1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:22,159 Speaker 1: tip is to celebrate your golden hours, that is the 4 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: hours after work and before bed. These evening hours can 5 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: be hard to use well, but time is time, and 6 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: with a little intention, these hours can be a favorite 7 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: part of the week. So I hear from many people 8 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: about their time, and I know that the hours after 9 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: work and before bed can be a particular pain point. 10 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: For many parents of young kids, this second shift can 11 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: feel like a slog of feeding and bathing people and 12 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: trying to convince them to go to bed so you 13 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: can do it all over again the next day. For 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: other folks, the evening can fill with mindless screen time 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: and nothing more memorable than the knowledge that the day 16 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: ended eventually. Not all time can be bliss, of course, 17 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: but these post work hours comprise a reasonable proportion of 18 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: people's leisure and family time. If you are home from 19 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: work at five thirty pm and in bed at ten 20 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: thirty pm, that is twenty hours spread over Monday to Thursday. 21 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,559 Speaker 1: That's a lot of time to spend unintentionally or worse, 22 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: wishing it away. But what if we reimagine this time 23 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: as our golden hours, What if we saw them as 24 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: a potential source of pleasure, not in some future time, 25 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: but now. I do think it is possible, and even 26 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: a little planning can go a long way towards changing 27 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: the experience of time. The phrase golden hour is often 28 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: used in photography to describe that hour around sunset when 29 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: the light makes everyone look good. But I also like 30 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: the connotations of golden years, a phrase describing an era 31 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: of active leisure and family time after a period of 32 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: hard work. Golden years come in retirement, but golden hours 33 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: could happen every day. I think this potential rebranding can 34 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: be helpful for switching up our mindset. The Monday to 35 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,279 Speaker 1: Thursday golden hours can be made a lot more pleasurable 36 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: by doing a few things. First, take a night off. 37 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: If the second shift is feeling like a slog, make 38 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: plans to skip it one night. I think all busy 39 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: people should take one night for you and commit to 40 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 1: something apart from work and family responsibilities. I sing and 41 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: acquire most Thursday nights. You could take a salsa dancing class, 42 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: or join a spiritual small group, or play pickleball, figure 43 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: out what would make you excited about life. Figure out 44 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: the logistics and spend your golden hours doing that one 45 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: night per week. Second, plan little adventures. We start counting 46 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: the hours toward bedtime when we're bored, so at least 47 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: one night a week, why not bust the routine a 48 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: little and do something more memorable. It can be a 49 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: family walk or trip to a different playground, or a picnic, 50 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: or a trip to a library branch. With evening hours, 51 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: think about what family activities you might find enjoyable and 52 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: pick a night to try. If you are not caring 53 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: for small kids or aren't on some nights, you could 54 00:03:55,280 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: try different adventures, meeting friends, trying a different workout class, 55 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: they're going for an evening run, maybe cooking something elaborate. 56 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: Evening hours often feel forgettable, but golden hours don't need 57 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: to be. Third easier pain points. Part of honoring the 58 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: golden hours is figuring out when you are most miserable 59 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: and doing what you can to make those moments better. 60 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:26,840 Speaker 1: If you hate cooking while a toddler is pulling at 61 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: your leg, why not get some easy to prepare foods 62 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: that you are excited about. Lots of grocery stores sell 63 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: reasonably healthy meals, like a piece of salmon with some 64 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: veggies and a sauce that you just have to stick 65 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: in the oven. If you dread bathtime, maybe kids don't 66 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: need to bathe so often. Find bedtime stories you want 67 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: to read. If you are stuck in a child's room 68 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: waiting for them to go to sleep, feel free to 69 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: read something lowbrow on the kindle lap. Set a timer, 70 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: and refuse to spend more time on chores than that 71 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: limited time so you don't feel like you are wasting 72 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: your night. Fourth, upgrade your leisure. Some people have more 73 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: leisure time during their golden hours than others, but everyone 74 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: can make the most of the time they have. Stock 75 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: up on easy reading material and indulge in some supplies 76 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: for a favorite hobby. Make a list of favorite accessible 77 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,880 Speaker 1: activities like sitting outside by a fire pit or taking 78 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: a bath, and make sure to do at least one 79 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:41,239 Speaker 1: of these during your golden hours each week. Finally, end well. 80 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: One reason I recommend people set a bedtime, especially during 81 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,279 Speaker 1: the work week, is that an endpoint give structure to 82 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: a day. You can be a bit more mindful of 83 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: your golden hours if you know how many you have 84 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: Verse viewing them as amorphous and un certain. You can 85 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,679 Speaker 1: also create a bedtime ritual that helps you feel cozy, calm, 86 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: satisfied with your day. Drifting off to sleep early enough 87 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: that you will feel well rested in the morning can 88 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: make any day feel more golden. In the meantime, This 89 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 90 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear 91 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,039 Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 92 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 93 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number 94 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: four than Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an 95 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that 96 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks 97 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: so much, look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast 98 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 99 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 100 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.