might normally take to have your rest, they could be impacted by May. So schedule something in a completely different place to ensure that you get something. And fifth, centralize your logistics in whatever way makes sense. Even noticing that your logistics aren't centralized helps you know how to take even one small step to make your life easier. Sometimes we don't realize everything is everywhere until we stop and notice it. So just doing that will help. A few resources for you that will put in the

show notes. I mentioned the summer docket from our team. I mentioned the summer break calendar from from the essential calendar team. We also have a summer sanity podcast playlist that you might want to check out on Spotify. It has maybe like seven episodes or so that we have done over the years that might help offer some particular help as you transition into summer. And that is how to have an easier Maysummer. Okay, before we go, let's celebrate the lazy genius of the week. This week is Kristen C. who left a comment on the episode that might actually be helpful to listen to right now, Episode 258, the seven kinds of rest and how to know which one you need. Kristen wrote this.

I love all the nuance in this episode. It helped me finally figure out how I'm most needed and wanted to spend my kiddos's nap time. I'm a stay-at-home mom to a one-and-two-year-old who are finally napping at the same time. As great as it is, I was floundering and found myself feeling unrested, but also unproductive. This episode helped me pin down that a relaxed, Reset, relax sandwich is my sweet spot. As soon as the kids are down, I take some time to relax just to sit on the couch, savor a fresh, not reheated four times cup of coffee, and scroll.

Then I will do a reset, a quick toy pickup, some food prep for dinner, maybe load or unload the dishwasher, just a few things to tidy and calm the crazy from the morning. And a few things to make the afternoon go a little smoother. Then I take just a little more time to relax again before the kids are up. Reframing the reset time as a form of rest and self-care, and giving myself all the permission to relax has just been wonderful, and I've been feeling so much more refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day with two toddlers. This is such a great framework, Kristen, so simple, but so helpful.

I wanted to share this today with y'all because sometimes we need to think about our rest like this, not necessarily with like relax, reset, relax sandwich, but maybe some kind of sandwich, you know? When we have this scheduled time of rest that we talked about earlier, pay attention to what you need, especially for this month. What would be most helpful to you when you do have a little downtime? If it's more than one thing, try a particular order and see what works best for you. So thank you for sharing this Kristen and congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week.

This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey. The Lazy Genius podcast is enthusiastically part of the Office Ladies Network. Special thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production. 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. 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.