The Lazy Genius Podcast - #373 - Best Summer Hacks from the Lazy Genius Community

Episode Date: July 8, 2024

I asked y’all on Instagram for your best summer lifesavers so far, and holy moly did you guys deliver. These are some of the best ideas that align so well with what it means to be a Lazy Genius, to name what matters to you in the season that you’re in and then make choices that support that! Plus, those choices help you feel like yourself. 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 Instagram post with tons of ideas to save your summer The Summer Docket 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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Please sit and sip. Play. Post. Taste. View and enjoy. Via rail. Love the way. Hey there. 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 373, best summer hacks from the lazy genius community. That is you. I asked y'all on Instagram for your best summer lifesavers so far. And holy moly did you guys deliver? These are some of the best ideas that aligns so well with what it means to be a lazy genius,

to name what matters to you in the season you're in and then make choices that support that. Plus those choices, they help you feel like yourself, an excellent. thing. It was so fun reading through the comments and just one day that post got over 800, 800 of them. And pretty much every single one is a banger. I have compiled my favorites in this episode and I want to expand on some of them too. I also want to show you the lazy genius principles that are used in some of these ideas so that you can see how the lazy genius way of approaching your life really is so kind and effective. For the record, most of these are related to kids and families, which makes sense. I think that the majority of challenges during the

summer are because of kids and families. And parents are in general, often quite desperate for help during this season, which is why most of the comments come from folks in that life stage. There are some that relate if you're single or don't have kids or an empty nester, but I do want to say up front that this is a pretty family heavy episode. So if you would rather not spend the time listening for whatever reason, I totally get it. I will say, as I also, always do with topical episodes that don't work for everyone. Hearing how to apply lazy genius principles to anything, even if it's something less relevant to you, helps you do it more easily and effectively on your own. It's good practice. With that said, I'm glad you're here and you do

whatever works best for you for this episode. Okay, I have organized these ideas into a few categories, food, rhythms, house rules, connection, and perspective. I'm only sharing about 30 ideas today. And like I said, the Instagram post has over 800 comments. If you want to read through them, I highly recommend it. You can't miss the post on Instagram. It is a sunshine yellow box with the words, I need your best summer tips. And here they are. Let's start with food. As we all know, meals are a whole thing. Everyone always has to eat. It never stops. And if you are the primary person who carries the responsibility for making sure everyone is fed, it is incredibly heavy. As a reminder, I just want you to think about the cycle of food in your house, whether it's for you

or for you plus other people. You have to choose what to eat. You have to plan to go get that food. You have to spend whatever energy on spending or saving money, depending on your budget situation. Like you might find deals or, you know, shop at multiple stores or playing your meals around what's on sale or figure out when you're going to go to the store because there's so many other things on your plate. Okay, so you have to choose what you're going to get. You have to shop. You have to store your food. Keep track of what you're out of. You have to cook the food before it goes bad. Also, you have to cook the food many times. You might have to deal with complaining humans who don't like what you make. You might not be in the mood to make what you planned. You have to clean it all up after.

And then you have to do it again. The rhythm for just one person to stay fed is practically a full-time job, you guys. I feel like you need to be reminded of. of this. P.S., this is one of the reasons that I wrote and love my book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen. It helps you think through that food cycle and all of that kitchen chaos that exists for all of us like a lazy genius. Okay, so food is a lot. Any place where you can make the process of getting yourself and the people fed is a win. It doesn't matter how small or obvious it might feel. okay? If food is even remotely stressful, especially in the summer, most summer's very different energy, set yourself up well by making even one choice easier. Okay. Here are some that you guys shared.

First, we have an excellent example of Decide Once, our tried and true favorite lazy genius principle, Kristen Vogel shared. Thursday dinners are always a cereal buffet and smoothies. And we're done. there's no prep, little shopping, since most of the things that a person might need for cereal and smoothies are likely already part of your regular shopping rhythm and in your house, and they don't really go bad for the most part. I'm also guessing that there is something significant for Kristen about Thursdays. Maybe it's an easy mental choice after three focused days and then moving into a weekend. Maybe Thursdays are when some kids have afternoon activities or classes or something. Maybe it's completely arbitrary.

no matter the reason, choosing one thing to eat on one specific day is quite draining. Pasta Mondays, pizza Fridays, breakfast Sundays, Taco Tuesdays, take out Thursdays. If you do not yet have a decide once set on a specific day, give it a shot for just a few weeks this summer and see how it feels. If it doesn't work for you, if it feels too restricted or boring or whatever, then just don't do it anymore. But maybe this season is a good time to try it, either for the first. time or try a different choice than one you make the other nine months of the year and just see how it flies. By the way, I call this structure of choice a meal matrix. Having certain meals go on certain days is a loose system that just might work for you. All right, next idea. This is also

a use of decide once as well as the principal live in your season. This is from Kelly B, who wrote High school and college kids plan, shop, and cook the family dinners. Mama's off for the summer. Man, don't we all want to be Kelly right now? Now, obviously, this is a decide once because it's decided. You know, in the summer, the older kids take care of dinner, done deal. That this is also a great use of living in your season. There are two seasons at work here for Kelly.

First, it's summer. Did you notice that? Mama is off for the summer. It's probably not feasible for the kids to handle dinner during the school year because they're not home as much. This is a summer thing. This is also a season of life thing. Kelly's kids are older, but they're still living at home.

And it sounds like she has multiple kids. So even if one or two are gone because of, you know, camp or a job or something, there are others to take over. Sometimes we can automatically dismiss ideas like this because they, you know, they just don't work for us. And honestly, most ideas don't work exactly for every single person. but if you notice the principles that Kelly uses, you can see how those same principles can apply to your own life. How can you decide once about something based on the season that you're in?

That is a beautiful segue into this idea from Megan Renee. Instead of having a mid-afternoon snack at three or four o'clock, we go ahead and have a full dinner. Then at eight, when we get home from the pool, we have a snack instead of dinner. Same amount of food, but the energy expenditure for me happens at three instead of at bedtime. I mean, how's that for living in your season? Now, will this work for everyone? Definitely not. Some of you go to the pool every day, but it's over lunch and not dinner. This exact idea would not work for you. Some of you don't orient your day around any particular activity like the pool or something else. So the consistency of this doesn't make sense for you. The particulars of each of these tips is not the point, even though some of them are really great

ideas. It's just a great chance to notice how folks are applying lazy genius principles to stressful areas of life, and it's working for them because it's for them. So see which of these ideas spark an idea that is specific for you. 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. Another food adjustment based on the season is from Lynn Crawford. Lynn says, we cook lunch. Whatever we had planned for

dinner, we cook it for lunch, then sandwiches or wraps or cold dinner. This is a great place to mention that the standard idea doesn't always have to be what you choose. You can cook lunch. You can store hair bows and brushes in the car because that's when kids are needing ponytail. You can keep your kids ADHD medicine in his backpack because he'll always have it to take no matter what the morning looks like when he's going to school. You can keep pots in your pantry and cereal in a bottom cabinet and cups in a drawer. You get to decide what works for you, even if it's different than the convention. And that is extra true for particular seasons, just like Glenn shared. Cook lunch. Another lunch idea is from K. Beaterwolf. When one kid has an activity that requires a lunch,

I pack them for everyone, myself included. It saves us all from getting hungry after a morning of drop-offs and errands. Love it. This is a decide once. And it's also a great example of doing something in the right order and batching to other lazy genius principles. You know that hungry humans create chaos. So to calm that chaos on busy days, you go on the right order and you make lunch for everyone at the same time since you're already doing it for the camp kid. You're going to stave off that hungry chaos. Now, this isn't for every single day or every single season. But for this situation, at this time, it sounds like this is an idea that works really well for K Beaterwolf. Next up, we have Hannah Vasquez.

So simple, but I bought a $10 tray at Target. I can pile plates, cups, and food on to take outside. Last summer, I always wanted to eat outside with the fam, and it always felt like so much schlepping things. Now it's easy. Man, is this one so great? Hannah named what mattered, eating outside without a lot of schlepping. So she got something to make that easier, a tray.

and now they eat outside. I love how one small solve can make a big difference for an eating rhythm over an entire season. I love it. Another similar idea is from Mara Olive. Instead of buying tons of expensive paper plates and going through them every three days, grab some food slash fry baskets from the dollar store and find somewhere to buy a giant pack of restaurant basket liners. Even cutting them in half goes longer.

For 90% of the snacks and meals my kids, eat the paper liners keep the baskets from needing to be washed at all. I just throw away the paper and restack the baskets. If summer is not the time to serve food like you're at a casual burger restaurant, I don't know when it is. This is such a fun idea. It's literally fun because like who doesn't want to eat out of a fry basket. Plus it is a lot cheaper, a lot less waste than paper plates, which is something we all depend on a lot in the summer so we don't have to do dishes. But it's still the same easy cleanup. Such a great idea. Two of other. food things that are a little fun.

Best day court, aka Courtney Cleveland, shared this. The answer is yes to popsicles. You can have as many as you want. This is also my reputation in the neighborhood, and I love that kids stop by for one. Now, if you know Courtney, I would stop by her house for a popsicle too. And finally, in the food category, we have S.K. Claiborne. We do a bluebell bracket. Each week, we buy two different pints of bluebell ice cream and vote on the best flavor.

there will be an ultimate champion the last week of summer. It's something we look forward to weekly and it's budget-friendly. That's a really fun family activity. We're doing a couple of similar things this summer. First, our family, we have an ice cream shop that we're visiting every single week, like a different one, and we're keeping track of the scores, like we're all giving ratings and then creating like an aggregate rating based on what everybody in the family says. So that's really fun. And then on the final week of the summer, I think the plan is to go to whatever the winning ice cream shop is. We'll see if that works. And the other thing we're doing is we're having an ice cream tasting party with some friends where we basically take S.K. Claiborne's bracket idea, but we do it all in one go. Lactate will be

provided. But doing fun things like this around food is such a great way to enjoy the summer. Okay. Our next category is around rhythms and schedules in the summer. Everyone approaches this so differently, and that is the right answer. Everyone gets to decide what works for them and their family if they live with one. So look at the use of principles first and then the actual idea to find a way to apply that particular idea to your own life. Okay, so first up is Colorado Peach 690. We marked out active weeks and down weeks ahead of time. Active weeks, we scheduled camps, swim lessons, playdates, and easy meals. Love that. On On down weeks, we're guarding as much time as possible for slow mornings, spontaneous choices,

and more time-consuming summer meal making. This is such a great idea. You'll already know that I love planning seasons intentionally, creating, you know, loose ideas of what might work in a season, paying attention to energy, all of those things. So this loose rhythmic framework of active weeks and down weeks is such a great idea, not just for the summer season, but for any season that has a lot involved. the winter holidays come to mind. Now you could see this idea in terms of weeks like Colorado Peacht did.

Or you could see this as like a day thing, you know, like over the course of a week, maybe you need a down day or two or three built in. If you feel like your summer energy is struggling to keep up, this might be an idea that you can make work for you. Here's another approach to camps for kids. literally not planning them at all. Jessica Precise wrote this. Instead of trying to find camps and activities for my four kids for part of the summer, since I don't need full-time care, I instead hire a sitter for one day a week. It gives me a break each week or time to work or catch up at the

house and the kids have someone new to play with. I love this approach. Again, we hear everyone around us talking about summer camps and week-long activities or whatever your version of that is. when quote unquote everybody else is doing something, it's easy to think we should be too. Well, everyone else is doing camps. I guess I should try to figure out a place for my kids to go for camp. But like Jessica said, she doesn't need full-time care. She doesn't need an entire week at a time where all her kids are gone. Plus, have you ever tried to find camps that fit multiple kids' ages and interests? Even if you have to do two different camps for four kids, part of your time is spent driving and rushing to get lunches packed and all the things. Instead, spend that money

throughout the summer on a weekly sitter. The calm I feel on Jessica's behalf here is enormous. What a beautiful way to look at your season at what matters to you and to make a choice about your own free time that makes the most sense. Next up is Walker's Love Life. I have my kids write their own list of non-screen time activities that they love to do at the beginning of every summer. When it's non-screen time time and they say they can't think of anything else to do, I have them referred to the list they wrote. Then it's not mom's dumb ideas, but their own. And they are generally much more receptive to those ideas. And I get very minimal resistance. What a great idea. I did a version of this, but I made the list myself. I was trying to save myself. I was trying to save myself.

the I have nothing to do vibe by making an I'm bored list. So when they say I'm bored, I just told them to go look at the list. But since it's one list for all three of my kids and I made it, most of the time they argue about what they don't like to do instead of just doing something. Having the kids make their own list would definitely have been a better approach. I tried to magic question this, another lazy genius principle, this summertime irritation of mine around their boredom. I don't care. if they're bored, I just get irritated when they won't do anything about it. But next time, I'm going to adjust this a little and maybe try Walker's Way and have the kids make their own list.

Okay, finally in the rhythm section, we have Aaron Mosier. 10 minute tidy. Every night after dinner, we set a timer for 10 minutes, turn on some fun music and pick up the main area of our house. It's so helpful because there's six of us, so many hands may like make light work. And it resets our home for the next day. Now, that's not a new idea, and a lot of you already do this, but I want you to listen to this second part of Aaron's comment. I don't feel like I have to knack my kids to pick up their stuff all day because I know we have a set time coming where everything will get put back in its place. That right there, guys, is where the magic happens. When something is put in its place, even the tidying time, the tidying time is in its place,

it releases the pressure for a room to always be tidy. You know it's going to happen, so you let it happen when it happens. It just puts everyone at ease, and I love that perspective. Okay, our next section is really just a quick rundown of some house rules or decide oneses that work for people. First is LJ. Person. The kids each get $10 a week for activities. They can spend it or keep it. It helps them plan and sees the value of free playdays. That is rad. Super into that approach. It's a decide once, but it also puts the ownership back in the kid.

They have permission to make the choice that's best for them too. I love it. I love this one from J. Len Huff as well. Thunderstorms slash rain are a decide once that everyone goes to the porch to sit, relax, and watch, listen, or read. We stop what we're doing. and we take it as a sign that the universe wants us to chill. Oh, I love this. Now, two of my kids are afraid of storms, but I might make this one for me. I love sitting in a storm, sheltered, of course,

and having that built in, that choice built in sounds absolutely lovely. I also dig the line about the universe wanting us to chill. Using cues from nature is actually quite fantastic. So think about ways you can use nature in your own life. You know, you might not have a port, to sit under, but can you open a window to listen to the rain? Next is sash posh. This summer, my husband and I decided that our entire family was going to be wearing the long sleeved swimwear. We are fair-skinned and would go through so much sunscreen and would often leave early

from being burnt. We have had a lake day already with all our long-sleeved glory and it is a game-changer. It honestly put my mind at ease and we had a more relaxed time. As a fair-skinned person myself, this is a very big day. this is an excellent choice. Next is M. Link Burr. Sunglasses everywhere. A pair in my car, a pair in my husband's car, a pair in my purse. Another pair that flows around is an added extra. Yes to this. This is like in our house we have hairbrushes and scissors and umbrellas like everywhere. Sometimes having an abundance of important things makes such a difference. You don't even understand

the math of it all. How do these three extra pairs of sunglasses make such a difference? No idea, but they sure do. Last one in this section is absolutely amazing from the Uncle Mary. My kids picked a code word for when it's time to put on shoes and get ready to leave. So instead of yelling, get your shoes on 20 times and getting frustrated, I holler, quit its practice and they come running. Listen to me right now. This is brilliant. This is joyful. This is a perspective shift that we all need in some form. What you name things, what you call things, the words that you speak, all of it makes a huge difference.

And when you make it fun like this in an area that's generally not fun, like everybody having to get their shoes on and get out of the door, amazing, absolutely amazing. I want us all to be yelling quidditch practice as we leave the house or whatever phrase you so choose. Okay. Now that idea is actually a great segue into the category. of connection. Yelling quiddish practice when you're leaving the house together is very connecting. And here are some other ideas that focus on that. The first one is from H. Freni also involves a

code word. Maybe we all just need more code words. I made my kids come up with a plan to not drive me crazy by fighting all summer. They came up with a code word. It's banana. That means I've had it with you and I need you to not be in my face anymore, which means they have to go to separate rooms. no questions asked. Incredible. Bananas all over the place. And that the kids both have buy-in, right? And you're teaching them to set their own boundaries. Now, will this exact idea work for every set of siblings? No. But think about how the idea of this idea could be stretched a little to work for your own kids if you have them. I mean, dude, this could work for roommates too. Another idea, if you have siblings at each other's throats, depending on their ages, of course,

Meg Ritter shared this. If the kids are having a tough time getting along persistently, I will announce that they are doing a drawing or yoga video together. It gives them just the reset they need. We are huge fans of drawing videos in the Adachi house. Since Annie has two big brothers who rarely want to play with her, when she gets bored, one of her favorite things to do is to draw with a drawing video. There are tons of great channels out there.

The point is not the video, whether it's yoga or drawing or anything else. It's thinking about activities that help your kid or set of kids connect with themselves or each other in a helpful way. Next is Little Bits of Sunshine. Puzzles. We have started working on puzzles together as a family. We have found ourselves gravitating to the dining room to work on the puzzle instead of turning on screens. We each take a night and rotate music playlists. And of course, popcorn or ice cream is always involved.

It has brought us closer together as a family. And it is something we will continue doing even when summer ends. I love this. I love this. Now, I feel the need to speak to those of you who are immediately thinking, I wish my family did that. Listen, my family doesn't like puzzles either. I love them.

But I still do them out in the middle of the main living area. And guess what? Sometimes, sometimes. Somebody comes and does a few pieces with me. Remember that your reality does not have to match someone else's. in order for it to count. You can enjoy a puzzle, even if no one else and your family wants to, or you don't need to feel bad that your family does not have a group activity that everybody loves to do every day.

That's okay. And the final idea from Your Bird Can Sing. This reminds me of Markella's playground spreadsheet, if any of you remember that. Your Bird Can Sing shared this. I have four girls ages four months, five, eight and nine. and I dread the summer due to managing playtime with school friends. If one of my kids is invited, I feel guilty that the other two aren't, I'm assuming the four-month-old doesn't count in this, and feel the need to make things even. Don't come for me in my soft millennial mom heart.

So I decided to make a private Facebook group for park dates and invited my friends with kids and had them invite others as well. We have about 50 families in the group now. I, I picked dates for the month so people could plan ahead and whoever can make it comes or they can catch us on the next one. No pressure. Low stakes. We've had two meetups so far and they have been a blast with all different age kids and totally checks the box of playing with other kids without me going bananas all summer navigating hurt

feelings. Plus I get some mom socializing time to 10 out of 10 recommend. This is excellent. What a great reason to get on Facebook if you're not. decide once the dates and just enjoy whoever is there. And I love that everybody invites people. So it's very inclusive. This is so great. Love that so much. Okay. Our final category is perspective. These are places that folks have given themselves permission to think about the season in a way that makes sense for them. Pineapples and pixie dust says this. I'm no longer listening to the you only have 18

summer's rhetoric. It may be well meaning, but it tends to bring up energy and thoughts that leave me feeling like I'm not doing enough or doing it right. That time is slipping away. It's a scarcity mindset, so I've just stopped listening. What a great example of a mindset that works for some and not for others. Skip what does not work for you. Next is Joe Owens, who used to be my neighbor. Hi, Joe.

Joe very wisely says this. Remembering that summer is both a season and a state of mind. My kids are more self-sufficient, 11 and 14, and I'm working full time. but I can choose a summer mindset, which helps me breathe deeper, appreciate the small things, and carve out a little extra space in my schedule. Beautiful. All right, Lori Williams Stroick says this. My one thing is to include yourself. I've made intentional space for asking what I want from this summer with my kids and family. What do I need? What supports me? What brings me delight? What matters to me? As a mom, we can easily get swept up in everyone and everything.

else make space for you. Yes, yes, Lori. Liz 20, 2006. Hi, Liz. I'm going to call you Liz. Says, lean into the chaos and say yes, but also don't feel guilty saying no when you're overwhelmed and exhausted. Oh, man, what a deep breath of a sentence that is. Yes. Say yes. Embrace the season you're in, but also notice where you are day to day. If you need to say no for whatever reason, don't beat yourself up about it. You're not doing it wrong. You haven't backtracked on your choice to say yes. You're not being a not fun person.

Things can be way more fluid than we let them be. So this is such a good word. Say yes, but be kind to yourself when you need to say no. The final comment I'll share is a bit of a plug, but you'll benefit from it too. This is from Kiwi, Kiwi-et, Kiwi-et. Literally, everything I can think of to share is something I've learned from the lazy genius podcast episodes and the lazy genius summer docket. A plug for the docket, though. I can't remember how many summers ago I got it, but I've used it every year since and it's always been incredibly helpful and grounding for me. I highly recommend it. If you're like, what is she talking about? We have a digital product in our store called the summer docket. It is a compassionate, hopeful, practical. practical process that helps you name what matters about your summer and then make plans to support that. Now, yes, it is already July, but you might still have a lot of weeks left in the summer and could use a little directional refresh. The good news is that you can get it now and do what Kiwi-Eat and

literally thousands of others do and you just reprint it every summer. Like you only have to buy it once. So you could buy it now. We'll have a link in the show notes. Thank you to all of you for sharing your ideas on Instagram. And I hope that everyone listening got a little sparkle of an idea from something. Next week, I'm going to share my own list of summer wins so far and give you an update on a few things that I have shared in previous episodes, how everything is working. So keep an eye out for that episode on Monday. Now, since we had so many lazy geniuses of the week this week, in many ways, we're going to skip the official selection in this episode. But thank you to everyone for sharing and listening. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, an 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, and I'll see you next week. 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.