WEBVTT - Go for a 5 p.m. walk

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to go for a five pm walk. A

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<v Speaker 1>little bit of physical activity is a great way to

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<v Speaker 1>transition between work and the rest of your evening and

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<v Speaker 1>can help boost your energy so you can make the

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<v Speaker 1>most of your evening hours. Longtime listeners know that I

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<v Speaker 1>have been exploring the topic of weekday evenings lately. I

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<v Speaker 1>like to call these the golden hours. Just as retirees

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<v Speaker 1>can celebrate their golden years of leisure and family time

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<v Speaker 1>after years of work, we can celebrate our golden hours

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<v Speaker 1>every evening. If you are done with work and commuting

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<v Speaker 1>by six pm or so and go to bed at

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<v Speaker 1>ten pm, you have got four hours each night for

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<v Speaker 1>family and leisure. It is not a small amount of time.

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<v Speaker 1>It is also incredibly hard to use well. People are

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<v Speaker 1>tired after a long day. There are often half to dos,

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<v Speaker 1>like making dinner and feeding people and getting kids through

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<v Speaker 1>homework or to activities, and of course to bed. The

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<v Speaker 1>house might need to be picked up. And yet even

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<v Speaker 1>with the half to dos, there is often some discretionary space.

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<v Speaker 1>We just have to think of what we want to

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<v Speaker 1>do and manage our energy to make it happen. Thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about what you would like to do in your golden

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<v Speaker 1>hours is a topic we have talked about in other episodes,

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<v Speaker 1>but today's tip is about how to have the mindset

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<v Speaker 1>and the energy to take advantage of this time. So

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is first running in February. In my part

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<v Speaker 1>of the world, it is finely light late enough where

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<v Speaker 1>you can see the sun after work, so consider going

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<v Speaker 1>for a five pm walk as you finish up work

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<v Speaker 1>in order to reset your mood and energy levels. If

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<v Speaker 1>you are working from home, when you are done with

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<v Speaker 1>your last meeting, walk outside for ten to fifteen minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Bundle yourself up and get out there, even if it's cold,

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<v Speaker 1>walk briskly. The space will help you mentally prepare for

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<v Speaker 1>evening and your home life. The physical activity and fresh

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<v Speaker 1>air will do what we know they do, namely, reliably

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<v Speaker 1>boost your energy levels so you can do more than

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<v Speaker 1>just collapse in front of the TV. Now, if you

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<v Speaker 1>aren't working from home, maybe it's a little less obvious

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<v Speaker 1>how this works, but I think you can still structure

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<v Speaker 1>your time to fit in a ten to fifteen minute walk.

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<v Speaker 1>One option is to park a little further away from

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<v Speaker 1>your office, you have to walk ten minutes to get

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<v Speaker 1>to your car, then really treat this walk as a

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<v Speaker 1>brain break in an energy booster. If you have to

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<v Speaker 1>walk to a bus or train stop, you are probably

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<v Speaker 1>already getting this in and perhaps walking briskly. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are running late, really notice the break and think about

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<v Speaker 1>mentally resetting yourself for the evening. If there is no

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<v Speaker 1>place to walk near work, you can get yourself home

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<v Speaker 1>and walk in your neighborhood before heading in. Now I

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<v Speaker 1>am not necessarily suggesting getting home later. Perhaps you could

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<v Speaker 1>and work a tiny bit earlier. Often people have the

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<v Speaker 1>ability to cut ten minutes off the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>day if they want. If you have to make a

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<v Speaker 1>daycare pickup, really think about how you might structure your

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<v Speaker 1>time so you can still build in this tiny bit

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<v Speaker 1>of space. It will help make you more patient for

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<v Speaker 1>everything else. But if need be, perhaps you can walk

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<v Speaker 1>with your kids for a few minutes after work and

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<v Speaker 1>before the rest of the evening. Put them in the

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<v Speaker 1>stroller and walk around outside for fifteen minutes. Perhaps you

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<v Speaker 1>could give them a small snack so they are not

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<v Speaker 1>screaming for dinner the second you get home, you can

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<v Speaker 1>all get some fresh air together. It doesn't have to

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<v Speaker 1>take a long time, but fresh air and physical activity

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<v Speaker 1>are known energy boosters. If you have more energy, you

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<v Speaker 1>will be able to choose activities for the evening without

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<v Speaker 1>feeling incredibly exhausted. You might be able to think about

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<v Speaker 1>doing a puzzle for thirty minutes, or playing a musical instrument,

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<v Speaker 1>or doing some drawing rather than just scrolling around online

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<v Speaker 1>during whatever time is available. By taking a walk, you

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<v Speaker 1>also create a clear demarcation between work mode and home mode.

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<v Speaker 1>This becomes the official start of your evening. You are

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<v Speaker 1>starting with something good rather than sliding from one thing

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<v Speaker 1>into another. That mental shift can help you start seeing

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<v Speaker 1>this time as real time that can be used. So

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<v Speaker 1>I've been doing a four thirty or five pm walk

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<v Speaker 1>a reasonable number of days lately, and it really is

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<v Speaker 1>helping me feel like now it is the evening. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it is hard to get outside in winter when it

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<v Speaker 1>is cold and snowy, but as the sun is setting,

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<v Speaker 1>everything is colorful and beautiful. Pink and golden light on

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<v Speaker 1>the snow is amazing. What a treat to see it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a different sort of happy hour. Maybe you would

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<v Speaker 1>like a five PM walk too. Does not have to

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<v Speaker 1>be every day, but try it a day or two

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<v Speaker 1>this week and see how it goes. My guess as

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<v Speaker 1>you will start the evening feeling better. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.