WEBVTT - Celebrate your golden hours

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.440
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:16.880
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:22.159
<v Speaker 1>tip is to celebrate your golden hours, that is the

0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:27.320
<v Speaker 1>hours after work and before bed. These evening hours can

0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:32.000
<v Speaker 1>be hard to use well, but time is time, and

0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:36.080
<v Speaker 1>with a little intention, these hours can be a favorite

0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:41.040
<v Speaker 1>part of the week. So I hear from many people

0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.360
<v Speaker 1>about their time, and I know that the hours after

0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.200
<v Speaker 1>work and before bed can be a particular pain point.

0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:53.480
<v Speaker 1>For many parents of young kids, this second shift can

0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.160
<v Speaker 1>feel like a slog of feeding and bathing people and

0:00:57.200 --> 0:00:59.760
<v Speaker 1>trying to convince them to go to bed so you

0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:03.520
<v Speaker 1>can do it all over again the next day. For

0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.920
<v Speaker 1>other folks, the evening can fill with mindless screen time

0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.920
<v Speaker 1>and nothing more memorable than the knowledge that the day

0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:16.160
<v Speaker 1>ended eventually. Not all time can be bliss, of course,

0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:20.480
<v Speaker 1>but these post work hours comprise a reasonable proportion of

0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:24.080
<v Speaker 1>people's leisure and family time. If you are home from

0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:27.440
<v Speaker 1>work at five thirty pm and in bed at ten

0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:32.800
<v Speaker 1>thirty pm, that is twenty hours spread over Monday to Thursday.

0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:37.559
<v Speaker 1>That's a lot of time to spend unintentionally or worse,

0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:42.039
<v Speaker 1>wishing it away. But what if we reimagine this time

0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:45.759
<v Speaker 1>as our golden hours, What if we saw them as

0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:49.680
<v Speaker 1>a potential source of pleasure, not in some future time,

0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:54.000
<v Speaker 1>but now. I do think it is possible, and even

0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:57.600
<v Speaker 1>a little planning can go a long way towards changing

0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:02.920
<v Speaker 1>the experience of time. The phrase golden hour is often

0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:06.920
<v Speaker 1>used in photography to describe that hour around sunset when

0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:11.120
<v Speaker 1>the light makes everyone look good. But I also like

0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:15.920
<v Speaker 1>the connotations of golden years, a phrase describing an era

0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.520
<v Speaker 1>of active leisure and family time after a period of

0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:25.160
<v Speaker 1>hard work. Golden years come in retirement, but golden hours

0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:30.639
<v Speaker 1>could happen every day. I think this potential rebranding can

0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.320
<v Speaker 1>be helpful for switching up our mindset. The Monday to

0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:38.279
<v Speaker 1>Thursday golden hours can be made a lot more pleasurable

0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:43.480
<v Speaker 1>by doing a few things. First, take a night off.

0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:48.600
<v Speaker 1>If the second shift is feeling like a slog, make

0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:53.040
<v Speaker 1>plans to skip it one night. I think all busy

0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:56.680
<v Speaker 1>people should take one night for you and commit to

0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:01.359
<v Speaker 1>something apart from work and family responsibilities. I sing and

0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:05.840
<v Speaker 1>acquire most Thursday nights. You could take a salsa dancing class,

0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:10.440
<v Speaker 1>or join a spiritual small group, or play pickleball, figure

0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.840
<v Speaker 1>out what would make you excited about life. Figure out

0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:18.840
<v Speaker 1>the logistics and spend your golden hours doing that one

0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:26.200
<v Speaker 1>night per week. Second, plan little adventures. We start counting

0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:30.680
<v Speaker 1>the hours toward bedtime when we're bored, so at least

0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.040
<v Speaker 1>one night a week, why not bust the routine a

0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:36.920
<v Speaker 1>little and do something more memorable. It can be a

0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:40.720
<v Speaker 1>family walk or trip to a different playground, or a picnic,

0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.480
<v Speaker 1>or a trip to a library branch. With evening hours,

0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.600
<v Speaker 1>think about what family activities you might find enjoyable and

0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:52.080
<v Speaker 1>pick a night to try. If you are not caring

0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.280
<v Speaker 1>for small kids or aren't on some nights, you could

0:03:55.280 --> 0:04:00.000
<v Speaker 1>try different adventures, meeting friends, trying a different workout class,

0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:03.920
<v Speaker 1>they're going for an evening run, maybe cooking something elaborate.

0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:10.200
<v Speaker 1>Evening hours often feel forgettable, but golden hours don't need

0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:16.839
<v Speaker 1>to be. Third easier pain points. Part of honoring the

0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:20.159
<v Speaker 1>golden hours is figuring out when you are most miserable

0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:23.159
<v Speaker 1>and doing what you can to make those moments better.

0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:26.840
<v Speaker 1>If you hate cooking while a toddler is pulling at

0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:30.400
<v Speaker 1>your leg, why not get some easy to prepare foods

0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:34.440
<v Speaker 1>that you are excited about. Lots of grocery stores sell

0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:37.200
<v Speaker 1>reasonably healthy meals, like a piece of salmon with some

0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:39.840
<v Speaker 1>veggies and a sauce that you just have to stick

0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:44.279
<v Speaker 1>in the oven. If you dread bathtime, maybe kids don't

0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:48.080
<v Speaker 1>need to bathe so often. Find bedtime stories you want

0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:51.159
<v Speaker 1>to read. If you are stuck in a child's room

0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.120
<v Speaker 1>waiting for them to go to sleep, feel free to

0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:58.360
<v Speaker 1>read something lowbrow on the kindle lap. Set a timer,

0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:00.839
<v Speaker 1>and refuse to spend more time on chores than that

0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:04.960
<v Speaker 1>limited time so you don't feel like you are wasting

0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:11.400
<v Speaker 1>your night. Fourth, upgrade your leisure. Some people have more

0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:15.440
<v Speaker 1>leisure time during their golden hours than others, but everyone

0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:19.159
<v Speaker 1>can make the most of the time they have. Stock

0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:22.560
<v Speaker 1>up on easy reading material and indulge in some supplies

0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:27.320
<v Speaker 1>for a favorite hobby. Make a list of favorite accessible

0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:30.880
<v Speaker 1>activities like sitting outside by a fire pit or taking

0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.400
<v Speaker 1>a bath, and make sure to do at least one

0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:41.239
<v Speaker 1>of these during your golden hours each week. Finally, end well.

0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.839
<v Speaker 1>One reason I recommend people set a bedtime, especially during

0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:50.279
<v Speaker 1>the work week, is that an endpoint give structure to

0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.640
<v Speaker 1>a day. You can be a bit more mindful of

0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:56.240
<v Speaker 1>your golden hours if you know how many you have

0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:02.000
<v Speaker 1>Verse viewing them as amorphous and un certain. You can

0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:06.679
<v Speaker 1>also create a bedtime ritual that helps you feel cozy, calm,

0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:11.200
<v Speaker 1>satisfied with your day. Drifting off to sleep early enough

0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.320
<v Speaker 1>that you will feel well rested in the morning can

0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:20.760
<v Speaker 1>make any day feel more golden. In the meantime, This

0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:25.360
<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:35.240
<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:38.039
<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:41.880
<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:47.240
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number

0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:51.680
<v Speaker 1>four than Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an

0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:56.000
<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that

0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:59.359
<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:07.880
<v Speaker 1>so much, look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:11.960
<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:16.400
<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:20.440
<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows.