The Lazy Genius Podcast - #392 - How to Make the Rest of 2024 Easier

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

We are a mere six weeks away from 2025 which is a Jetsons number, y’all. What does 2025 even mean?! It’s the busiest time of the year for a lot of you, and this is the time where we feel the crunch. Let’s do a little preemptive work today on making the rest of the year easier. Not completely easy! Not seamless! Not a machine! We’re making it just a little bit easier. Helpful Companion Links Order my new book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy. The Playbooks are here! Find out more about them here. 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. 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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Plan started just $12 a month. Learn more at tellus.com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply. 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 392, How to Make the Rest of 2024 Easier.

Well, here we are. It's the end of another year. We are a mere six weeks away from 2025, which is a Jetson's number, y'all. Like, what does 2025 even mean? We have a lot that always happens during the end of the year, right? There's holidays and gatherings, programs for your kids, performance reviews, getting ahead on any work in case you're taking time off in December, being with and perhaps dealing with family more often than usual, trying to embrace like magical December things without being beholden to them. And then there's all the regular life stuff that still happens even though it's the holidays. It is the busiest time of the year for a lot of you.

And this is the time where we feel the crunch. So let's do a little preemptive work today on making the rest of the year easier. Not completely easy, not seamless, and not a machine. We're just making it a little easier. Before we jump into the process, though, I want to remind you of something. Making the most of the next six weeks does not have to be your goal. It can be if you wanted to be, but that's like also a lot of pressure. If you have read the plan, my newest book that came out last month, you know that most of us,

especially folks living in the U.S. are unknowingly fueled by greatness, optimization, and making the most out of everything. It's why we always feel behind. And that does not change during the holiday season. In fact, it might ramp up because now there are memories involved. Oh dear. We have to make the most of all of these moments and traditions or else what's it all for? I'm here to remind you that greatness is not a prerequisite for something holding value. You can have a very ordinary next few weeks. And as long as your goal is to be kind to yourself, to be kind to others, to be an integrated person who honors whatever it is your feeling and thinking and going through, that value is of the highest caliber. We have a new rubric, y'all. We don't live life so that it can be measured.

We live life so it can be lived. And the most significant, way to do that is to be in it, to be present in it, to be content with it, to honor its seasons, to notice the good, even when things are hard, to simply be yourself wherever you are. When we approach life that way, and especially when we approach the holidays that way, it changes how we live. You don't have to hustle after memories or give the best gifts or cook the ultimate turkey or tack on any other superlatives to your task. Just be where you are. Be a genius about the things that matter to you, be lazy about the things that don't, be kind to yourself, no matter the choice, and honor this season right here, right now. So with that as our foundation,

let's make the rest of 2024 easier. The first thing that I want you to do is name where you are. Name your season of life. Yes, it is the busiest time of the year probably. But is there anything else happening that plays a part in your energy, motivation, your scheduling, your family dynamics. Maybe a family member sick. Maybe the matriarch of your family isn't hosting anything this year. And that's like throwing off the dynamic and the plans. Maybe you just came off a book launch season and you're super tired and you would like to do very little if at all possible. Name where you are. That might be impacted by where you've just been or by what is on the horizon. The more color and detail that you give to your current season, the kinder you will be as you plan.

The second thing you're going to do is what I call the lighten the load framework. This framework is in the plan in the book and it really shines, I think, during these kinds of busy seasons. Your order of operations here is one, make it visible. Two, make it matter. Three, make it smaller. And four, make it happen. So make it visible, make it matter. Make it smaller. Make it happen. Okay? That's how we're going to do this. Let's jump it. So first you make it visible. You got to get it. You got to get it out so you can figure it out. When things stay in our brains, I think all they do is stress us out. Not for everybody, I suppose, but I think the majority of people. Now, there are some things that eventually exit our brains and they get done, but often it's like with a dire

sense of emergency. And if you are neurodivergent, this is even more challenging. So your first step here is to make it visible. You can do our beloved brain dump, right? It's a nonlinear list of whatever. whatever's on your brain. So just get it out so you can figure it out. Now, there is a very helpful parameter here. I would say don't write down like literally everything because everything can clog the gears. Instead, only write down things that fit in one of these three categories, things that are overwhelming, things that don't have a plan, and things you really want to do. If something is overwhelming, it needs a little ease, right? If something doesn't have a plan, it needs a plan. Not a big one, but like it needs a little something. And if you really want to do

something, you don't want to lose it in the face of the necessary, right? In this brain dump process, it can be tempting to write down every single thing. But these three parameters help keep the list from being so overwhelming by sheer length that you quit before you even start, right? And you just are able to use your energy in the directions of things that actually need your energy. And you're energy. A perfect example of something to not write down on my own brain dump list is the Lessons and Carols program that I do at my church every December. It is not overwhelming because I love it. And I already listen to my music with great pleasure throughout the weeks prior. So it is not overwhelming in the slightest. It does not need a plan because it's already planned. The rehearsals are

on the calendar. I'm not in charge of anything but showing up. It's fine, right? And then it is something I really want to do, but I am doing it. Like, nothing is stopping me from doing it. So as I execute the light and the load framework to make the rest of my 2024 easier, I don't need to include lessons and carols in that because it doesn't check those three boxes, right? So the more that you put on your list, the more there is to manage on the list. So I think it could be helpful to let that lens kind of direct you of does it match one of these three things right it kind of keeps your list as lean as possible now for some of you i will say assessing the brain dump as you go right that wrecks your flow so it might be better for you to in fact write down everything that comes to

mind and then at the end assess if that thing is overwhelming needs a plan is something you really want to do or any combination of the three or none of the three, right? And then if it's none of the three, then you just remove those things from the rest of the process as you continue on. So it's whatever works best for you. Now one final reminder about this part, I want you to think about regular life things too, not just like busiest time of year ones. If dinner is overwhelming you right now, write down dinner. If laundry is overwhelming you right now, write down laundry. Like pay attention to what is overwhelming. What doesn't have a plan? and what you really want to do, regardless of whether they are, you know, November, December

specific. Okay. So you did step one. You made it visible. Let's move on to step two. Welcome aboard via rail. Please sit and enjoy. Please sit and stretch.

Steep. Flip. Or that. 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, so step one is make it visible. Step two, make it matter. here is where you assign importance or significance to the items on your list. So as you look at what is overwhelming, what needs a plan, and what you really want to do, what is the most important? Like, how much genius energy do you want to give to this particular thing compared to that particular thing? By making something matter and giving it either like, you know, a score, a numerical order,

or just writing lazy or genius next to the thing, you're giving yourself permission to take simple, quick, lazy approaches, or more thoughtful ones, right, depending on what matters to you. Another way you can break this down, either before you assign significance or after, depending on your preference, is by naming what is a have-to and what is a hope-to. Have-toes and hope-toes are what they sound like. Do I have to do this thing or do I hope to do this thing. The idea here is not to necessarily prioritize the have-toes over the hope-toes or vice versa, but to help you see what might have more wiggle room than you realize. Some things that are hope-toes, they are connected with another person's expectation. You hope to spend a full afternoon

with your grandmother when you travel home for Christmas, but you don't have to. Now, that hope it could be anchored in your grandmother's expectations, it could also be anchored in your own desires, right? And the energy of those two things might feel a little different. If you hope to do it, knowing it would make her happy, but it's also tough to fit it in with all the other things, you can adjust how you approach that visit and maybe give yourself a little more permission to find another way to connect with her if it helps ease the overall load. But if visiting her is a hope to from your own end and you're afraid that other family obligations are going to keep you from making that visit, then you might approach how you plan to visit her differently,

right? So there's a difference there. Hope twos, they might be your own hopes or the hopes of others. Half-toes are the same, but they just hold less wiggle room. Regardless, labeling things on your brain dump list, on your make-it-visible list, labeling them as hope-toes and have-toes, either at the start or after you assign significance to them, it could really help you then determine how much lazy or genius energy you want to put into those things. You might want to make an adjustment. Now from here, you don't have to make separate lists, but I definitely love doing that for me. I love taking this information, like naming what really matters, what are the highest priorities over the next few weeks, where I'm willing to give my energy, right, and where I'm willing to let it go.

and then I make my plans from there. But I like separate lists to be able to see things that are grouped together. I think that plans are much easier to execute, though, whether they're grouped together or not, when the tasks are small, which brings us to the third step in the light and the load framework, which is make it smaller. Chances are some of the things on your brain dump list are projects or bigger tasks made up of several, if not many other tasks. Okay. Get Christmas Gifts is notoriously the huge project we just keep putting on our to do

list next to get more dog treats. It is too big. It's just too big. And there are probably a few of those on your list. So step three is to make it smaller, which very important things need to be broken down a bit. And the breakdown is almost always made up of decisions and actions. Decisions and actions. You either need to decide something or do something. So, So choose the most important project from your list or one of them, one that's, you know, top tier and make it smaller. So it'll actually get done, which then leads us to step four in our light and the load framework. Make it happen.

Now that you have named your season, you have made all your stuff visible, you have assigned significance to what matters most, whether there are things that you have to do or hope to do. And you have made the big stuff smaller, or at least you've made a note that like, hey, this is still too big. This eventually needs to be broken down, right? it's time to make it happen. It's time to make it happen. Here is where you start putting things in their place. Depending on how much is on your list, the types of things on your list, the season

you're in, the way your brain works, or simply what you just want to do right now, you can organize this list and put everything in its place a few different ways. For events or experiences or gatherings or scheduled times for rest that do not have a date yet, I would make a placeholder date because everything on your list will require your time. I think it's good to go ahead and mark off bigger things that require a home on the calendar so that you can actually understand your time better, right? So it's like planting the flags first. Plant the flags first and then you can fill in. And even if you change the date down the road, you're working from something rather than nothing.

That's why I value a meal plan. I don't always make the thing I planned, but I would rather start from something than start from blank. And remember, we value the skill of adjusting, not just preparing. So you can loosely prepare by putting things on the calendar,

knowing that you can absolutely adjust later if something needs it. So perhaps before you start to kind of triage your list in these ways, go ahead and put the things that require like a date on the calendar. All right. Now, I would say that you can look at your list through several different lenses. One of them that probably rings true for a lot of you in this time of year is urgency.

You're looking at your list through the lens of urgency. If you see that you have a good bit to do, but it doesn't all have to be done at this exact moment, you can start to create to do lists based on. urgency. And I call this now, soon, later, and never mind. At this point, you've probably called out the neverminds already. But looking at your stuff through a lens of urgency, it can help you go in the right order, a lazy genius principle that really helps this time of year. So, for example, if you have made the project of gift giving smaller, you have tasks like, you know, decide who's getting gifts this year, ask for ideas from those people, schedule time to shop online or in person,

schedule time to bake the cookies. I'm going to give out, figure out a budget, wrap the gifts over several days, and on and on and on. The thing about projects like this is that certain tasks have to go before other ones, right? It would serve you well to know your budget before you start shopping. It would be good to know who you're giving gifts to before you start shopping. It would be good to start shopping before the earliest gift is needed, like the office Christmas party that's happening on December 14th this year, right? this might sound crazy, but my mind is so analog that when I am presented with multiple things that I feel like do have a reasonably right order and it would help kind of set up the urgency

in a proper way, I will often use little pieces of paper to help me do that, to help me put things in order. Like just looking at a list on one single piece of paper of unordered tasks, it's too much for me sometimes. And so I will write each thing on a tiny piece of paper, like just scrap paper, and then I will move them around in order. So it just helps me adjust easier. And then I'll take a picture of the order so I don't lose it because I've got all these tiny pieces of paper now. And then I'll plan to just do the first couple of things because I've sorted it in order of urgency. Like this has to go before this. Da-da-da-da-da. The physical action of moving things around

is an essential part of my own prioritization process. So if that sounds like it would help you, you can give it a try. If it doesn't, please don't give it a try. Okay, other ways that you can make it happen are by delegating tasks, right? You can make a mark on all of these master list that you have right now. You can make a mark next to the things that need to be delegated. You're like, I don't actually have to do that. I'm going to pass that off to so and so, right?

Just put a little dot next to those things. or make a separate delegation list. You can organize your things by type so that you can batch them later. You know, these are errands to run. These are phone calls to make. These are decisions to make, et cetera, et cetera. Or you can literally just make weekly to-do lists where you only look at this week's. But you know that next week is already holding what it needs to hold, right?

That you can set up from your list, from your master list. You're like, this is actually really great to do right now. This I don't need to do until the week before Christmas. So I'm going to move that down there. And you're just putting things in their little holding pen, right? The beauty of the light and the load framework is that once you make it visible and make it matter and make it smaller, you can make it happen in a multitude of ways based on what matters to you and the season you're in.

Okay? So let's recap this here. First, please honor your season, right? Name where you are. Remember that making the most of the year, it is not a required posture. You can be content where you are. You can prioritize integration over greatness. You can just be a person right now without making everything count in the grand scheme of things.

And then you can practically try this light and a load framework. First, make it visible with a brain dump or something similar. Just get it out so you can figure it out. Second, make it matter by assigning significance. not everything can matter the same. And it's important in this season to prioritize the things that actually do so that you'll do them. Looking at half-to's and hope-toes might be helpful in this process too. Third, you make it smaller.

Make sure that any projects on your list, they don't stay that way. The bigger the item, the more overwhelming it is. So make the big things on your list, especially the ones that matter most, smaller. Or at least make a note now, this is too big at this. this point. This will need to be broken down eventually. Okay. And then finally, make it happen in whatever combination of ways you see fit. Depending on a slew of factors, you might approach your list differently every single day, week, or not even make a traditional list at all. But trust yourself. Honor your own processes and needs. And remember that being an organized person,

it doesn't just mean being a prepared one. That's something we're learning from the plan. being a planner, it isn't just about being prepared. It's also having the wisdom to know when and how to adjust and not seeing that as giving up. And it's about noticing what's working and what matters right where you are. Sometimes we need to let go of some preparation in light of what we're noticing and how we need to adjust. So if you have those skills in spades, even though your to-do list might not be as colorful or orderly as you think it should be, please call yourself a planner. You are. Planning is broader than we have been taught, and we're all planners in our own way. So trust yourself and your own skills. Remember that greatness and making the most of it isn't the goal anyway, and you will likely find a lot more ease around your planning.

And that is how to make the rest of 2024 easier. If all that sounds good, but you're like, man, I wish you had a place to put all this. The playbooks are going to be your best friend, y'all. If you miss last week's episode, I shared for the first time about this product we've been working on for months called the Playbooks, they are essentially placeholders for what matters, helping you go through this kind of process for your seasons so that you can plan in whatever way matters to you. They are not a planner. You actually don't need a new magical one of those. You need something that makes your planner work better. And the playbooks are just the ticket. So you can get more information at the lazy genius collective.com slash playbooks.

and I highly encourage you to go check it out. They are seriously so cool, so helpful. They have fantastic paper. Feel so good in your hands. The colors are magical, the four season colors in the bundle when you buy all four, which is cheaper than buying the individual. So I highly recommend that. They're small and nimble enough to either tuck inside your existing planner if it's a, you know, if it's a sizable one or just stack like right on top of it seamlessly because are A5 notebooks. I do not, I do not think I have ever been so excited about anything we've made. I and everyone on TMLG, we really believe these will be essential tools for compassionate time management for years to come. They are so rad, y'all. Love them. Okay, so before we go,

let's celebrate the lazy genius of the week. This week, it's Jeanette Bratzler. Jeanette writes, I have talked about doing Christmas cards for a decade, and I'm always overwhelmed by getting the addresses, who I'm going to forget, whose feelings I'm going to hurt, spelling someone's name wrong. Last year, I created a Google form for my Christmas cards. I posted on Facebook my dilemma and told people, if they want a card, please complete. Sometimes I will text someone and ask them directly to complete the form. It's simple and allows me to send out the cards. I have a friend who does something like this with, there's some like digital card service where she just sends a text to any of her numbers and her address book that she selects. And then the service,

collects their correct information from them, so nothing's incorrect. I also love that Jeanette is solving the problem of not sending a card to someone who wants one, and she has no idea, right? It's putting everything in its place, including other people's agency, which I love. And as I often say around this time of year, you get to decide what matters to you. Christmas cards, they can matter a lot, and they can also matter 0%. For my family, we have never sent out a Christmas card. we never have. Now do I hang up the ones that we get from other people on a ribbon with clips? And I keep the ribbon and clips in a bag in my Christmas decor bin. Yes, that definitely happens every year. I very much enjoy Christmas cards from friends and family, but we have never sent one out. We might one day, because now is not forever. But I always want to remind everyone, especially now, you get to choose what matters to you, whether it is or isn't to Christmas cards. It's all okay.

right? It's all okay. Thank you for sharing, Jeanette, 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. If you'd like a recap of these episodes every other week, you can subscribe to the latest lazy listens email at the lazy genius Collective.com slash listens. And on the website, you'll find information about my three books, this podcast, the monthly newsletter, and the new playbooks. Now, as we enter the next few weeks and everyone gets busy and takes time off, our team will be taking time off in the end of December,

but the podcast itself will not. We're working ahead to have episodes ready for you every single Monday, no matter when it falls. As a listener, sometimes that listening rhythm is nice to depend on, and we want that for you and we are able to make that happen. Now other folks have other equally worthy priorities or are in seasons where time off of a podcast matters, other creators, and we honor that for them. And for us personally, there will be no show break over the holidays. New episodes will continue to come every Monday. 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.