The Lazy Genius Podcast - # 420 - How to Plan a Day That Has No Plan

Episode Date: June 2, 2025

When your days are all reaction and no intention, especially with kids, stress tends to take the wheel. In this episode, we’re talking about how a loose plan can help you live with more joy and less chaos. Helpful Companion Links Order my new book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy. Episode #419: 5 Things To Do Before Summer Begins Get the next Latest Lazy Letter that lands in inboxes on Wednesday, June 4 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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Saving those children is how we all go home. From binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. 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 420, how to plan a day that has no plan. Welcome to summer, the time of year, often filled with days that have no plans. Let's quickly define what I mean by a day that has no plan and why you might want to plan at all. I bet you already know what to do with a day that has no plans. I bet you already know what to do with a day that has no plans. Let's quickly define what I mean by a day that has. I'm just to find what I mean by what I'm. I'm, has no plans when that is exactly what you want. If you have a day with no plans and you want it to stay that way, it will. You do not need help for me. You will be so happy just laying around and responding to whatever comes. To me, days on the beach are like this. Like you go to the beach, you set up your umbrella and your towel, and then you just like enjoy it. You know, you're not, you're not thinking like, okay, at 11, we're going to go for a walk and then we'll come back by 1215

for sandwiches in the cooler. And then it'll be time for you. beach volleyball and then we're going to do a seashell gathering and then a sunset photo before we're into the place that we have dinner reservations. Now, maybe that is how some of you go to the beach or how some of you might go to the beach with other people. Like that's how they handle the beach. But like it doesn't matter. You get my point. For the most part, when we go to the beach or maybe like a time away that's similar to that in vibe, we have very few plans. And we love that. We love that. We're just where we are doing things in the moment, deciding that like, you know, I'd like to go for a walk right now. And does anyone want to come? You know, it's just a different

energy. Those days where there is no plan are lovely days. And I don't think you need help with that. Keep the day planless. That's beautiful. What I am talking about in this episode is different. It is a day where there is no plan and you would really like there to be. Again, summer feels like it is full of those days. At this point, perhaps you are like a week or so into being spontaneous and having no plans, but everybody's like getting a little antsy, including yourself. You know that without some kind of structure, you and or your children will crumble. Without some kind of structure, you'll be playing blocks for hours and look up at the

clock and realize it's just been 15 minutes. That's weird math. Without some kind of structure. there might be more decisions to make because you're not planning things like meals or rest or ways to nurture enjoyment and creativity in yourself and your people. Whether this is happening to you because it's summer or because this is just simply your season of life, even just a tiny bit of structure can be super helpful. And really, we do know this already.

Structure is a good thing. In the right context with the right perspective, structure can feel light and flexible and helpful. Structure doesn't mean every single thing is planned or that everything is rigid. That's often what we think of when we hear the word. But being vigilant about exact plans, that is a wild approach. It is hard to sustain and it's not very fun. So we also don't want to swing the opposite way, which is like you have a series of days

without any decisions made at all about what matters or how, you're going to spend your time. You're like rebelling against structure, but then everything is completely responsive and in the moment. And if that happens, especially with kids, it will likely be more stressful than you would like. A loose plan that has like a little bit of preparation alongside an equal dose of noticing and adjusting. That is what we are after. That is how we most deeply and joyfully live. Now, if you are new here, those words, prepare, live, adjust, and notice are all part of the acronym plan from my most recent book called The Plan. Those words are not there to just create some like cute arbitrary structure for a book. They're real. Like this is the foundation of how a lazy genius

lives, being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. And most of the time, that is going to include a tight. of preparation, an eye that is noticing what's going on so that you can adjust when it's like a good call to pivot. And all of this helps you live your life in a meaningful way. So don't knock structure. Also, don't overthink it. A little goes a long way. So today, as we talk about how to plan a day that has no plan, that's the kind of day we're talking about, a day that could use a little bit of a plan in order to help you and your people feel at ease and even navigate transitions a little more easily too. Also, this episode is wildly close to the process of last week's episode, five things

to do before summer begins. In fact, you can pretty much take the five things from that episode and apply them to a day and you will end up with like a pretty good lazy genius plan. In fact, that is low-key how this episode's going to be structured. It's around those five things with just like another take and then an extra step at the end. So let's just start there, actually. Let's just start with the five things that we said last year, last week before summer begins from that episode. Okay.

Those five things were, describe your season, name what matters in your season, plant some flags. Those are just like the things that are locked, you know? Ask the magic question. What can I do now to make the season easier later? And schedule rest. Now, can you see how those five things would actually work really well for planning a day that has no plan? So let's just walk through them and we're going to see. So first, instead of describing the season that you're in, describe your day. What kind of day are you dealing with? Is there no plan because it's raining, which canceled the plans you previously had? Is someone sick?

Do you just not have anything on the calendar so there's nowhere to be? Is everyone pretty run down? And you know you need a day at home with minimal plans, if any. Describe the day. Think about the weather, the energy of you and your people and why there are not plans to begin with. Second, instead of naming what matters about the season, name what matters about today.

What is the most important thing about this day that currently has no plan but needs a little bit of one? Does everyone need to get moving? Okay, that means movement matters. Do you need a change of scenery, been stuck a home too long? So something like adventure or maybe beauty, that might matter. Is everyone a little whiny and like in their own issues more than you would like after several days at home together? So maybe doing something helpful together out in the community. That's what matters today.

The answers are many. They will change day today. That's beautiful. But you get to choose, right? So on this day, just today, what matters most? That will help you create a little bit of a plan for today. The ride that steals the spotlight every time it hits the road, that's the Volkswagen TIG one. Its sleek exterior makes a first impression you can't ignore.

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I'm Dr. Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. Okay, the third thing, instead of planting flags, in your season. Just plant some flags or even one today. Now let's go over this again, though. What do I mean by flags? So with seasonal planning, flags are usually things that do not move, things like trips or camps or doctor's appointments on days with no plans. Flags are a bit more arbitrary, but their presence might feel like deeply necessary. When you are living a day that has

no plan. It feels like you have one long expanse of nothingness in front of you. And if you have kids involved, that nothingness could also include whining and boredom and slow moving clocks and dreaming of when the sun finally goes down. Now, that's a normal sort of feeling. But it's one that I think most of us would like to avoid if we have the ability to avoid it. We don't always, but when the tools are available to us, maybe we can take them. So flags are retains. So flags are tool that can help. Planning just one thing, planting just one flag in the sand, deciding that today we're going to the library. That is enough to break up the endless nothingness that a day without plans offers us. You just need like a tangible visual thing in the distance to know it's eventually

coming. And it helps everybody feel a little bit more grounded. Also meals can be this, you know, decide that like making lunch or making dinner is an intentional flag. If getting out of the house isn't a thing that day, you know, you could just make it like an arbitrary thing. It's like a nap. It doesn't matter. Just pick something that you know is sort of locked in its place. Or you could make a flag that's like family reading time or family quiet time or, you know,

the morning's flag is we're going to build a fort. And then the afternoon flag is everybody's going to go in the fort and they're going to read or they're going to play quietly so mama can go somewhere else and be quiet for a little while. These do not have to be like complicated fancy flags. Think about, it's like metaphorical pillowcases on a broomstick, you know, that's going to work great. So if you have a day with no plans, just plan one thing. Plant one flag. Decide that one thing is going to happen at an ideal time and then move in that direction. Sometimes for our family, when we're all enjoying having no plans, but I can also tell that everyone's like turning into toxic waste.

I'll be like, hey, pals, in half an hour we're going to Costco. Now, we might not have much of a list, but we're going to go. We're going to get out of the house. The kids are going to be sent to the four corners of the store to, you know, retrieve bags of like chocolate chips or whatever. We'll look at the books. We might get like a food sample or two. And then we're going to go home.

Done, you know. That alone, it dislodged everyone from the negative effects of a planless day. if you have those. And now we just get back to business as usual. Now one final word about planting flags, you might be tempted to plant like lots of them, like half a dozen flags, because you're so ready for today to feel different from yesterday and from every other day of the summer so far. You have that like desperation. And while I get that, I encourage you to not do that. And I encourage you to start small. Don't go from zero flags to six. Just start with one. Just one. Plant one in the morning, do that thing, and then you can decide if something in the afternoon is necessary.

Or you can learn from today and apply it to tomorrow's second flag if you're going to plant a second flag. I'm just saying, you've got to start small. Don't, listen, don't use big black trash bag energy with your time. Okay? Don't do it. So when you have a day with no plan, plant a flag. Just one will probably do a lot more good than you anticipate. Okay, the fourth thing that we talked about last week for your season was asking the magic question. The magic question is, what can I do now to make something easier later? Last week, we were talking about a whole season. But this question works beautifully in like the way smaller context of just today. In a day with no plans, what can you do now to make today or even tomorrow, if that's what you're currently thinking

about? What can you do to make it easier? If you know that tomorrow is going to be rainy and you and your crew are not going anywhere. And you also know that you do like this idea of like planting that flag of making a fort or building a tent or something because kids are obsessed with forts and tents. Maybe you can make tomorrow easier by gathering up some materials today. You can find like a stack of old bed sheets. You can scrounge up, you know, rubber bands or binder clips or whatever tools that you use to build. Maybe find them now and make sure that you have like at least something to help you out before you announce fort time tomorrow and then you don't have the tools to adequately make fort time happen, you know, in the way that you hope. And then you have like,

no forts and grind children. Like, that's not a good time. Another way you can use the magic question for a day with no plans is to make a decision that will come up later. Decide on dinner. Decide if you're going to the splash park or to the pool. Decide if it's okay for the kids to get screen time or to get extra screen time later in the rainy afternoon because you know everybody's going to ask about it. Decide that you're going to hold off on folding the laundry so that you can enjoy fort time and not feel guilty about it. Use the magic question to make a decision that will come up later. Now you know the answer and you can just enjoy your day. Now as I say that, you might be like Kendra, this is dumb. That's one decision. That does not impact

an entire day. I actually think it does. I think it does. We build things way too big. We're often too detailed and too complicated. And then we get too attached to our plan because of all its moving parts. The more, listen to me, the more you decide, the more you plan, then the more those decisions and plans are connected to each other. And then what happens? When one thing doesn't work out, it often creates a domino effect the rest of the day. Now, that's not the worst thing ever. It happens. And on days when you just have to have a lot planned, because that's just how the day goes, like, don't worry about it. It's okay for dominoes to fall. I'm not saying that. You know, you're not a robot. But what I don't want you to do is to dismiss the value of making one decision, of doing one small thing and seeing

its impact, planting one flag, answering the magic question one time, starting small with one thing. It will honestly do way more than you expect, maybe even more than if you were to plant six flags and answer the magic question 10 times. Because now you have something to stick to and follow and check off if you have all these flags and all these answers to a question. You've given yourself like extra chores and tasks and obligations on a day that really just needs like one or two little sparks to not feel like the kind of planless day you're hoping to avoid. So start small, ask some magic question, answer it just one time. Don't knock one time. And the fifth thing mentioned in last week's episode that applies to both a season and a day is to schedule rest. On a day where there

no plans, especially when kids are involved. The burden of the planless energy, it will likely fall on you. And that can be a lot to carry. If you have never been stuck inside on a rainy day or a super hot day or just on any day with weather where there are no plans, but you have like three kids who have varying abilities to take care of themselves, it is weary work. It is also beautiful work. But it's very much work. It requires effort and patience and kindness towards yourself and them in order to survive. So guess what you most definitely need. Rest.

You need a little bit of time to yourself to turn off your brain or to activate endorphins, to take a nap, to experience joy in something that you love that is independent of your responsibilities. It is important for you to schedule some rest for yourself. yourself. In fact, that could be a flag. Plant that sucker deep in the ground. At three o'clock, Mama's going to go have some rest time, which means everybody's going to have rest time. Love, you mean it. Enjoy your fort. See you later. So those are the five things from last week's episode about summer that absolutely work for a day, especially a day with no plans. Describe today, name what matters about today, plant a flag or two if you need it, ask the magic

question and schedule rest. Now, one more thing that we're going to add to this list for planning a day that has no plans is to lean on something that you have already decided. We are going hard in this episode into the original 13 lazy genius principles. We've mentioned like half of them already, but decide once is a crowd favorite. It is what it sounds like. You make one decision about one thing, one time, and then you just keep doing that thing until it doesn't work for you anymore. Now for some of you, there are things that you can decide once that will help with planless days, whether they're right now or in the future. You know that even if you don't have a plan, Tuesday is always library day.

Or even without a plan, everybody spends a little time reading or doing art after breakfast. Even without a plan. And even when it's raining outside, you've already decided that before lunch every day, everybody needs to move. So depending on the day and the weather, that movement might be out in the yard or at the pool or walking around the block or dancing to your favorite music or doing a kid's yoga video on YouTube or something. So even without a plan, you still have something planned because you've already decided what happens at a certain time of day or on a specific day itself. So if you find yourself often caught with a planless day and you wish that that would change,

decide once as your savior. You're not creating a new day from scratch every single day. You're leaning on decisions you already made. So I have a friend who's home with three kids under four, bless, and she has two decide once things each week during the summer that she told me about. So Monday is hang out at home day that she has like a sitter or a little kid, sometimes my Annie, to come and like play with her kids while she gets things done around the house. That's on Monday. Okay. And then Wednesday is Adventure Day.

She has like a few other families that she planned this with. And on Wednesday they go out and they do something together. So they go to like a new playground or go to the library together. They visit the children's museum, like whatever it is. But she knows that on Mondays she'll be. home but with help. And on Wednesdays, she's out and with friends. Now, I want you to imagine how a week, a whole week, that's just two days of the seven, but imagine how a week would feel knowing that those two things are true. As a game changer, you don't have to do it every day. Just a two, one, two.

Keep it small. One last thing before we wrap up. I know a lot of this is focused on being home with kids, which a lot of you are, that some of you struggle with this and you don't have kids, or maybe you're living in a series of planless days because like you're caring for an aging parent or a special needs kid or you're in a job you don't enjoy. Sometimes a planless day, it feels like it's just repetitive. It's just a repetitive day. Like it can have plans, but it's just like the same thing over and over again. So all of this stuff can apply to that kind of situation.

You can think about those five steps. Describe today, name what matters today, plant a flag, ask them, magic question, schedule rest. Maybe if you feel like the days are running into each other, you can decide once on something that's different for every day. I have a friend who chooses one very different musical genre every day and only listens to music from that genre. So like bluegrass on Tuesdays, jazz on Wednesdays, 90s pop on Thursdays. Like that kind of shift, it can impact your repetitive days and it can make them come to life in a new way, even if how you spend your day doesn't really change at all. And that is how to plan a day

that has no plan. Okay, as a reminder, this Wednesday, the next latest lazy letter will land in your inboxes. And this one is a good one. I'm going to share a wild story that will not be shared publicly, probably ever. I am going to share how I am approaching summer reading. I'm very excited about it. And then the book reviews this month, you guys, I have at least three new books, it might end up being four in my top five of the year, including my new two favorite books of the whole year, like that I just read this month, because I reviewed the books that I read for that past month. Since I have read over 60 books in 2025 so far, many of which have been amazing, you got to know these books are like wildly good. So some good book reviews come in.

So if you would like to get that newsletter that I send out on the first Wednesday of every month, you can add your email address to the list at the lazy genius collective.com slash join. You can give it a shot. And if you don't like the email, just unsubscribe right away, like within the email, just pressing a subscribe button. I do not want you having an inbox full of stuff that you don't need just as much as you don't want that. So I will not take any unsubsrives personally.

I just want you to give it a shot in case you like it. Lots of folks do, like tens of thousands of them. So hopefully you can be one of them. All right, before we go, let's celebrate the lazy genius of the week. This week is Christy Adams. Christy writes. We loved pasta Monday so much. We followed it with Taco Tuesday, and now we have burrito Thursday.

I buy a package of jumbo tortillas, and whatever meat and veggies are left in the fridge from that week of meals get rolled up into burritos. I add white rice, shredded cheese, and sometimes a little cilantro, and then I cover each one in foil. By Sunday, if there are any burritos still in the fridge, they go. in the freezer for a quick reheated meal. This has completely eliminated our food waste and saved our butts on those weeknights when everyone is coming and going or when my teenager needs a fourth meal. How true is that? I can't imagine a life without burrito Thursday.

Dorito Thursdays, I love this so much. This is such a great reminder of meals that catch all the leftovers too. Remember a few weeks ago, our lazy genius of the week did like a chopped style meal, like the TV show chop, not the, not the restaurant, where like their partner would take everything left in the fridge and like make a, like a weird meal out of it, but it was kind of a fun challenge. And it saved on waste, but it also added some creativity. Christy is using up leftovers, but also adding to the storehouse of extra food in the freezer, which is insanely helpful, again, when hungry teenagers are involved. Listen, I'd never thought I would buy so much cereal. in my whole actual life.

These children eat so much food. So I love this idea, Christy. Thank you for sharing and congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week. This podcast is part of the Odyssey family and the Office Ladies Network. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, and executive produced by Kendra Adachi,

Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. 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. Have you ever felt like you are 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 podcast. Podcasts.