Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to plan in a handful of little pleasures
Speaker 1: to your day. By putting in small treats through the hours,
Speaker 1: you can enjoy an average day far more. This morning,
Speaker 1: I was washing my hands with some honeysuckle scented missus
Speaker 1: Meyer's hand soap. I like the smell, so rather than
Speaker 1: going for our normal household approach, which is to use
Speaker 1: whatever soap is on sale, I specifically purchased this bottle
Speaker 1: for the bathroom I use most often, and I make
Speaker 1: sure to pause and breathe it in whenever I wash
Speaker 1: my hands. Now, I know that doesn't seem like much,
Speaker 1: but so much in everyday life can be dreary, or
Speaker 1: repetitive or unpleasant. That little jolt of honeysuckle pleasure creates
Speaker 1: noticeably good moments in my day. Create enough good moments
Speaker 1: in a day, and you can change an entire narrative.
Speaker 1: It turns out that this is a pretty doable endeavor.
Speaker 1: When you think through your day and think about your actions,
Speaker 1: you can often make very easy swaps that will massively
Speaker 1: increase the total volume of pleasure. Sometimes this involves a
Speaker 1: small extra expense. Missus Myers is pricier than the store brand,
Speaker 1: but when we are talking a three dollars bottle of
Speaker 1: soap that lasts several weeks, this isn't a huge indulgence,
Speaker 1: and sometimes it doesn't even need to cost. If you
Speaker 1: like to look at pictures of pretty gardens, you can
Speaker 1: borrow a garden design book on the Libby app and
Speaker 1: look at it during your breaks for the same price
Speaker 1: a scrolling around Facebook. Sometimes planning in pleasures can even
Speaker 1: save you money. You could buy your favorite lunch treats
Speaker 1: at the grocery store and pack your lunch for work
Speaker 1: in a cute little lunch box and still save money
Speaker 1: over going out to a ho home restaurant. So think
Speaker 1: through your day and think about how you can plan
Speaker 1: in let's say half a dozen small pleasures. Could you
Speaker 1: choose a soap or shampoo for your shower with a
Speaker 1: lovely smell. How about a lotion that's a pleasure to apply.
Speaker 2: Learn how to brew a really good cup of coffee
Speaker 2: and get a mug that either makes you smile or
Speaker 2: feels really good in your hand, or both. If you
Speaker 2: are driving to work. Maybe you can turn on the
Speaker 2: seat warmer in your car if it's chilly. You could
Speaker 2: make a playlist of your favorite music and alternate that
Speaker 2: with well chosen podcasts. You can consciously plan in a
Speaker 2: short meeting with your work best friend. If you've got
Speaker 2: a day full of not so fun meetings, plan in
Speaker 2: a virtual lunch with a far flung friend. Take a
Speaker 2: ten minute walk break and go outside, especially if the
Speaker 2: weather is nice. Think ahead of time about your dinners
Speaker 2: so you have at least one component of your dinner
Speaker 2: that you are really excited about. Maybe it's your afterwork beverage,
Speaker 2: which doesn't even need to be alcoholic to be a treat.
Speaker 2: I have been enjoying a particular blueberry soda from Maine,
Speaker 2: which tastes like summer to me. Ponder how you spend
Speaker 2: the time after dinner and before bed. Can you spend
Speaker 2: at least fifteen minutes or so on something that feels
Speaker 2: like a treat? I enjoy my puzzles that maybe it's
Speaker 2: a really good book or a crossword puzzle, or sitting
Speaker 2: in the hammock with that blueberry soda. Now that it
Speaker 2: stays light later, if you wear pajamas to bed, Why
Speaker 2: not find some nice ones that are warm or soft,
Speaker 2: or whatever feeling you most prefer. Once any of these
Speaker 2: pleasures are planned in, executing probably doesn't take much effort.
Speaker 2: But we don't just happen upon special pajamas or cool
Speaker 2: sodas that you have to order because the grocery store
Speaker 2: doesn't carry them. It is the initial effort that has
Speaker 2: to happen. So consider this your nudge to plan in
Speaker 2: half a dozen little pleasures to your day. What could
Speaker 2: you do? Can you make this happen? I am guessing
Speaker 2: that you can, and even an average day will be
Speaker 2: a lot better as a result. In the meantime, this
Speaker 2: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 2: most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 2: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 2: or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then
Speaker 1: Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an email at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.