Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to figure out your recipe for a good weekend.
Speaker 1: When you know what makes a weekend feel good for you,
Speaker 1: then you can make sure almost every weekend follows that recipe.
Speaker 1: I spend a lot of time thinking about my weekends.
Speaker 1: Partly this is because I have to My kids have
Speaker 1: a lot of different activities going on. By planning my
Speaker 1: weekends well, I make sure that everything that needs to
Speaker 1: happen happens, but I also get my fun too. I
Speaker 1: am pretty sure if I didn't plan so much, I
Speaker 1: would still get the kids stuff done, but I would
Speaker 1: enjoy my weekends a lot less to think a lot
Speaker 1: about my weekends. Because of how my planning process works,
Speaker 1: I plan my upcoming Monday to Sunday weeks on Thursdays
Speaker 1: or Fridays. That means I get a chance to look
Speaker 1: at each weekend twice. I plan in broad brushstrokes for
Speaker 1: the weekend coming up in eight to nine days. Then
Speaker 1: I look at the more immediate upcoming weekend and tighten
Speaker 1: the plan based on what's come up, what time is available,
Speaker 1: or the weather. Double planning anything tends to result in
Speaker 1: better outcomes. Anyway, As I think about my weekends, I
Speaker 1: like to include a few things. I like to fit
Speaker 1: in some sort of exercise, often a run or two,
Speaker 1: sometimes a bike ride. I like to have some sort
Speaker 1: of adventure. I like to have some sort of social time.
Speaker 1: I like to have music be involved, which is often
Speaker 1: singing with my church choir, though it could be other things.
Speaker 1: I like to have a puzzle going. And I like
Speaker 1: it when all the members of my family have something
Speaker 1: that they are happy about with the weekend too. During
Speaker 1: a recent weekend, for instance, I managed to schedule in
Speaker 1: a bike ride for me by the shore. This is
Speaker 1: something I'd wanted to do for a while. And I
Speaker 1: went to a group playdate where the adults hung out
Speaker 1: and chatted, so that was social time. And I went
Speaker 1: to a concert with a friend. Sunday night. My kids
Speaker 1: all had something too. One kid went on a camping trip,
Speaker 1: another had a sleepover, and two had play dates. In
Speaker 1: addition to going to Boo at the Zoo fun for
Speaker 1: a little pre Halloween trick or treating. My husband got
Speaker 1: to go to the gym and do a long run,
Speaker 1: so he was happy as well. What is your recipe
Speaker 1: for a good weekend? If you think about a good weekend,
Speaker 1: what would it include for you? Some people really like
Speaker 1: to sleep in. Some people want good food. Some people
Speaker 1: want long outdoor exercise sessions, or to go to some
Speaker 1: sort of performance like a movie or play. Some people
Speaker 1: want to spend a lot of time at their house
Speaker 1: of worship. Some people really like garden time or doing
Speaker 1: other projects. Some people want to have a few family
Speaker 1: adventures or do something active with their families. Some people
Speaker 1: want to get together with extended family or friends. If
Speaker 1: you think about a really good weekend, what three things
Speaker 1: would you be most happy to see included. You can
Speaker 1: aim for more, of course, but what would you be
Speaker 1: disappointed not to have. Once you think of these things,
Speaker 1: then when you plan your weekends, you can make sure
Speaker 1: that these things are on the schedule. Even if the
Speaker 1: weekend is different for some reason, you can still probably
Speaker 1: include some of these elements. I wrote this shortly before
Speaker 1: a weekend where I went up to Boston to see
Speaker 1: my oldest child at school, but we still play and
Speaker 1: an adventure of going to the New England Aquarium. I
Speaker 1: made time for a run on Sunday and I was
Speaker 1: singing with my church choir Sunday morning by flying home
Speaker 1: from Boston on Saturday night. So take a moment today
Speaker 1: to figure out your recipe for a good weekend. Then
Speaker 1: look at this upcoming weekend. Do you have plans for
Speaker 1: these three or so things? If not, what can you
Speaker 1: do to make sure they happen. My guess is that
Speaker 1: with a little work, putting in three elements of your
Speaker 1: recipe will be possible, and then you will have a
Speaker 1: great weekend, really by design. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.