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 identify satisfying ways to spend leisure time
Speaker 1: when you are worn out. If you make a list
Speaker 1: of low energy intentions, you can choose one of these
Speaker 1: ways to spend your time, and you may spend a
Speaker 1: little less time scrolling or otherwise defaulting to screen time
Speaker 1: that you might not actively choose. Longtime listeners know that
Speaker 1: I believe the hours between the end of your work
Speaker 1: day and bedtime can be the best hours of the day,
Speaker 1: your golden hours, as I like to call them. But
Speaker 1: many people find this time hard to use well because
Speaker 1: they are exhausted. When all you want to do is
Speaker 1: veg on the couch in front of the TV or
Speaker 1: scroll while lying in bed, your past self suggestion that
Speaker 1: you read War and Peace, write a letter to your grandmother,
Speaker 1: or play one of Mozart's Sonatas on the piano may
Speaker 1: seem a little far fetched. This is where low energy
Speaker 1: intentions come in. I am all for deciding to use
Speaker 1: your leisure time for Tolstoy and your grandma and Mozart,
Speaker 1: but it is also wise to come up with ideas
Speaker 1: for making the most of your leisure time when you
Speaker 1: are tired. These could be things like flipping through a
Speaker 1: photo album or a coffee table book, going for a
Speaker 1: leisurely walk, or maybe even baking a recipe you know
Speaker 1: by heart. As one of my listeners pointed out, to
Speaker 1: low energy intention sometimes gives you a little energy boost.
Speaker 1: If you succumb to the urge to curl up on
Speaker 1: the couch in front of the TV, it is quite
Speaker 1: possible that you will spend the whole evening there like
Speaker 1: a zombie. But if you manage to shovel yourself out
Speaker 1: the door and go for a slow walk around the block,
Speaker 1: you will probably come home feeling just a little peppier
Speaker 1: than when you left. You also may feel happier when
Speaker 1: you look back on your evening and remember the pleasant walk.
Speaker 1: So make a list of things you can do when
Speaker 1: you feel like you want to do nothing. It is
Speaker 1: impossible to do nothing. You will do something, but you
Speaker 1: can choose which low energy activities you find most worth while.
Speaker 1: Reading tends to be my go too. This may not
Speaker 1: be the time for great literature or technical nonfiction, but
Speaker 1: it could be perfect for a light book or magazine,
Speaker 1: or just flipping through a coffee table book or a
Speaker 1: cook book. An audiobook can be appealing too. All you
Speaker 1: have to do is listen. You don't even have to
Speaker 1: turn pages. You could listen to a podcast while walking
Speaker 1: outside or on a treadmill if it's dark or if
Speaker 1: the weather is bad. Simple craft projects can sometimes hit
Speaker 1: the spot. Sketching, doodling, or coloring doesn't take much energy.
Speaker 1: If you are a knitter, Knitting something uncomplicated, like a
Speaker 1: scarf for a dishcloth could feel pretty brainless. Walking, stretch shaking,
Speaker 1: or yoga can also feel good. Some cooking projects might
Speaker 1: be appealing. I'm imagining something like baking a cookie recipe
Speaker 1: that you know really well. You will feel satisfied by
Speaker 1: having done something. In bonus, you and your family will
Speaker 1: have something tasty as a result. Or maybe you choose
Speaker 1: something modestly more substantial, like banana bread or muffins, and
Speaker 1: then you get to eat those for breakfast the next morning.
Speaker 1: What a win. If you are sure that all you
Speaker 1: want to do is sit and zone out, you can
Speaker 1: still choose a focal point besides the TV or your phone,
Speaker 1: a fire pit or fireplace, or your backyard can be
Speaker 1: a calming place to rest your eyes, watch the birds
Speaker 1: if it's light, look up at the stars if it
Speaker 1: is not. In any case, try identifying five to ten
Speaker 1: low energy intentions to give shape to leisure time when
Speaker 1: you might think you want to do nothing. Make this
Speaker 1: list somewhere you can reference, like on an index card
Speaker 1: or the notes app of your phone as you were
Speaker 1: going into some downtime like a weekday evening, or maybe
Speaker 1: post kid activities on a weekend day. Choose one. That way,
Speaker 1: you will be prepared to enjoy your leisure time even
Speaker 1: if you don't have any energy to spare in the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at l Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.