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 tip is to try combination adventures if you've got
Speaker 1: a family or you otherwise spend your days off with
Speaker 1: the same people. Keeping everyone happy can be hard, but
Speaker 1: it is not impossible. Combining adventures can make everyone want
Speaker 1: to be adventurous. Today's tip, like a few others over
Speaker 1: the next few weeks, comes from my new book, Tranquility
Speaker 1: by Tuesday. The book, which is out October eleven, is
Speaker 1: about nine rules that can help you calm the chaos
Speaker 1: and make time for what matters. One of the rules
Speaker 1: is to have one big adventure and one little adventure
Speaker 1: each week. A big adventure takes a few hours, think
Speaker 1: half a week end day. A little adventure might be
Speaker 1: just an hour, doable on a lunch break or a
Speaker 1: week day evening. I find that this is a good
Speaker 1: pace to keep life interesting without exhausting or bankrupting anyone.
Speaker 1: If you've got a family, or a partner, or a
Speaker 1: really close friend group, you will often have those big
Speaker 1: adventures together. That's just the nature of sharing a house
Speaker 1: or wanting to share life, which introduces some obvious tension.
Speaker 1: What if you don't all enjoy the same things. Friends
Speaker 1: can decide to do different things, as can partners, but
Speaker 1: when you've got kids, that raises the question of who's
Speaker 1: going to be responsible for them. If one party doesn't
Speaker 1: want to go, it can all get fraught, which is
Speaker 1: why it is good to think of combination adventures. If
Speaker 1: you are the one who often does the planning, and
Speaker 1: let's face it, if you listen to this podcast, you
Speaker 1: are that person. In your family, marriage, or friend group.
Speaker 1: Use this rubric. Everyone gets something to look forward to.
Speaker 1: You might plan one major adventure, but make sure that
Speaker 1: you tack on something that will nudge any less enthusiastic
Speaker 1: folks into excitement. In my family, for instance, one child
Speaker 1: loves to get ices at wah Wah that is a
Speaker 1: Northeastern regional convenience store. If we tack on a stop
Speaker 1: at wah Wah to any trip, that child is probably happy.
Speaker 1: Or maybe another child is obsessed with arcades. You could
Speaker 1: get him or her to spend an hour at an
Speaker 1: art museum, which would normally be a big no. If
Speaker 1: you can try out a new arcade that is on
Speaker 1: the way home. Adults can sort this out too. What
Speaker 1: if he wants to go apple picking and cider tasting,
Speaker 1: and another likes to go shopping, So you find an
Speaker 1: antique mall near the apple orchard and do both on
Speaker 1: your weekend adventure. As I note in Tranquility by Tuesday,
Speaker 1: with all adventures, it is getting out the door that
Speaker 1: is the hardest. Once you are out, it is often
Speaker 1: just as easy to do a second part to the adventure,
Speaker 1: or maybe even a third part if that becomes necessary.
Speaker 1: But knowing that the second or third part is included
Speaker 1: in the adventure will make it more likely that people
Speaker 1: get out the door in the first place. So as
Speaker 1: you plan your adventures, think about what other stops you
Speaker 1: can include. A hike somewhere followed by a stop at
Speaker 1: a new playground, checking out a new farm, r's market,
Speaker 1: and then stopping at a diner for pumpkin pancakes later.
Speaker 1: Combination adventures mean everyone can be excited, and that means
Speaker 1: the adventures are more likely to happen. Tell me what
Speaker 1: you like to do in your adventures. You can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four,
Speaker 1: then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, shud I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
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