Simple and Meaningful Ways to Rest

is not about hacking the system to find more time or hacking your energy to get more

“done, hustling to be the best and make the most of every opportunity is exhausting and unsustainable.”

So here we do things differently. On this show, we value contentment, compassion, and living in our season. We favor small steps over big systems. Here we are lazy geniuses, being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. And I'm so glad you're here. Today is episode 458, simple and meaningful ways to rest. Today we're going to hear from you guys. So daily rest is the sustainable, driving force of living whole present lives. We wrongly think that

rest comes from big sweeping things like vacations or a long weekends away. Those are great, but we only waste a rest and feel like ourselves every single day. We need to make simple, meaningful choices that remind us that we're people and not robots. So we can hop off the machine and be still. Even if our version of rest involves movement and not actual stillness,

“there's still a spirit of stillness inside of us. There's a desire to stop the churn and scurry of”

performance and just be a person. So today we're going to hear from you over a hundred of you shared ideas of how you get simple, meaningful rest. And we have curated a list of ideas and experiences to share today. You might hear your own idea or even your own voice on this episode, which is fun. But more than that, I hope that you hear yourself your own experience through this lens of solidarity and that you can have this confirmation that simple,

meaningful things, this one simple idea that you might do is actually sustainable, reasonable. It's a do it right now, way to rest, that makes a difference. After that, we're going to have a little extra something, which is a mini mail bag with a question about dealing with email when

you hate email. That's pretty relatable. As always, we'll celebrate the lazy genius of the week,

which is such a simple, meaningful idea when you have a little extra time, but practically applied to your to-do list, not just like how you spent your time. And it's a really good one. Then we'll close with a mini pep talk for when you're completely out of energy. A pep talk that will include my favorite moment from the Winter Olympics. All right, before we get into all of that, I want to give you a quick reminder that this Wednesday is newsletter day. So the first Wednesday of every

month is when we deliver the latest lazy letter, which is my monthly newsletter. And it's also when we deliver the book list, which is my month's reading review roundup of all the books I read, that month. That included the last one included all my January reading, which was 18 books. Which is Google Payance. So there were definitely a lot of books to choose from in the previous book list. This month will not have quite that high of a number, but I did read a top tier thriller

and a pocalyptic sci-fi story about a little boy in his robot nanny that took me completely by surprise. And I finally read the correspondent. I don't think a book has been more recommended

“to me than that one. I think it's because the birds all the cover that I finally got from the library”

after being on hold for a million weeks. So all of those plus a handful of others will be in the

book list email that goes out on Wednesday. So if you would like to get that, head to the lazy geniuscollective.com/booklist. Plus when you go to that page, you will see, like books already listed in many ways. You'll see my favorite authors. You'll see favorite books that I've read in recent months, favorite series, and even links to reading related episodes that we have done on the podcast in the past. It's like a really great page just to go to, even if you don't sign up, just go check

it out. And it's also a great newsletter. So I do hope you sign up. I hope you enjoy it. And then of course, you can also sign up for the latest lazy letter, which is a more personal collection of essays, stories, things I'm trying and learning in my regular life. I don't know what I'm going to write

about yet because I always write it the day before we send it out. But if you would like to check

it out, you can head to the lazygeanscollective.com/join. All right, before we get into your ideas for simple and meaningful rest, we're going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsors. They make this show free for you to listen to. So I appreciate them being here. Before we do that, just a quick reminder that if you would like a recap email of the podcast, we send one out every Friday. It's called the latest lazy lessons email, and it summarizes the episode. It shares the lazygeans

of the week and the other segments that we have on the show. There's an extra note for me to get

would like to get that, you can head to the lazygeanscollective.com/lissons.

“We always recommend Shopify. It took us from an idea to a real business. We got set up. I think”

in less than a day. With very little effort, we could just focus on the supply chain to the product development. Shopify gives us the ability to customize without the complexity. We can change something without introducing fragility or having to pay a developer. Well, Thursday, total, and we leveled up our business with Shopify. Start your free trial at Shopify.com/au. Okay, let's get into simple and meaningful ways to rest.

The first thing I want to remind you of is that small moments of daily rest they matter.

If you are in the deep end of life, you might think that a few minutes just won't cut it.

“And maybe at first it won't. Like it's not going to feel like enough. But eventually, that daily”

tending, it will make a difference. Imagine watering like a large plant that you have in your house. It's been forever since you've watered it. Okay, the soil is dry as a bone. The leaves are wilting and dull and you start to water. The soil soaks up that water really, really quickly at least it first. But then the water starts pulling at the top or even leaking up the bottom because the soil can't absorb it fast enough. It's so depleted that it can't take in all the water that it needs

right away. Contrast that to watering the same plant a little every day. Now I know the technically some plants are supposed to dry out before being watered again, but just ride the analogy with me anyway. If you water that same plant a little bit every day, the soil is ready to absorb the water that it needs. It has some more to go. The water has some more to go. That's a little bit like daily rest versus waiting and hoping for big vacations or full days of nothing. And what's wild

is that even when you get those big days, it really is like being a super dry plant, getting a

gallon of water poured on you. It's great, but like also weirdly not quite right. It can't always

be like this because so much of the water or the rest, it like pours off of you because you're so dry and desperate for it. You're like, I don't even know how to spend this time. I don't even know

“what to do. And then it doesn't feel like enough when you're done. That's why it's such a”

good kind practice to value simple and meaningful ways to rest every day, to give them the honor they deserve. When you value that smallness, you will not despise it. You will not resent it. You're not going to roll your eyes out of it. You receive it and you enjoy it and then you look forward to it again tomorrow. So with that in mind, let's explore some ways that you can do that. From all the ideas that you listen or send in. Some were sent to us and written for them and I

will read those of course and then some are voice recordings which is fun. So we'll share all kinds of ideas today. To make it a little easier to kind of get your head around, we will take these sort of a category, maybe you'll hear a specific idea within a category that will maybe catch fire for you in like a new way. And then I'll share the ideas you send in and then share my own take on

how I rest in that particular category. Okay, so the first and most popular category of simple

meaningful daily rest which is not terribly surprising for this community is reading. Now if you're not much of a reader, like don't poo poo this, you can substitute the active reading for something else that's like the same posture. And also, maybe there's an idea in here that might spark a new interest in reading that you have not quite thought of yet. Here's a great opening response from Emily. Emily says something that makes me feel like myself is reading, getting lost in a fictional

world, broadening my views, turning off my brain from focusing on the constant need of others, is something I need to feel sane, let alone feel like myself. I decided once and scheduled reading for the last hour before going to bed. So good. There are so many people who mentioned similar

Renee, Amy. That's just the name of few of them. For so many folks, getting into a story

“is the perfect balance of escape and groundedness. We can become immersed in something that is not”

our own life which is so fun. We don't have to be responsible for the characters or the needs in whatever book we hold but there is something relatable about the human experience when we bear witness to other people's stories. Whether that's in literary fiction where like the people are real and deeply relatable or there are dragons and magic circuses like it all counts. Here are some

more thoughts about reading as rest. These next two are in audio form the first from Ali in the second

from Jennifer. Hi, Kendra. This is Ali from Holly Springs, North Carolina and I am a professional tester. As a recovering in a program three and type A business owner and mom to three kids, I have had to make rest a priority for myself. I love to take an apps. In fact, I feel like I'm a professional napper even if it's 20 minutes. It makes a huge difference in my day. I also started 2026 pressing in to quieter hobbies that give my brain some rest. Those include needle planting

and reading and you have been a big inspiration for my reading journey in 2026. Hey Kendra, team. This is Jennifer from Batavia, Illinois and I wanted to share a new practice of rest that my

family started. So, leave something called cozy time which is the hour before my kids go to bed

and really the only rules are no screens. But we just take that hour to kind of co-exist. Sometimes we'll play a game. Sometimes we'll all be reading or listening to an audio book, listening to some music. My daughter and I have started working on puzzles together which has been really fun. But yeah, at something we look forward to every day and even for myself throughout the day if things are feeling hard or busy, I can remind myself that cozy time is coming up at the end of the day.

“So, I know I'll have a soft place to land after everything that we do. I think everybody needs”

something called cozy time. I feel like we just need to all adopt that. That's like so great.

I love those. I hear some other ideas that were sent in. Katherine shared this. I leave early

for work with it being winter. It's still dark outside. I sit in my car and read for about 20 minutes before heading in. It feels like a quiet little pocket before the day begins. What a great way to invite reading into your life. But like also start your day of work with doing something fun. I would have to be personally. I would have to be careful about what book I brought with me because some are really hard to put down but I really love that idea from Katherine.

This next one is from Janolay. After I send the big kids off to school, I sit down in the chair with my coffee and read until the coffee is gone. My little people know this is the time. When even though I'm sitting, I won't read any stories to them until my coffee cup is empty. This rest time is important to me. I love this one because it helps Janolay rest, but it also teaches her kids that value as well. Here's one from Lauren. Every week, every week

night. After I take a shower, I make a cup of tea or decap coffee, light a candle or two, and sit down on my couch with a blanket. I take out my journal and write down five good things from the day, pray, and then read before I go to bed. It's usually only for about 30 minutes, but it is a cozy time. There it is, cozy time. Of rest and reflection that I heavily guard

“because I know how important it is. I think that reading, taking the time to read,”

is so popular as a form of rest because it's very accessible, like even listening to all these ideas. You just have, you can just have your book right there, right? Most of us have access to a book and can pick it up. Once we're settled in bed or on the couch or even in our car, before we walk into work, right? It's uncomplicated in its tools, even in its physical needs. Like you don't have to plan on changing clothes or taking a shower, like you might with movement

or gardening or something else that you're doing that's restful for you. Reading is like right there. No needs, no complications. You just pick up a book and read until you stop reading. Like it's great. So for me, most mornings I start my day restfully with reading. I'll sit in my reading chair. I've shown a picture of that in the latest, lazy, I think latest, lazy, listens, maybe letter as well. But I've shared a picture of my reading chair. It's in my

living room. I will light a candle with a real match because real matches are very special to me. I'll read my Bible and then I'll read some kind of like non-fiction to help me settle into the

such a great way for me to start the day. I will read throughout the day. Not so much as rest,

“but just for enjoyment. If I'm waiting for kids after school or waiting at the bank for a meeting”

to start, which I was doing a couple days ago, like I'll just read on my phone. But I do read as rest at the end of the day, like a lot of other folks wrote in. I start that by reading

on my phone because I have like a, I always have several books going at once. And one of them is

always on my phone. And I will read that while I'm sitting in Annie's room while she goes to sleep. Yes, she is older. She does not need me in her room. And I ask her every night to let me stay with you tonight and she always says yes. We both really enjoy it. It's like a sweet little ritual where I just sit in there with her and read until she falls asleep. Then once I personally get ready for bed, I will always read before I go to sleep, like always. Even if it's just one page.

Because I am wanting to fall asleep and not get sucked into a page turner, I will usually make my bedside book something a bit more chill. Like I don't read like murder thrillers before I go to bed, not for scary reasons, but because like I don't have time to get to the end of find out who the killer is. So right now I'm reading this like weird little novella called at the villa of reduced circumstances. It's like this funny academia story about this awkward German linguistics professor

and his like quest for respect. It's quiet and funny. It's a little absurd. Plus it's small and easy to hold like no matter my position in bed. It is really the perfect book to fall asleep too. So that is reading as rest. If you were not into reading, that's okay. There are other ideas coming.

“But if you're a person who doesn't read because you don't know what you should read,”

I would just encourage you to be patient, to explore, find what you like, like anything, learning to read and finding what you enjoy reading. It does take practice. I've been reading as rest for many years, but I would say it's just been in the last five or six years that I've really started to understand what I love. I've read some great things along the way, as I've explored, but I've also read things that taught me what I don't enjoy. Like none of it is

a waste. Even if you read something that you don't like, it's still teaching you what you don't like. Much like the way I described rest at the beginning of this episode, like don't expect that everything you read is going to be the best thing that you ever read. Just like I don't want you to expect that every time that you rest is going to be like the most restful thing ever,

“like just take your time learning what you like, finding the little bit of value and whatever it is”

you're choosing to do, like all of it matters. It doesn't all have to be a barrier. All of it matters, and it's moving you in the direction of finding what you love. Now, if you want some practical help finding what to read next, I would listen to the podcast, what should I read next. It is a podcast hosted by Anne Bogel. I would say that's the show that like truly taught me what I like, because every episode is her helping a listener figure that out, like, and then recommending

books for that person and every single episode. She taught me how to find out what I wanted to read. Now, if you'd rather dip your toe into reading like in a really fun way, try the show,

shelf respect from the amazing minds at the PMG at the podcast media group. It'll make you laugh,

for sure, and maybe it will make you want to read. And then if you would like to hear what I'm reading each month, like I already shared at the top of the show, you can sign it for the book list email. I give detailed descriptions of what I've read along with, like, book words that might help you a quickly identify if something is or isn't a good fit for you. Okay, so that is reading as rest. Now, let's move into creative ways to schedule rest. For some people, finding daily

pockets of time, it might not be as complicated, because maybe you're home, and it's, you know, you're a little bit more in charge of your schedule. But for others, it's definitely deeply complicated. There are great ideas here to get your reals turning. So we're going to start with some audio ones. We're going to hear from Jessica, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jennifer, and Mary Kate. My name is Jessica Eastman Stewart, and one of my favorite ways to get a little bit of a breather

during work days is in the settings of Google Calendar, you can look for speedy meetings setting, or in Outlook, they call it shortened duration for all events. And what this does is, instead of defaulting to a 60-minute meeting or a 30-minute meeting, it makes them five or 10 minutes

shorter. And you can always override this if you need a full hour, but it allows you to

often get just a little bit of a break between meetings so that you can breathe a little bit before you have to jump right into the next one. Hi, this is Elizabeth from Montana,

for about the last 10 years on average, one Friday a month, I take the day off.

“So I do work full time, at this point, in that 10-year time frame, we do have a toddler who's”

almost three, and this just allows for some space, right, it allows for time away from work for my brain to rest from that aspect of my life. And some of those Fridays off, I run the vagarians. I might clean and declutter with an audiobook. I might sit and read quietly, spend 10 outside, just straight rest and sleep, or watch a couple movies that I've been putting off that I wanted to see. Whatever I need in that space of time, it's planned ahead for, and I just find that

that is much more valuable than like screeching to a halt, and I have to take a day off kind of feeling that can come up sometimes. So knowing that it's there gives me some consistency and something to look forward to, and I just really appreciate that. Hi, Kendra, this is Sarah from Orange County,

“California. I just wanted to share something that has been helping bring a little bit of relaxation”

into my days, sleep recently. My son is getting a little older, and he doesn't need as much of my focus and attention as he gets ready for bed, and I initially started filling in that time that's given to me by his added independence with, you know, getting more chores down around the house or whatever, but I realized a better use of time would be to get to some of the

reading and piano practice and playing, and things like that that I seem to never make time for.

So since I don't know exactly how long I will have in the evenings, because I don't know how long he'll take that day to get ready. It works really nicely. I can sit down and read a book, play the piano, sometimes my husband comes over and starts singing, and that's fun, or read a magazine, or just whatever, because I don't know how long I'll have, but it's relaxing for how far long it lasts. And I've also started doing something with my son called Leftovers in Literature, where we make

sure a couple nights a week. We have dinner ready to go, we just have things we can heat up, and then we need to pick a book, because we've given ourselves more time to just sit and read, and so we need to read separate things usually, but we're both getting more reading in, and I love it. Hi, Kendra. This is Jennifer from Southern California. I'm a teacher, and I have a 20-minute drive to win from work each day. I used to spend it thinking about the day ahead, or reviewing the day that

ended. One day I realized I was all alone, and no one was expecting anything from me, so I decided to enjoy the time. I really hate getting up early and rushing to get ready for work, so it's a great

reward for me to relax on the way to work. And then after work, I'm always exhausted, so it's

great to have a time to rest my mind before getting home. Sometimes I just drive in silence and let my thoughts wander, sometimes I call a friend, sometimes I listen to music, or a fun podcast, including the lazy genius, the small pockets of time have made my life much better and more enjoyable.

“Hey, Kendra. My name is Mary Kate, and I live in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the best way that I am”

resting in this season is stopping chores, work, whatever at 8 p.m. Sometimes I take a bath after, sometimes I sit on the couch and read a book, sometimes I watch a show that I know is going to make me laugh, but the principle of scheduling rest is one of my goals for the year, and daily rest for me looks like stopping at 8, whether the dishes are cleaner or not, and that gives me time before I go to bed at 9 or 930 to actually do something that's going to be good for my spirit. So,

thanks for always teaching us about rest, and making it a thing that I want to shoot for.

So, I appreciate you, and thanks so much. Love, love, love. All right, let's close this category of scheduling rest with these two perspectives. For one from Stephanie, one from Erica. Stephanie writes, "For rest along the way," I love that phrase. "For rest along the way," one thing we do is to regularly go out on our deck, most evenings, and the rule of deck time is no stressful topics, just joy and relaxation. We finally learned that we can't wait for everything to be done and settled,

the hard things can wait until deck time is over, and this is from Erica. Rest has been a struggle for me, the demands on my time are never ending, and rest felt like something I could do

I take one hour out of my morning to use as I see fit. If I'm very tired, sometimes that hour is spent sleeping in. If I have more energy, then that hour is spent on my favorite pastime reading. I make myself a cup of coffee or hot water with a squeeze of lemon depending on my mood, and just enjoy the quiet stillness of the morning. Not scheduling rest, we leave me feeling angry and resentful, because I felt like I was being pulled in every direction, giving my energy

in time to everything that demanded it. But then I had nothing left to give myself at the end of the day. Scheduling rest first gives me more energy to tackle my to-do list and to be present

with others. So Stephanie, Erica, and Mary Kate are all essentially saying that there's always

“something else you could be doing. Always, life is never done. So if you don't schedule rest,”

which is one of the original 13, lazy genius principles, schedule rest, you're not going to do it. If you wait for things to be done, you won't do it, because things are never done. They're never done. So you have to choose to be done for now. So you can rest and whatever way makes sense for you. I have shared this before. This is how I schedule my own rest. I take a lunch break every day. I don't work through lunch. I try not to eat scraps or something that's like kind of me. You know,

I try to eat a great lunch and do something fun while I eat, which is usually reading or watching something. Now, I did not use to do that. I know that's such a simple idea, but that's the point of this episode. Simple, meaningful things. I did not use to do that. I would eat quickly or sometimes work through lunch and my therapist was like, girl, no, take a lunch break. And it made, like, she would check in when I would come in for an appointment. She's like, did you, uh,

“hasn't been going with your lunches? Have you taken a lunch break this week? Like, every day?”

It was always a check-in because it makes a massive difference in my life.

The other scheduled rest is my day off on Friday. So from my last school drop off to my first school pick-up, I have from about 9.30 to about 2.30. So that's five hours where I don't do anything product at all. It's almost like my own Sabbath each week. It's a reset at the end of a busy week, before we get into whatever's happening on the weekends. Now weekends can be restful, but that rest is not consistent. It all depends on what's going on, right? So having those five hours on Friday

is my deepest refueling lunch and five hour Fridays. I am genuinely a different person because of that scheduled rest. Okay, let's get super practical and talk about naps for a minute. We got a lot of thoughts on naps from Rachel and Victoria and Heidi and Marie and Erin and Val,

“plus all the ones that I'm about to share. Taking an actual nap is not for everybody, but”

man, they're great if they work for you and who knows maybe an idea that you hear will convert you a little bit into an apper. So first let's hear from Amy. One way that I rest when I have a chance is what some people have referred to as a napuccino. I will make a coffee in the afternoon and when I'm finished I'll lie down usually randomly sideways on my guest bed with a dog or two tucked in and just take about like a 14 to 17 minute nap and then I feel refreshed.

The napuccino thing kills me every time. I love a creative name and I can attest that this does work. I don't always do this before my own nap. I'll just take an nap because I'm tired, but sometimes I will do a quick cappuccino in my little machine, my little on the espresso, and I'll take my nap and it's like, "Hello, it's pretty fantastic." Okay, let's do some others. So first, here is Susie. Susie says, "I've recently developed a chronic pain issue that has

really required an intentional rest during the day." Sometime in the afternoon, I'll take my shoes off, climb into bed. I usually read a little and maybe do a little scrolling and then I set my timer for 18 to 35 minutes and close my eyes. This is napping as a kindness, especially with a recent life change like a chronic pain issue. Like, don't push through. 10 to yourself. Like Susie's doing. Okay, this is from Renee. Renee says, "Mom breaks." As started taking an hour long mom break

after lunch, I'd announce that I was going on my mom break. I would read or nap or just sit and quiet in my room. Now I have learned waiting until all the things are done to earn your rest. We don't do that. It's like waiting until your spouse completes all their honey doves to tell them you love them. Again, another great idea for scheduling restaurants rather than waiting for everything

to be done first. It's never going to be done, guys. Just go ahead and rest. And then this final one

from Amy. Just because I have a question about it and it made me laugh. Here's what Amy says.

I set a timer for 15 minutes anyway and rest. It makes me a better human."

Agreed. Do the same. But for 17 instead of 15 here is my question. Amy, you said you snowed up with your favorite dog. Does that mean that the other dogs just watch you and the favorite dog nap? What's happening with the other dogs? Or do different days have different favorite dogs? Like the storytelling that I'm doing for this short message is giving me so much life. It's like Amy and her favorite dogs. Okay, but little naps, you guys. That's the point here. Just in case

“you're new, I have a 17 minute app. Here's my process. If I feel my eyes get droopy, that's what the”

trigger is. Which often happens around like one 30. I will immediately go to my bed or I'll just lay down on the couch. Now I know that's a privilege because I work from home. Not everybody's

able to do this. But it is what is available to me. So when my eyes are droopy, I go lie down.

I set my timer for 17 minutes. I turn on some white noise on my phone and I close my eyes. Now sometimes I immediately fall asleep. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I don't sleep until like 10 minutes in. It doesn't really matter. The point is responding to my body's need to rest for a minute. If I don't have droopy eyes, I don't do it. I don't take an app. But you know that feeling. You know when you could literally close your eyes and be out. So the short window of napping when I'm feeling

tired, it actually does not make me feel groggy. And it is just enough to make me feel refreshed.

“I love my 17 minute apps. Okay. Next let's get into beverage rituals. These can be so”

simple and meaningful because of the process involved. It's not like reading where you can just pick up a book. Usually there is some kind of making, some kind of tending that lends itself to presence and being intentional. So we got ideas on this from Janolite, Lauren, Sarah, Kayla, Hannah, Amanda, Victoria, Heidi, many others. Here are some simple standouts. And I mean simple. Let's start with the most simple one. Ashley wrote, "Each day I hold my warm coffee cup with

two hands and close my eyes as I take my first sip. It's one small moment, moment of peace, enjoy and rest even though my world around me is not resting." I mean it sounds kind of like a falters commercial. And also this is what we're trying to do. We're trying to hold on to the simplest moments to be where we are, be kind to ourselves there, and be still for just a moment on the inside. Holding your warm cup of coffee in both hands and taking an intentional first sip

is so grounding and powerful. Truly. Now, Jenna has her own coffee moment that I find intriguing.

This is what Jenna writes. My favorite thing that adds joy and rest to my workdays is waking up 10 minutes earlier than I need to. I stumbled downstairs to fill my coffee cup, preset the night before, and then I go back up to shower. After I shower, and my coffee has cooled to the perfect drinking tap I crawl back into bed for 10 minutes. Now, this is great. Like do the responsible showering thing, and then get back in bed with coffee. Like this is an amazing idea.

And also, Jenna, I need to know about this coffee maker that creates such a coffee. I need this. I microwave my coffee so many times just to get a warm, and you can leave yours for 10 minutes, and it's not cold yet. I need your coffee maker. Okay, and then finally, here is a voice message from a nishka. Hi, my name is a nishka, and I'm from Texas, and my favorite way to rest is to put on some Beatles music, do some embroidery, drink some tea, if you have some chocolate

all at the same time. That is my happy spot. I love that. Oh my gosh. Those are the makings of a fantastic moment. So good. I am not much of a beverage as a rest person, but I will say that I have been making afternoon tea several times a week in the last month or so. It's been so great. I don't find my morning cup of coffee very ritualistic. It's more like it's rhythmic, and it helps me wake up, but it doesn't do anything for me on a spiritual level, but tea feels different to me.

“I think it started when we were in London. I was served a pot of tea, and pouring the brood tea”

from an actual tea pot into a cup, not just like steeping a bag in a mug. It was weirdly beautiful to me. So I kept an eye out for a tea pot during January, and I recently got a cast iron, tiny tea pot that only holds enough for two cups, which is what I would want, and I have been making a little pot of tea in the afternoon. Like maybe three times a week, right before I start getting kids from school, and because I've also been baking a lot of shortbread recently,

I'm having a shortbread cookie with my tea. Like I'm Paul Hollywood or something. I've loved it. It's been so great. Also, aside note, this has nothing to do with rest. Saying Paul's name it made me think about it. Did you guys know that Pro is leaving the great British baking show? Okay. She's 86. Says it's time to rest at home. Good for her. Paul is 59. I did not realize

If you don't know, you're not ready. You guys, it's Nigella Lawson. Nigella, actual Lawson.

I love Pro. I will miss Pro. She is the most delightful person. I want to be friends with Pro, and I am also super intrigued by Nigella joining the team. I'm like a little bit giddy about it. Okay. Funny Trauber. Okay. So this last bunch of ideas is a bit of a grab bag,

“but I think they all have to do with the senses, basically. Movement, nature, creativity.”

Just a great mix of ideas here. So let's start with Debbie and her fantastically fun idea for what she calls "Tubtime." I can't drive. This is Debbie Dave from Thompson Station, Tennessee. My long-term listener and is a recovering in-eagram, one a big fan of lazy genius. My scheduled rest has been a daily part of my routine. Since my kiddos were little, they are now 22 and twins were 20. So after dinner and cleanup and any small prep we may have for the

next day, Mama enjoys her "Tubtime." His habit started really small with an iPad propped on the chair and a piece of chocolate. And over time, it has, it has expanded to a mounted TV in a tub shelf, sometimes a glass of wine and very rarely a plate of delicious cheese.

“The beauty of this scheduled rest is its flexibility. During crazy seasons, I could barely get”

through a 20-minute show and then there have been quieter seasons. I've been known to watch an

entire movie with some water warm-ups, but this time has always been protected and just respected

by the people of my family and we all know it is "Tubtime." I hope this inspires someone to carve out rest for themselves every day and keep the great ideas and encouragement coming. We appreciate you, Kendra. Thank you for those kind words, Debbie, and also how fantastic is that. Like, "Tubtime." All the way, man. I'm so into it. Okay, this one is equally fantastic and so beautifully simple. This is from Ashley, Ashley Wrights. Before I get in my car, I face the sun like a sunflower

with my eyes closed and count 15 deep breaths. Breathing plus sunshine is a bit of what my

“weary self needs each day. Isn't that so beautiful? Like, face the sun like a sunflower.”

Oh my goodness, this is from Katie, Katie Wrights. I go in a walk after work every day with my

golden retriever and Marco Polo my mom friends. It's a win-win-win, the dog, it's exercise. I get vitamin D and move it and I connect with friends. It's my favorite time of the day. Love it. And this from Amanda, I take my cup of coffee and sit in the park next to my office and read. There's something quite beautiful about reading outside. So simple. So lovely. Shea does the artificial version of this, which I love. Shea wrote, "Right, I use smart accessories, light bulbs, and a home pod

to create a bedtime scene." Spom music plays and the lights are set to a dim warm glow. Once in bed, I just allow the music and light to haunt me relax and reset. Before sleep, I love that. I love that. And then one more simple one, that is kind of dear to my heart. Christa says, "My daily rhythm of rest includes taking a few minutes to do the New York Times puzzles." Do New York Times puzzles, wordle connections, pips, often at the end of my teaching day. Y'all, those New York Times games

are the best ever. I do them with A&E, either in the morning while we're waiting until it's time to leave for school because she is girl is an early bird, like she wakes up and she gets ready fast and then we have to sit around. So we'll do them in the morning if we have time or at night when we're winding down for bed. Now I will often do wordle on my own because I'm in a competitive rural group chat with my buddy's Josh and Mark that we've been doing for five years now.

We track wordle at golf scores. So par is getting wordle in four and then we reset the scores every month. We even have a trophy now that the winter keeps the month that they're the winter. It's like great. But A&E and I do the other games, most days, it is just the most fun. It's the most fun. It's kind of surprising. How fun. Like so simple and so meaningful, which again is our point today. Okay, we're going to close with some voices for final voice messages from Emma,

Jamie, Melissa, and Michael about ways to find simple and meaningful rest. I can draw my name as Emma and I live in Morseville, North Carolina currently, and I had a tip for getting rest in the everyday. So a little over a year ago now, I decided once that I was going to walk every day of 2025 and I did it. And so I've just kept going because the

matter for how long I go. And I have found it is such a gift to be present with where we are

“in the season of the year to see the beauty that's right around me, whether that is a conversation”

with a neighbor or just looking at the trees or the birds. You'd never know what you're going to see.

And who you're going to see? So I've deeply enjoyed this practice and it has been a restful space in my everyday. Thanks much. Hi, Kendra. This is Jamie from Franklin, Indiana. One way that I feel like myself every day is a quick 10 minute energetic yoga flow in the morning, even before I have coffee. I used to apple fit this app and every morning after I let my dogs outside. I turn on a little heater in my sunroom and do 10 minutes of yoga. It's a habit. I have

developed over time by starting small and only doing it one or two times a week. Now if I start my

“day without yoga, my body knows and I feel it throughout the day. This is just one of the things I do”

each day to make me feel like myself. Hi Kendra. This is Melissa from New Brunsett, Canada. I am a long

time fan since you're very first appearance on the What Should I Read Next podcast.

And I just wanted to share how I schedule rest. Mine is that I take piano lessons. As an adult, I am new to the piano. It's not something I learned as a kid and by taking those lessons, it kind of forces me to take some time to practice a few days a week and just sitting down at the piano working through a new song and then learning something new is really relaxing for me and helps me find calm and kind of get off the internet. And I just wanted to share that

in case, just to let people know that music lessons are not just for kids. They can be for

grown-ups too. So yeah, I hope that inspires an idea for somebody. And thank you so much for

all the things that you do. Hello Kendra and lazy genius listeners. This is Michael from Kansas here. I love this question especially right now as the season is turning from winter, hibernation to energy's up spring. I find that after the fall and winter holiday season, I cultivate some hopeful rest practices because come January, I am tired. One simple thing that I have been doing is lighting a candle in taking five deep breaths.

I have a vote of candle and a book of matches that I keep on my dresser ready for whenever I can pause and take this moment. Sometimes it is in the morning when I have a couple minutes after putting on my jewelry or at the end of the day. Sometimes I say a simple prayer while I inhale an exhale, but really it's the stopping lighting the candle and breath that centers and grounds me from whatever energy I may be experiencing in that moment. It's a return to the present. I've only been

doing this since the end of December last year, but it is deeply regulating and a simple, easy way for me to rest each day. Well I just loved this. I loved hearing from all of you. What a what a sweet, simple, impactful episode. This is of hearing these ordinary, small ways that we rest. The world tries to make everything flashy and actionable and lots of steps to be the best person you can be and I'm just so glad that we do things differently here. I'm glad that you

couldn't actually do a podcast episode about any one of these things because it's too simple to even break down. Instead we have this great collection of the most simple meaningful ways to rest for regular people living regular lives and we're not trying to be like flashy or great about it. We're just people being where we are and trying to tend to ourselves as we live lives that matter. So thank you for sharing your thoughts, everybody, and those are simple, meaningful ways to rest.

All right, it's time for a little extra something. We're going to do a mini mail bag. I'm going to answer Karen's question that she left me on Instagram. Karen writes, email, I love it.

“Alas it must be dealt with regularly. If I name what matters is that the importance”

stuff I must deal with not get lost and all the less important stuff and then I actually deal

irregular and I don't have a routine way to get in the email pool and get the darn work out done.

This feels very relatable. I'm not going to assume that these next two things are true of Karen, but I am guessing that they are true of many of you who relate to Karen's question if not true of Karen herself. So the first is that when we procrastinate something, anything at all, whether it's a demander, it feels bigger than it probably is. To read Karen's question, it sounds like she's got 100 emails to reply to on a regular basis

when it's probably a much more reasonable number than that. Now maybe not. But most of us don't need to respond to dozens and dozens of emails every day, maybe even every week. So that's the first thing I want to point out. When you procrastinate, it makes it feel bigger than it is. Similarly, when you use words like "low," when you "low" something, it also feels bigger than

“it is. That's why I encourage all of us to not use catastrophic language when talking about chores”

or anything that overwhelms us, words like always, never, no one, everyone. Those kinds of extreme

words, they keep us from being honest about what's going on. Karen, at any one of you who you're all allowed to love email, I mean, of course you can't it's fine, but you can also choose to defend it a little and use a softer word to make it not seem so daunting and horrible. Like how you speak about things that you hate, it makes a difference. So maybe consider a different language. Another observation I'm making from Karen's question is that when we, when we procrastinate

on email or anything, the longer we wait, the longer we wait, the bigger it becomes. Right? Now, it's already bigger because we don't like it. We're probably using big words and because we procrastinate it at all. But the longer it goes, the bigger it feels.

It's like when you can't remember someone's name, but you see them all the time at like

carpool line or work or whatever, and it's been so long now that asking their name at this point is like just downright embarrassing. Procrastination does that. It makes it even harder to do the thing that we need to do because it's just been so long at this point that what's the point of doing it at all. Now, of course, we know that we can't procrastinate forever, but the longer you wait, the worse it feels. So to that end, I am going to encourage Karen and anyone else

to use the principle put everything in its place. I want you to put email in its place. Not like from a discipline, put it in its place. That's not what I mean. I want you to pick a regular interval. Once a day, once a week, maybe Mondays, Wednesdays Friday, like it in a matter, whatever works for you, starts small, whatever life you live and the email load that you carry, and just check your email then you could set an alarm even for yourself, like an alert,

to go like, oh, it's email checking time. If you can only check it at that point, rather than

“opening your inbox all the time just to see, I think even better, because the point of putting”

email in its place and scheduling it, is that when you check it, you check it with the intention of tending. You check it with like a little notebook next to you or your planner or whatever, and you're going to tend to those emails. Now, if some are going to take longer than what you have time for right then, you're going to make a note in your planner and your little notebook or whatever that says reply to X email. You know it's there, and it's on your list now for when you

have time later. It's not just floundering in your inbox, right? But when you sit down at your schedule time to check your email, you are sitting down with the intention of clicking the link to register the kid for the band thing, right? You delete the sales emails that you're not going to use. You scan the school announcement email for anything that's relevant and write it down in your little notebook or whatever. It's when you reply to the work project email, you know, it's like the

reply all and it's like sounds good that you just need to do the thing. When you sit to check your email, don't just look at it, tend to it. See the difference between checking your email and tending to your email. Don't check it if you can't tend to it. Or if you're going to check it, you've got to have some other way to visually mark what needs future tending, right? So if your free things are going to get lost, visually acknowledge that. Like you can leave emails on red.

If that's helpful for you and you like don't already have a thousand on red email,

“so my husband does. Do I think crazy? You can actually leave it on red so that that's the”

indication or you can have a star or you can star it or have like a colored flag or a folder or whatever to visually mark whatever needs your future attention, okay? What's great though about setting aside a regular time with intention of tending? Is that you're not going to be overwhelmed

have to worry about a growing inbox because you know that on Thursday night or whatever,

“you're going to get your cup of tea and your laptop and your planner and you're going to tend”

to the emails while you watch bake off and dream about how Nigella is going to be as a new host. If you simply leave the enormity of email, assure that you hate looming over you at all times,

like feel the energy difference. I'm talking different, even. You're never going to feel ease

because you're never going to be done. You're seeing it as something that needs to be done. emails never done, guys. So instead choose a time on a regular basis to tend to what you can and then be done until you do it again next week. I got a little five steps, sorry. But I want to stall. I get five steps when we put unreasonable expectations on ourselves that things are going to get done. Things don't get done. They're done for now. So just like putting mail in its place,

pick a time, do what you can, and be done for now until the next time. I hope that helps you care

“and then anyone else who hates email. And that is today's a little extra something. Okay,”

this week's Lazy Genius of the Week is Katie from, that was a very game showy, um, Katie from Austin, Texas. Katie writes, "My mother-in-law took my toddler overnight and my husband went to a college football game. So I had about eight hours at home without my toddler or husband

for the first time ever. What mattered? Getting ready for an upcoming podcast episode. I was

recording, cleaning my house for a clothing exchange. I was hosting that afternoon and taking advantage of a little more flexibility than I'm used to. Rather than completely waste my day rotting, or completely exhausting myself with to-do's, I made a list. Instead of the normal two sections, have to and hope to, I added a third, get to, which included, go to a coffee shop, unhurried time with God, and slow morning getting out of bed. I got everything done that I needed to,

“but I got to do them in ways that made me feel rested and happy and like a hat and squandered”

the opportunity. Oh my goodness, Katie, I love it so much. Like, what a simple and meaningful reframe when you have a little extra time alone. This get-to column, like, is such a special lens on regular life. Because, yes, sometimes when we have free time, like we still have stuff we need to get done, but we get to do those things in ways and at paces that are like a little more fun or rare based on our season of life. And yours without your husband and toddler

around, like that's so fun. And for everyone listening, I hope that you hear the ease of Katie's story. You don't have to make the most of every opportunity when given it. Katie didn't feel the need to like read a book in one sitting or like not do anything at all. Like she just did what she had to do and what she hoped to do in a way that she didn't normally get to do it. Those kinds of choices are sustainable and human and this is simple meaningful rest. So I love this Katie,

thank you for sharing and congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week. And now for a mini pep talk for when you're completely out of energy. So my favorite moment from the Winter Olympics was in the Women's 10K Cross Country ski final. Jesse Diggins was she had bruised ribs on top of like an already exhausted body because that race is arduous. She basically fell across the finish line and just started screaming in pain. She won the bronze medal, but you wouldn't have known it.

She was an agony. I was watching it live. And her teammate, Haley Swarbal, came over to Jesse, who was lying in the snow like writhing and moaning in pain. And Haley just patiently started taking off Jesse's skis and poles. And then she just sat on the snow with Jesse, like rubbing her leg, waiting for her to catch her breath. I didn't notice Haley saying much of anything to her. She just sat nearby, kept her hand on Jesse and waited. Then when Jesse was ready to get up,

Haley helped her stand and like just held her in this like sweet support of Hogue just held her up right. It was so deer. But the sweetest thing, my favorite part was when that Hogue transitioned into another kind. Like at first, Haley was physically supporting Jesse. And then when Jesse was standing and realized what was happening, she had sort of cut her breath a little bit. She adjusted her hug and just like embraced her teammate and her friend. They was like Haley moved from supporting

Jesse physically to Jesse feeling supported emotionally. It was like, it was the most tender,

beautiful, powerful thing to watch. It makes me, it makes me teary. So at first, here's how this

has to do with like just being really, really tired, not of energy. At first when Jesse crossed the finish line and started moaning, like I almost wanted the cameras to leave her alone. It was such a

care of Jesse, it made me realize that showing people our pain is how they know to help.

“Like if we're not vulnerable, if we're not open and honest about how we're feeling, about how we are”

just like completely out of energy and we don't have anything left, our people don't really know we need help. And when you're completely out of energy, you need help. You need care and love. It's such a gift to have someone just like come over and take off your skis and rub your leg while

“you catch your breath without being asked. You don't need someone to fix what's hard or to tell you”

that it's going to be okay or whatever, like just let someone see you and be with you. And that's

that is more powerful than anything. So sure, there are ways to like help yourself when you feel

completely out of energy and hopefully this entire episode has given you some ideas. But ultimately,

“let people into your life, into your wearingess, when you do it changes the wearingess.”

And that's a mini pep talk for when you're completely out of energy.

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 kind review on Apple podcasts. Every mention and share it makes a difference in turning more people into lazy geniuses. So thank you for being so supportive. This podcast is part of the Odyssey family and the office lady's network. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, an executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jennifer Fisher, and Angela Kinsey, special thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production.

If you'd like a podcast recap every other week, be sure to sign up for the latest lazy listens email that goes out every other Friday, head to the lazygnewscollective.com slash listens to get it. 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. , mama. How much do you love the big love? Hmm, size, and so creamy. Hey, we can

in Papa Kemi's. Nutella, or from Mama and Papa, but Nutella is Nutella.