The Lazy Genius Podcast - What's Saving My Life

Episode Date: August 10, 2026

This is a phrase popularized by Barbara Brown Taylor, and it’s a simple question that helps you notice and contentedly appreciate where you are right now. What’s saving your life right now? My list is pretty light-hearted this season, but no matter what is on your list or mine, the practice is what matters. Notice what is happening in your life, the good things that make it lighter, easier, or better, and celebrate them.Helpful Companion LinksOrder my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.The board game Magical AthleteBrick deviceEadem sunscreen primer stickMerit minimalist stick in oakThe Rhode pocket blush in the color pinky tanThe PlaybooksSign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius KitchenorThe Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)Download a transcript of this episode.Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

Hey there, you're listening to the lazy genius podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi. This podcast isn't about hacking the system to find more time or hacking your energy to get more done. Instead, we value contentment, compassion, and living in our season. We're going to favor small steps over big systems and learn to be lazy geniuses, being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. And I'm so glad that you are here. Today is episode 481. What's saving my life. Even though we do these episodes once a quarter, it feels like I have lived a million lives since the last one. But since the last three months included May, I guess that tracks because that time of year is nuts. So this is a phrase, what's saving my life, is a phrase popularized

by Barbara Brown-Taylor. And it's just a simple question that helps you notice and contentedly appreciate where you are right now. What's saving your life right now? My list is pretty lighthearted today. Summer brings that lightness, I guess, that no matter what is on your list or mine, the practice is what matters. Notice what's happening in your life, the good things that make it lighter, easier, better, and celebrate them. So that's what I'm doing today with my list. After that, for a little extra something, I'm going to introduce you to Team LG. If you have been around a while, you might know some of them already. And if you've ever emailed us, you've interacted with them. But since this episode is about what's saving my life and our annual in-person retreat,

was last week. It seems like the perfect time to introduce you to them since they saved my work life every single day. After that, we'll celebrate the lazy genius of the week, which is one of my favorite messages we've ever gotten, and we'll close with a mini pep talk for when you're overwhelmed by all you'd like to do. Frankly, at this time of year, that's about as real as it gets. So let's go ahead and jump into what's saving my life. I'll do a quick one here before we hit to the break. And then I'm so sad, actually, that this one that I'm sharing is no longer irrelevant, y'all. The first thing that saved my life was the World Cup. Like, the way it saved my summer life is incalculable. This summer, we had a lot of crazy moving parts, but it's like the

World Cup was the steady thing. I could count on it to be there every single day. It was over a month, a month of almost daily soccer games. And international World Cup soccer is my favorite sport of all time. Like, it's my favorite thing to watch. And I love watching sports. I love the pageantry. I love the fans. I love the athleticism. I love the international superstars and the players who become famous overnight. I just love the game of soccer. It's like such a slow burn. And I think one of the most interesting sports to watch because it's so specific and strategic and nothing happens for a while until it suddenly does. And then everyone is like sprinting. And I'm standing up in my living room with my like arms akimbo ready to cheer.

It is just the most fun. I watched every match except the one or two that started at midnight. And then I missed the Argentina Cape Verde game because I was at a friend's birthday party. But then the next morning I watched the replay. Like I watched the whole game the next morning. My family didn't watch as many matches as I did, but pretty close. Part of it is because it was just a great World Cup of so many great games. We had fun enjoying it as a family.

We have plans to visit some Spanish restaurant that cause found to celebrate. the winner. That was something he proposed early on to celebrate the World Cup by eating the food of the winning country. The whole family was rooting for France to win so we could eat patisserie, alas, that did not happen. Next summer, I get to watch the women's tournament, which I love more than the men's, and it'll be in Brazil, which will be, oh my gosh, an absolute blast because, like few countries love soccer like Brazil does. Sports are just the best, and I'm so glad I got to have the World Cup save my life this summer. Okay, let's do one more. This is something I've mentioned already. I mentioned it on the podcast. I think I mentioned it in a newsletter. And it is the game

Magical Athlete. I know a lot of you bought the game after I mentioned it. I really, really hope that you are loving it as much as we do. We actually went to a birthday party last night for some friends and they, like at a brewery and they brought magical athlete. And like so different kids were playing it and different families were like, oh man, I guess we got to get that game. Like, It's just so fun. So this game has saved my life recently because it's made family game time easy. Like everyone enjoys playing and we just have a blast. Since I love games but my family members love different kinds of games to varying degrees,

having one we all really like is such a win. And since summer is a little looser with time and we're not dealing with as many evening activities yet, we've had lots of fun nights after dinner playing magical action. athlete. As a reminder, it's a roll and move game where you get points for winning a race, and you want the most points at the end of four races. But the fun thing is the racers themselves, the magical athletes. Every racer or game token has a different power. And depending on which racers are on the board at the same time, those powers can interfere with each other, which makes it a different game every single time. It is chaotic and silly and so much fun. Every family that plays

with us has either gotten their own game or borrows ours. It is just the best. So that is the second thing saving my life, magical athlete. All right, before we get into the rest of the things that are saving my life right now, let's take a quick break to hear from our sponsors. Before we do, here's a quick reminder about the podcast recap email we send. It goes out every other Thursday. It used to be Friday. We have moved it to Thursday. And it summarizes the episode. It shares the lazy genius of the week. It has a little extra note from me. usually often with some pictures for my own life. So if you would like to get that podcast recap email, head to the lazy genius collective.com

slash recap. All right. Number three, the third thing that has been saving my life this summer is a daily tidy. All right, this is nothing new. We've done timer tidies for years and years. But I always forget how important they are in the summer when everyone is around all day long. So every day, at least once, sometimes twice. we do a quick tidy of our main living area. Just put things back in their place, straighten up pillows,

close cabinets and drawers, kick the shoes under the shoe bench instead of having them scattered around the floor. Very simple, quick things that when done, make the house feel put together and really nice to be in. Because we do that every day, it doesn't get overwhelming. And I think that's true for everyone. There's no task too small to help you move your house along, to feeling like a home you really enjoy being in. Like even picking up one thing matters. You don't have to view tidying or cleaning in like this all or nothing way. One quick task, one quick tidy. It really does make a difference. And the more you trust those small choices, the more you'll do them and will benefit from them. It's like building a muscle. And my daily tidies do that. I love them. Okay, the number four thing

that's saving my life is brick. We have been using the brick device and our brick apps for a few weeks now, and it's just been so great. I shared a couple of weeks ago how bricking the boys' phones has been helpful as they get used to having them. But today, I'm just going to share how it's been saving my life. So I fall prey to the dopamine hits of a smartphone just as much as the next person. And brick stops that in its tracks. I have a schedule set on my brick app for my phone where my most time wasting apps. Now those are personal to me, right? That my apps that I get on and then look up and I'm like, where did the time go? Like Instagram and games and even some shopping apps.

Like don't get me on the Sephora app. Are you kidding me? I will be there for so long. Those apps automatically get bricked starting at 8.30 in the morning. And they don't unbrick until I do it. manually. So in theory, if I don't unbrick my phone during the day, I don't really have access to apps that are not crucial, but do take up a lot of time. And that has been so amazing. I've purchased way less in the last few weeks because I don't mindlessly pop over to Sephora, as I said,

or Amazon or something, and just get fed sales. And then I'm like, oh yeah, maybe I do want that thing. I really don't. I don't. I also have the games on my phone, bricked, because if I have time to play games, I would honestly rather read if I'm going to do anything on my phone. It's not that the games or the shopping or the social media or whatever are inherently bad. But when I have access to them all the time, I get sucked into their siren song, which takes me away from the things that I care about more, which is why I brick them. Now, what's cute about brick is if you try to open an app, that is currently bricked. The screen says back to living. It's like your app is bricked. Go back to living. And it always makes me laugh. It's like a really great reminder because yes, that's exactly what I want to do.

It's just made me enjoy my life more and notice things and not get sucked in to the black holes of my phone. And I'm just really, really glad that we got one. Okay, number five, Costco rotisserie chicken already shredded. This has been on the list before, but it's still true. I find chicken breasts to be the least thrilling protein to cook. But it's also like mildly essential if you're trying to get more protein like every woman is over 42. So this chicken's just a miracle to me. It's tender, delicious, flavorful, but can also take on anything that you throw at it. It's like magic chicken.

Since the chicken is only good for about like four or five days after you open the package, my current approach is to cut the pack in half. One half is for a dinner that week, like chicken soup or barbecue chicken sandwiches or something. And then the other half I make into chicken salad or something that's easy to just grab each day at lunch. My favorite chicken salad is, I've shared it before. It's made with mostly Greek yogurt. So that's like double trouble on protein. And then I use grapes, walnuts, and a ton of herbs to proven.

That is a like an herb blend and my secret ingredient to making this delicious chicken salad. You know that trend going around right now where it's like five things that are worth the money? Or is it seven things that are worth the money? And also that trend went around maybe two weeks ago. And right now doesn't count anymore because like internet trends are so fast. I don't actually know the deal. But anyway, my list, if I were to do that right now, my list would absolutely include pre-pulled rotissory chicken. Yes, you could buy a raw chicken.

chicken and cook it. I could too. I won't. I am absolutely willing to pay the premium to have someone do it for me and even cut it up like I'm a baby bird. So all I have to do is eat it. Like I will always pay for that. Always. It's totally worth the money for me. Okay. So that's number five. Number six is also a food item that is frozen raspberries. Shocking, right? I'm discovering all these new things. So So raspberries cost a million dollars and fresh ones have gotten the memo from avocados that it's fun to mess with people by being beautiful one minute and then disgusting sludge the next minute. But because raspberries are kind of a superfood for me and that I love them, I love raspberries, they are a low sugar food and they have a ridiculous amount of fiber.

I try to eat raspberries most days. It's just like a really easy decide once for me. Well, a month or two ago, I was like, wait a minute. can I buy frozen raspberries? Like it was some kind of new invention? Well, it turns out, yes, you can. Yes, you can buy frozen raspberries. And frozen raspberries are kind of magical. Obviously, I put them in smoothies. But I also love putting them straight into yogurt. Like, the texture's really great. I recently did the whole, like, let's put cottage cheese and other stuff in a blender and see what happens thing. I did cottage cheese, frozen raspberries,

some sweetener and a little lime juice. Y'all, That was delicious. Almost like ice cream, the protein and fiber, blah, blah, blah, blah. Just like a big bang for my buck food purchase. So I'm so glad that I wised up and realized that people freeze raspberries and then sell them to you. Like, what an idea. The next three things are skincare makeup things and they have been my staple summer items by a landslide. I barely do anything else other than these three things because they're so fast and they do what I need them to do.

So the first one, this is number seven officially in the whole list. It is new to me. It is the Edom sunscreen primer stick. Edom is E-A-D-E-M. It's packaged like deodorant. It's like this tiny butteryellow deodorant. And it is sun, but it's not deodorant. It's sunscreen that you swipe on your face. I'm fairly confident it's a Korean skincare brand. And they know there's skincare. It is formulated to work both under and over makeup. So, I have one of my pool bag and I just like swipe it on when I'm, you know, still outside and it's been a couple hours. It makes reapplying sunscreen throughout the day so tag them easy. Plus the texture is amazing. It doesn't feel like much of anything. It doesn't leave a cast.

It does work like a primer if you're going to use it before makeup. Like it really does sort of make your skin smooth and easy to apply everything. Like it is, it is fantastic. Now is it, uh, Nicier than a lot of facial sunscreens, it is. But not by a lot. Not by a lot. I still have and love my LTA MD skincare. That sunscreen is great. I will never stop using that. That for like quick mornings when I'm just running out, or honestly, I just want to put sunscreen on, but I don't want to have to wash my hands after. Like, truly, that's like one of the biggest say says is I don't have to wash my hands. I swipe some of this on and then I'm done. It's just, it's so great. It's such a great product. Okay, so that's number seven slash one. Number eight slash two, the second skincare

slash makeup product is one I have talked about before, like both on the show and even in ads. This is not an ad, but you will probably hear me talk about this in an upcoming ad. And it is the merit minimalistic. I use the color oak. That's what I wear as oak. I don't know if I will ever use any other foundation for the rest of my days. Like truly, I have not used anything for coverage, except the minimalistic in weeks and weeks and weeks, maybe months and months, and months. Like, it is so good. It goes on flawlessly. It stays put, and it doesn't look like makeup. I just look like myself with like more of a punch. So during the summer, I pretty much just do a quick swipe under my eyes and around my nose. And then I blend it in with a brush,

and it's done. I can look awake and less depressed in six seconds. It's just like the best product for me that I have ever used. Now, others have been good and some really good. This to me is my personal best. I just cannot imagine a product working better than this one. Now, here's the thing. I do think that getting your color correct, that matters a lot. I have mentioned this before, but the first time I got the merit minimalistic, I got it in the wrong shade. So it didn't look good. And it was barely the wrong shade to the point where I did not realize that was the problem at first. I just thought the product didn't work for me. So try to explore how to find your right shade. Like don't give up on the shade. I, again, am the color oak.

And I always have like two backups in my drawer. I'm so terrified they're going to stop making it. And then I will be in the depths of makeup despair, which is actually a great segue into the final makeup product, which is when I did just buy like four of because I'm convinced it's not going to stick around. And that is the road pocket blush in the color pinky tan. The road is R-H-O-D-E. Okay, so I do my sunscreen stick, my minimalist stick, and then I do a swipe of road on my cheekbones to blend it out. And I look like I've been on the beach in the best way, not in my usual way, which is blotchy and sunburned. So Road is Haley Bieber's makeup brand, which say what you will, but the girl can make a blendable blush. Good gracious. I have tried

three different shades, and honestly, I love them all, but I reach for pinky tan consistently. It is quite literally, like it gives me a pinky tan. I don't feel like I'm wearing makeup. I just look like a sun-kissed version of myself. And frankly, with both of these products, with merits, minimalistic, and the, like, I'm barely wearing any makeup. It is about as minimal as you can get that I think I have perfected my most basic daily look and I'm just obsessed. So road blushes, they go out of stock pretty often. And the last time, like I went to check again because I checked and checked and checked and checked and it was out of stock.

And then I got on, maybe I got on a wait list email or something. I don't know. But I happened upon the cart when it was in stock and I bought four. I am not messing around. I mean, I still haven't finished my first one that I ever bought. But I will take no chances. I will be buried in pinky tan. I will.

Okay. Next step is akin to the frozen raspberries, one of those things that has been around forever. And yet I was like, huh, is there something that will help me with this? So I have plan or fasciitis because I'm a woman in my 40s and this is what happens apparently like when your estrogen starts going down is you either get plan or fasciitis or frozen shoulder. That's what my PT told me. And I was like, well, based on the experiences of my peers, that checks out. But my, my PT and my doctor told me a number of things that I could do. do, one of which was to not walk barefoot. Like, I need more support, especially as I'm healing and the inflammation goes down. And I was like, hmm, I wonder if there's like a shoe out there that would help support me. But like, still like cute. Could such a thing exist? Mm-hmm. I got some bergenstocks.

Everybody has been wearing these shoes forever, including when I was in middle school. And still I'm like, what's the hype about? I do. And I understand it now. I understand the hype now. Since my foot started footing at the start of the summer, I figured a pair of sandals would be the way to go, you know, because I'd be, it was hot outside. So I got one pair of Bergenstocks and I wore them. I got some Bergenstock sandals. I noticed a difference in my pain levels like pretty, pretty quickly, pretty quickly. It turns out that walking barefoot is a bit of an issue. And so not walking barefoot works really well. And even it's so great to like be supported when you're walking. And it also is to look cute. Like Birken socks are cute shoes, man. Which is why I then bought another pair to wear in the house.

So we are a family that takes our shoes off at the door. But I can't walk barefoot in my house anymore. Like I need house shoes. So I got some burke clogs as my house shoes. And I never looked back. I'm still doing like stretches. I still have more pain on active days where I'm like walking a lot or whatever. But I'm managing everything pretty well. And now I am a huge fan of Bergenstocks. Like everyone else has been for decades. I am a late adopter of most things. Okay. Next up. What number are we on? 11. I think it's 11. It's sleeping in. I do not get to sleep in during the school year. I can on like half the Saturdays, but otherwise I must be up by 630 at the latest because that's when Annie is up to get ready for elementary school. If I want any time to myself before that, then obviously we're talking I got to get up earlier than 630.

Now early isn't bad except that my bedtimes are rarely early enough to give me enough sleep during the school year. My boys go to bed later. It's still something I'm getting used to. But in the summer, well, everything changes in the summer, y'all. Most mornings, I'm sleeping until at least seven, if not eight, this morning. I woke up at 7.52. Are you kidding? All the kids are doing this as well, which is why transitioning to, like, school rhythms is going to need a couple weeks' adjustment, like I talked about in the back-to-school episode a couple weeks ago.

That for now, goodness, actual gracious. That sleep has been the literal. best. I love going to bed without setting an alarm. I love lying in bed for a few minutes and enjoying the fact that I woke up when my body wanted to. It is sublime and it only happens in the summer. So I'm soaking it in, man. I used to use this app. I don't remember the name of it, but it woke you up at the best time in your sleep cycle. Like you would give it a range of an alarm and it would wake you up like when you were the most awake in your sleep. But I stopped using it because it told me how I slept. That's why I don't have an aura ring. I am like too prone to optimization to have a lot of data

in my life. Like I don't need, I don't need anybody to tell me how poorly I slept. Like I can feel it. And telling me is almost like a pile on and makes it worse. I need to just live like as much as possible. But I also know that it would be nice to not wake up growing. when it's time to wake up again. So we'll see if I go back to that app and maybe I just won't like look at the sleep stats. I'll just treat it as an alarm as much as I can. We'll see. But for now, sleeping in has been easily a top five thing of the summer.

I mean, I like I'm so sad that my sleeping in season is almost over. That's been so nice. Okay. Number 12 will likely always be on my list in some way, but that is thrifting. And it's been so fun this summer because, well, I love a graphic tea and Goodwill is full of them. I also love going with Annie, who is becoming a bigger thrifter than I am. We go at least once a week, if not more. And it's just so fun.

We have so much fun. I was also able to articulate something about thrifting that's been helpful for me. So in truth, I really love shopping. I love the dopamine hit of something new, of discovering something cool, bringing something new home, finding a way to use it. Like, that's fun in general, no matter where I'm shopping. But what makes Goodwill and other thrift stores so great is that I can do all of that without spending much money at all and without adding to consumer waste by buying new things. Now, of course, I still buy new things sometimes. But I, like truly, I cannot remember the last time I bought an actual piece of clothing

new that was not underwear. Oh, wait. No, I bought, here we go. I bought a dressy out for a work event because I owned nothing that was like business cocktail or whatever the code was. But other than that, thrifted all the way. And I just love it. I love that I get to enjoy shopping on a regular basis without spending a lot of money. Like even if I spend 10 bucks a week, which is like a good little haul at Goodwill, that's still barely $500 a year. That's not a small amount of money, obviously. But when I think about doing the same thing at Target once a week, that is a very different scenario. So I'm getting all the fun and not any of the hardship. I'll be really sad when school starts. And Annie, I have to figure out like our new thrifting

rhythm. We'll have to be more intentional about it. Because right now in the summer, one of us will want to go to go to goodwill? And we'll just jump in the car and go because the answer is always yes. It's just so much fun. Okay. Two more. The, 13th thing that is saving my life right now is finding a why for my health. So before I get into this too much, a quick disclaimer that I will talk briefly about disordered eating. So if that's a sensitive topic for you, please skip ahead a few minutes. I talked about this in detail in last week's newsletter. So I'm not going to get too much into it here, but essentially I had a real breakthrough a few years, a few years ago, a few weeks ago as it relates to my

health. So I, like many women in their 40s, have been dealing with all kinds of like cuckoo pants things all at once just because I'm getting older. Like there's a loss of estrogen and muscle mass and sanity and what have you. It's all a mess in there. So I have dealt with brain fog, planter fasciitis, as I mentioned, hormonal migraines, skin changes, body composition changes, metabolic changes since certain foods don't land the same way that they used to. My hair is changing texture. My sleep is up and down. I grunt when I get up and down off the couch, like just all kinds of things. I've always been resistant to anything related to food intake and diet because it's too closely tied to diet culture and to my own personal history of disordered eating. And I never want to go

back to that place, obviously, to those years of counting calories and thinking about my body and worrying that it wasn't pretty or skinny enough, all those horrible things that took so much energy and time and kindness away from my life. I'm never going back to that. Because those years were so hard and so horrible, I have swung to the other end and have like simply refused to be concerned about what I eat. I've had more care about how I move, like trying to walk regularly and stuff, but most of my late 30s, early 40s have just been like living my life. Well, sadly, a woman in her 40s, it's really hard to do that anymore, like to just like to live without paying attention, not without some consequences, which made me sad because I don't want to do anything that

resembles food restriction and harmful patterns that I used to have. But then over the last couple of months. I've had conversations with friends about their parents. I've started to notice how people in my life are aging. I have seen dementia take hold. I heard one woman say, I know I can't control what happens to me, but I want to do everything I can, everything I can, to make sure that my kids don't have to watch me mentally drift away from them. You know, we can't control it, but we can contribute to making it less likely. And that got me. It's like it just a switch flipped in my brain. And I suddenly felt like I understood why my physical, mental, and metabolic health are worthwhile things to care about. I'm not trying to control my life or play God. This isn't about ensuring

that I live a long time. But what I do want to do is put myself in a great position to have energy and strength so that a fall is less likely to take me out. out or even happen at all. You know, I want independence as I age. I want the ability to play with my grandkids if I ever get them. It's nothing new. That's nothing new. But it felt new in my own head. It felt like for the first time, it felt completely different and separate from the narratives that I had when I was locked into diet culture and trying to get thinner and smaller at any cost. So I've been making some changes that have been really great. I feel really good physically and mentally. I feel motivated to care for myself.

I made a chicken wrap out of egg whites the other day, which was insane, but weirdly good. I'm not trying to change how my body looks. I finally understand that I can impact how my body and mind feel. And I love my life and my people too much to not feel as good as I can. This is a common phrase, right? Find your why. It's one of the biggest things about being a lazy genius, honestly. Like, what matters?

you know if you don't know if you don't know what matters you won't be able to prioritize your time and energy into things that matter to you and you'll fizzle out trying to do everything but knowing what matters does create space it does it has for me in this area as well as many others like clarity is such a gift and when you really and truly know why you're doing something and that something matters to you on a deep level, you do it. Like it's almost easy to do it because why would you not? It's why my life in diet culture eventually led to disordered eating. My why was not clear, nor was it accurate. Like my reason for eating less and eventually eating like a dangerously small amount every day was because I wanted my body to be as small as possible. But that wasn't rooted in

anything good or true, which means it harmed me. Like those choices were harmful. The cycles of restriction and binging and shame and all of that. It did not help my body. But more important, it harmed my mind and my soul, not just my body. And thinness was not a compelling enough why for me to make those choices. Because deep down, I knew that that was not a reason to do anything. It was somebody else's reason for me, not mine. And even if, it was mine, it wasn't good or lovely or anything worth aiming for. But this why, this one, goodness gracious, I feel like I've got the best kind of fire lit under me. I'm so excited, like genuinely excited about making different decisions because I see, I see how my metabolic health impacts

quite literally everything I'm struggling with as a 44-year-old woman. Like all of it is connected. and I'm actually really grateful for that connection. And I have people in my life who are helping me see and nurture those connections more like my physical therapist. I'm just really enjoying caring for myself. And by extension, my family and community, by giving myself the best chance to be a present participant in my own life for as long as I'm around. It's honestly kind of fun.

I never thought it would be fun. But it's because the reason I'm doing it is fun. And that is saving my life right now. And thankfully, won't ever stop. And then the last thing that's saving my life right now is my playbook. I did not use my summer playbook a ton in late June, early July, because life was just like lifeing. Every week was different. But we were also not consumed with too many things. Like there were busy things like camp and stuff, but honestly, things just sort of like rolled on their own. And then a couple of weeks ago, I started feeling the weight of August approaching. I got a little squirley. Got a little squirrely in my head, y'all. I started thinking about all

the things I needed to do and all the systems that could use an upgrade and all the charts I could make that needed highlighting and whatever. That, as often happens now, lasted just a minute or two, just a minute or two before I was like, hey girl, hey girl, hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Start small, baby. Where's your playbook? Go get your playbook. And so I went and got my summer playbook, that tomato red cutie pie. And I flipped to the pages that closed out, July and opened up August. I answered what was making me feel like myself, what I needed to relax about, what mattered the most right now. I brain dumped all the things. I started triaging those things into the weeks that made sense so that I wasn't trying to do everything right now

because that does not work. And after about 20 minutes with my playbook, I felt completely different. I wasn't stressed or worried or panicked or grabbing a big black trash bag or buying a new planner. I just stayed small. I stayed in my season. Did the work that I needed for right now. And like, now we're great. We're great. Now, yes, there are still plenty of things to do, of course. But ultimately, I'm not spinning all the plates worrying how it will all get done. I know what matters will get done because it is spread out across time. And I also know that even if I don't get everything done as quickly or like in the way that I hoped, it will also be fine. When I relax about that and I release the perfection that I used to hold so close, I actually get more done.

I get more done. It is the weirdest thing. A looser grip helps you hold more. So I'm checking off my list, but not in like a stressful way. It's been pretty great. So if you are feeling that same squirreliness and you have a playbook sitting on your desk, pull it out and see if it helps you too. Just start where you are. It's fine if it's the last month of the season in your playbook.

Like, you know, that's what I did. The summer playbook is June, July, and August. And I barely wrote anything in half of those pages. And still going back to it in that spending time was invaluable. So if you would like to learn more about the playbooks, especially as school starts up, you can find more at the lazy genius collective.com slash playbooks. All right. So to recap, the things saving my life right now are the World Cup.

Well, that one did save my life. Not anymore. The World Cup, magical athlete, daily tidies. brick, Costco rotissory chicken already pulled. Let's not get crazy. Frozen raspberries. Eat them sunscreen primer stick. The Merit Minimalist stick. Road blush and pinky tan. Bergenstocks for my old lady feet. Sleeping in, thrifting, knowing a why for my health and my playbook. And that's what's saving my life right now. Okay, for today's a little extra something. I'd love to introduce you to the members of Team LG.

I do not do all of this by myself, like not by a long shot. In fact, I could not do any of this without my team. And so I'd love for you to know who they are and what they do, especially since you might interact with them in the Facebook group or in the Playbook People Facebook group at an event we do in person, maybe in the future. I just want them to get like the public applause that they deserve. So first step is the person you're the most likely to interact with. Kara is our community experience.

manager. That means she is in charge of everything related to how you interact with the lazy genius. She answers your emails, whether it's the ones that you send straight to hello at the lazy genius collective.com or the replies to newsletters. She answers all of those. Every single person gets a human response and that human is almost always Kara. She pays attention to what you all are talking about and what needs would be good for us to reference in podcast episodes and emails. She also helps with customer service if you have questions or issues with the playbook you ordered. And she manages our Facebook groups and Instagram. She brings the humanity into the business, thinking about you and how what we choose impacts you.

She's the newest member of our team and we are just so happy to have her. Next up is Leslie, Team LG's Director of Operations. She basically runs the machine of the business. Like she does the books, she does the scheduling. She figures out the pieces and parts when we come up with an idea. She has a master's in something having to do with space. She's like really smart and loves a spreadsheet like nobody I've ever seen. Leslie's been working for this team for five years and is she's the glue to everyone's

glitter, essential. And then finally, and name you hear more than any others. And that's Leah Jarvis. Leah has been with me the longest since 2018. and is our director of content and strategy. Basically, she's in charge of what we make and that we make it the right way and at the right time. So she plans our podcast editorial calendar, our email calendar.

She sets up product launches when we have a new playbook. She designs anything that needs designing, and she makes sure the podcast gets into your ears every week. She also listens to many minutes of me rambling out an idea and speaks it back to me very clearly as one concise thing, which is incredibly helpful. All three of these women are in different life stages and parts of the country. They have different professional and personal backgrounds.

There are varying preferences and beliefs and the love of dogs. Actually, basically, they all love dogs. I don't love dogs as much. They tolerate me for that, which I appreciate. But what we all have in common and what every member of Team LG will have in common as long as I do this is a dedication to compassionate time management offered in a authentic kind way. We care a lot about excellent work, transparency, inclusivity, and you. We care about you. Like, we're not here to make a buck at your expense. We genuinely want to help you as the lazy

genius community not need us anymore. Like truly, I would love nothing more than for every person who reads my books and listens to this podcast to come to a place where you no longer need to. Because of how much the lazy genus principles have permeated your life. Like they've just become so natural. But until that happens, we want to be excessively helpful and generous of spirit toward you. And because of Kara, Leslie, and Leah, I get to do what I love the most, which is creatively solve your problems and offer kind solutions to life's chaos every week through the podcast and every couple of years through a book. Last week I talked about cause and how I couldn't do this work and be this person without him. And today's a little extra something is another version of that.

There's no way. Like quite literally no way that this podcast, the emails, playbooks, Facebook groups, actual books would happen without these women. Just no way. There's no way. So when you listen and you read emails and you do whatever you do in this lazy genius space, know that it's not just me. It's me and three incredible women who are excessively smart, kind, and who care about you. as people. And that is today's a little extra something. All right, time for our lazy genius of the week.

This week we have Megan Boyd. Megan shared this tip recently in our Facebook group. She says, My lazy genius mom's suggestion in the thick of summer is this. When you are ready to run away, thinking about checking yourself into a hotel or a mental institution, take yourself to the movies. Yes, just yourself.

It's quiet, dark, and cool. You don't even have to watch the movie. You can take a nap. And after that movie, maybe go to another. The bougier, the theater, the better. Think reclining seats, food service, the works. Just make sure you don't stumble into any kids' movies or the purpose will be defeated.

Happy Summer. This made me laugh quite literally out loud. What a great suggestion. Also, the nap part. It's like, hey, you don't have to watch the movie. Like, just go to sleep. This is actually a really cheap solution to stress, honestly. Like, going to the movies.

is way less expensive than getting a massage or getting a hotel room or any of the bougie things that we desperately want this time of year when we're stressed out that we like dream about. But yeah, Megan's right. If you go for the fancy theater with the recliner seats, it's almost as good as a massage chair. Like just go relax in the cold darkness. I watch a story unfold or not. Go to sleep. Nobody cares. I love this idea so much. I am taking the advice of a recent lazy genius of the week and taking the day off the first day of school, I might just go see a movie that day.

We'll see. Or actually, wait, maybe I want to save that for a day when my kids are still home. Like, I don't want to go to a movie on a day where they're not home where they're in school. That matter. I'm going to figure it out. Either way, this is a great idea.

Thank you for sharing, Megan. And congratulations on being the lazy Jesus of the week. Okay, let's close with the mini pep talk for when you're overwhelmed by all you'd like to do. This is inspired by last week's office hours episodes and the folks who very much wanted to take care of all the things at once. We all want that. We all want life to work smoothly and easily without like kickups or roadblocks or whatever. This time of years primed for that. You know what I'm going to say, but I'm going to say it anyway. Solving everything at once doesn't work. Trying to do

everything at once doesn't work. Being unkind to yourself when things are left undone also does not work. None of those things lead you to wholeness as a person. They might lead to checked off lists occasionally. They might lead to getting everything done when motivation and opportunity strike at the same time. But rarely will you be able to get everything done that you'd like to, especially when you're in an overwhelming season. So instead of trying to hack your way to completion, I want you to just take a breath, start small, be kind, and do what is most important today. Do what matters right now. and let the rest go. Now, you're not letting it go forever. You're letting it go for now. And then when tomorrow comes and you have a new start, a new set of hormones and no schedule for the day,

you can see what you can get done. But your days should not be measured by your list by how much you get checked off. The more you accept that and start to live it, the more you will actually get done because your grip is loose, your contentment is high, and your stress is low. And your stress is low. Guess what happens when stress is low? Tasks are easier to do. And that's a many pep talk for when you're overwhelmed by all you'd like to do. If this episode was helpful to you or if you've been looking for a way to support the show, please share this episode with someone you know or leave a kinder view on Apple Podcasts. Every mention and share, it makes a difference. So thank you for your support. And if you would like the podcast recap email that goes out every other week,

you can sign up at the lazy geniuscollective.com slash recap to get it. This podcast is part of the Odyssey family and the Office Ladies Network. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, an 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.

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.