Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tips for all those households who are starting new
Speaker 1: routines as school resumes and maybe as workplaces start bringing
Speaker 1: people back in person as well. It won't be perfect
Speaker 1: on day one. New routines take time to establish. That's
Speaker 1: okay as long as you approach the rough patches mindfully.
Speaker 1: My kids start school after Labor Day, so we are
Speaker 1: not quite back yet. But I have lived through enough
Speaker 1: back to school seasons to know that those first few
Speaker 1: days can be nerve wracking. This year, we've got three
Speaker 1: kids starting new schools. There are new start time, some
Speaker 1: new end times. There will be new transportation arrangements after
Speaker 1: being under scheduled for a long time. The kids have
Speaker 1: all sorts of activities that they would like to do.
Speaker 1: Plus did I mention that my work travel is starting
Speaker 1: up again in September. It's a lot to sort out.
Speaker 1: But here's the thing. Not everything has to be perfect
Speaker 1: on day one. The first day back to school will
Speaker 1: definitely have its challenges. Somebody is going to forget something,
Speaker 1: a bus will be late, there will be drama. But
Speaker 1: it will be okay. By the end of the day,
Speaker 1: everyone will most likely have returned to the house. The
Speaker 1: rough patches can be sorted through, those challenges will inform
Speaker 1: the next day's schedule, and any tweaks that need to
Speaker 1: be made. Things will come up and become more clear
Speaker 1: over time, and all those realities can be dealt with
Speaker 1: in the moment. The problem is that when people assume
Speaker 1: that everything will go perfectly, or that we can solve
Speaker 1: all schedule problems ahead of time, we can wind up
Speaker 1: out of sorts when life doesn't go as planned. A
Speaker 1: late bus isn't just a late bus, it is a
Speaker 1: sign that everything will be chaotic all year long. So
Speaker 1: something big needs to change, like mixing and activity, changing
Speaker 1: a school apparent, making a big change at work. Well maybe,
Speaker 1: but most likely things are going to be better tomorrow.
Speaker 1: So there is no need to interpret a rough first
Speaker 1: day as anything but a rough first day, And there
Speaker 1: is no need to spend months worrying about potential schedule
Speaker 1: glitches that might happen weeks in the future. You will
Speaker 1: still be able to solve problems this weeks in the future,
Speaker 1: and so you will solve those problems. Then that said,
Speaker 1: there are some things that can happen to make the
Speaker 1: first day of a new routine go better. For instance,
Speaker 1: if you are returning to your office this fall, maybe
Speaker 1: on a hybrid schedule, perhaps you don't want to make
Speaker 1: your first day back the same day your kids go
Speaker 1: back to school. The first day of school is a
Speaker 1: great day to work from home. That way you won't
Speaker 1: be stressed one of us is late. You can do
Speaker 1: a run of the kids getting ready routine without adding
Speaker 1: a timed version of yours on top. If you are
Speaker 1: starting new lessons or new activities, trying to time the
Speaker 1: start for this second week of school might be better
Speaker 1: than aiming for the first. I would also suggest planning
Speaker 1: something really fun for the first weekend after the school
Speaker 1: years starts that will stretch the vacation feeling a little longer.
Speaker 1: I am reminded how in the past, the Miss America
Speaker 1: pageant was always the weekend after Labor Day in Atlantic City.
Speaker 1: It was an excuse to keep the summer season going
Speaker 1: a little bit longer. You can channel the same impulse
Speaker 1: by planning a family beach trip or a bike ride,
Speaker 1: or even apple picking for that first weekend. Apples often
Speaker 1: hit their peak around September in many places where they grow,
Speaker 1: so plan a family beach trip or bike ride or
Speaker 1: even apple picking for that first weekend. Those apples hit
Speaker 1: their peak around September in many places where they grow,
Speaker 1: so that is a nice transitional activity that has a
Speaker 1: little scholastic element to it, even if you don't put
Speaker 1: the apples on your desk. In any case, day one
Speaker 1: won't be perfect during this back to school season, so
Speaker 1: be ready for that. But there are things you can
Speaker 1: do to make day one more fun and those are
Speaker 1: well worth doing. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast p
Speaker 1: o D. You can also shoot me an email at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com. That
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For more
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