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Hi there, you're listening to the lazy genius podcast.
I'm kendra adachi.
This podcast is not about hacking the system to find more time or hacking your energy to get more done.
Hustling to be the best or to make the most out of every opportunity is exhausting and unsustainable.
So here we do things differently.
On this show, we value contentment, compassion, and living in our season.
We favor small steps over big systems.
Here we are, lazy geniuses, being a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't.
And I'm so glad you're here.
Today is episode 457, how to get better at projects.
Life is full of projects.
Some are fun, like my album project of 2026, and some are less fun, like cleaning out the garage.
But we all have them.
We'll continue to have them.
And you can probably think of one that needs doing right now.
It's nice to have some tools to lean on that help you get better at projects, to start projects you'll actually finish, and finish projects that matter to you.
So today I will share 10 ways to get better at projects.
After we get better at projects, we'll have a little extra, something that is honestly super random but incredibly dear to my heart.
And that is my favorite sporting events ranked in order.
I'm going to rank my favorite sporting events in order.
So I am a huge sports fan and we're in like, peak sports time right now.
The Winter Olympics just ended.
The Super Bowl was not that long ago.
March Madness is coming.
The World Cup will be here in a blink.
I love sports.
I even wanted to go into sports broadcasting for years.
The drama of especially championship sports is like a sincere love of mine, as is a top 10 list.
So that'll be a random but delightfully fun little extra something.
As always, we'll celebrate the lazy genius of the week who has a fantastic approach to keeping projects front of mind.
And we'll finish up with a mini pep talk for when you feel cranky.
I'm going to talk a little bit about our projects playbook later in the episode so you can decide if it's a helpful tool for you in completing your projects.
But here is a quick reminder to check out the spring playbook for your next three months of kind, compassionate planning.
The spring playbook is a happy yellow.
It's so cute planning companion for March, April and May, giving you space to name what matters and plan for it, without being bogged down by too much detail or too much pressure.
It's simply the kindest way to get things done.
So if you have been meaning to order your spring playbook before March begins, but the winter storms or the Olympics or whatever have like understandably distracted you here's a quick reminder to order yours so you have it as close to the start of march as you can our playbooks are printed and shipped by a tremendous woman-owned business in asheville north carolina called otter pine so your purchase of a playbook supports not just our small business but theirs and for the month of february 10% of all playbook sales will be donated to World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that feeds communities in crisis all over the world.
One of the current priorities of World Central Kitchen is feeding the people in Gaza, especially during the season of Ramadan.
Here are some words from World Central Kitchen about that particular mission.
Quote, Ramadan reminds us that feeding people is not optional or conditional.
It is a shared responsibility.
World Central Kitchen does not ask who you are, where you stand or what you believe before serving a meal.
We cook, we deliver, we return the next day and do it again.
That reliability is not accidental.
It is built into how we work on the ground.
Our response in Gaza is centered on cooking fresh meals every day close to the communities we serve.
World Central Kitchen's kitchens in Gaza are led by Palestinian chefs, cooks and volunteers from the community, supported by our teams and partners, to prepare and distribute food with speed, care and consistency.
I have always loved this organization and the heart behind it.
Obviously, there are so many wonderful charities and nonprofit organizations that we can donate to, as can you, but I'm really thrilled to be part of World Central Kitchen's mission of feeding the hungry when it's needed the most.
It's genuinely beautiful.
So Thank you for buying a playbook this month of February and helping us take part in helping our neighbors around the world.
You can find more information at thelazygeniuscollective.com slash playbooks.
And also a quick thank you for your patience last week as I dealt with sickness and a voice that would not cooperate.
It's like not 100% still.
That was the first Monday in seven years.
We have not had a new episode on Monday yet.
So it was quite a pivot for everybody.
And a special thanks to Jenna Fisher and the Office Ladies Network for coming in clutch and recording an intro, choosing an episode to run last week as I lay flat in bed trying to recover.
All right.
Before we get better at projects, let's take a quick break to hear from our sponsors, which makes the show free for you to listen to.
So thank you to our sponsors.
Before we do, here is just a quick reminder about our podcast recap email.
We send it out every other Friday.
It's called Latest Lazy Listens and it summarizes the episode, shares the Lazy Genius of the Week, as well as other segments on the show.
And there's a little extra note for me to help encourage you through the weekend.
If you would like to get that recap, you can head to thelazygeniuscollective.com slash listens.
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All right, let's figure out how to get better at projects.
I've got 10 tools for you.
But before we get into those, let's just set the stage briefly and talk about what it's good to remember about a project before you jump into one.
So the first thing we need to acknowledge is just the wide spectrum of projects.
There are personal projects like listening to 300 albums in a year.
There are home projects like going through stuff in an attic.
There are responsible projects like setting up a will or getting ready to do your taxes.
There are research projects like figuring out where you might want to go to college or move for a job.
There are transitional projects like getting a nursery ready for a new baby or a home ready to host out of town family.
Some projects last a day.
Some last a year.
Some are fun.
Some are not.
Some are active and some are like, almost totally on your computer, or Some you choose because you're excited and others you do to be responsible.
The 10 tools I am going to share work no matter the type of project.
But it's super important to remember how varied projects are.
What project are you imagining right now, actually?
As I'm talking about projects, what are you specifically thinking of?
And how is that project making you feel?
If what you are imagining is exciting or It doesn't even have to be fully exciting.
It's just like relatively positive.
There's a little motivation there.
I want you to stay in that place.
I think that's great.
If you're listening and you're already down in the dumps because you do not want to do the particular project that's on your mind, or you feel like you're being a procrastinator or that you're so behind on all the responsible things that you should be doing, I really want you to change the narrative.
Listen to these 10 tools through a better lens than one of defeat.
So maybe think of a project that you might enjoy or that's really short.
Give yourself a chance to absorb these tools through a kinder, more optimistic lens, so you don't feel behind right out of the gate.
One other thing to remember before we get to the tools are the characteristics of a project.
I've shared these before.
They're in my book, The Plan, but I want to share them quickly again now because they just help you see why projects can be hard to finish.
So the first two are pretty practical.
The first thing, projects have one main objective.
Like you're trying to get one particular thing done, right?
And then the second thing is a project has an end.
Like once that objective is done, so is the project.
Projects aren't ongoing, really.
They have a purpose and they have an end.
Now, these next two things are what make projects hard.
Projects are out of your ordinary.
You likely have some sort of rhythm in your life, even if it, like barely, is a rhythm that makes any waves.
And a project is out of that rhythm.
It's different.
It requires different energy and extra time and is an exchange for something else in your life, not just something that you can easily add without any thought.
And then the fourth thing, a project requires multiple decisions and tasks.
A project itself should not go on your to-do list.
It has its own to-do list.
It has multiple parts.
That's why if you put organize the whole closet on your to-do list, you're gonna keep putting it off because that is too big.
It has too many parts to just like knock out real quick.
So keep those last two things particularly in mind.
You're probably not bad at doing projects.
It's just that projects are out of your ordinary and they require a lot of decisions and a lot of things to do.
They're like a whole thing and it's hard to add a whole thing into an already busy life.
So be kind to yourself about projects.
Okay, so now that we've set the table of what a project is, let's talk through 10 tools that can make you better at them, no matter the kind of project you're doing.
Number one, know what keeps you going.
Think about a project you have done recently and what kept you at it.
What kept you locked in? enjoying yourself or committed to finishing?
What did you feel alive doing?
Maybe you're like weirdly really good at spreadsheets.
So getting to make one for a particular project was really gratifying.
Maybe you enjoy spontaneity.
And so working on a project on a whim was more fun than anticipating the project happening at all.
Maybe you like doing things with people.
Are you like using your hands, using your brain, moving your body, being creative?
Think about what kinds of things keep you going when you're doing something new and out of the ordinary like a project.
When you know what keeps you going, you can replicate that in future projects.
You know you need a long runway or a great playlist or a helpful family that you didn't have to coerce to do something.
You know you need to take breaks so you don't get overwhelmed or you need a fun reward at the end.
Two things that keep me going when I'm actively doing a project are music and visible progress.
I need like visual markers that something is moving or done.
That is why I love to make a to-do list of the tiniest things.
I feel like I'm moving when I can cross something off.
I'm making progress.
The other day I was feeling tired and under the weather and I had spent the day at urgent care with one of my kids.
He's fine now.
Thank you very much for asking.
And even though this was not a project, I did not have the bandwidth to do ordinary things.
The ordinary things of life felt like a project.
So I wrote down, like I literally wrote down okay, take pills, load the dishwasher, take out recycling, tidy and vacuum the kitchen.
Altogether, those tasks took barely 10 minutes.
And I could have just done them, but actually I couldn't.
I couldn't get up the energy to do all of those things as one big thing.
So the list of small, tiny things, even though they're automatic and already ordinary and in my rhythm that list really helped.
I put them in a helpful order and I crossed each one off as I got them done and it helped me keep going.
And I know that about myself.
So because I know that, I use it all the time to help me keep moving.
So the more you name what keeps you going, the better you'll get at projects and even just like getting things done.
So number one, know what keeps you going.
Number two, know what slows you down.
This isn't necessarily the opposite of number one.
Not having music does not slow me down.
Not having a list doesn't slow me down.
They do keep me going, but they don't slow the speed.
Now what does?
Feeling like I will never be done.
That slows me down.
That's why any project I do is really several projects within one, with like a list of all the things.
It's also why I don't start projects until they're completely broken down.
Otherwise, I'm going to get really overwhelmed and just stop.
For example, my oldest son, he wants to paint his room blue.
It's no matter that he's moving out in two years or that he wants it to be like a teal, aka Carolina Panthers blue, which is really loud that he wants his room painted.
Well, before we can paint his room, there are a lot of other things that have to be done, right?
Before we paint his room, we have to move the furniture.
Before we move his furniture, we have to go through some of his stuff, because there's a lot of stuff in his room, much of which he doesn't want to part with.
And that's part of why his room is kind of difficult.
In fact, when I've offered to spruce his room up a little bit, like let's go through some stuff, maybe just very small, like one bookshelf or something,
He's like, no, I like everything exactly as it is.
He just wants the room blue, not realizing that it's a decent sized project to get his room ready to paint because of the state of his room.
Now, I know that there are projects before that project.
And since he's not going to be motivated to do those other projects, I definitely feel like we will never be done.
And that slows me down.
That makes me procrastinate.
I know this about myself, which helps me meet that with intention.
So what about you?
What slows you down?
What makes a project whether you're thinking about starting it or you're like in it all the way what makes you slow down, lose momentum or even just stop altogether?
It might be attitudes, tedium, distraction, details.
There are lots of options and none are right or wrong.
They're just as personal and neutral as what keeps you going.
But when you know what slows you down, you can pay attention to that thing and you can meet it with some sort of alternative, or you can know that it's a roadblock and work around it.
So number two is know what slows you down.
Number three, find a reason to care.
Now, some people might call this knowing your why, like why are you doing something?
But I often need something beyond why.
Why isn't always enough.
I have to care about the why.
I need a reason to care enough about this project to see it through to the end.
For example, You're considering a project of let's say cleaning out the attic.
You very much do not want to do this thing.
Like it's icky.
It's going to take forever.
It's complicated because of like getting things down that little ladder.
And how did all that stuff get up that little ladder in the first place?
I think there's a couch in our attic.
The mind reels.
Like how did this work?
I don't understand.
So you want to clean out the attic, but you're not actively moving right now.
You also know, though, that maybe you're thinking about it.
Maybe you're going to move soon.
And it might be nice to get a jump start on the attic so it's not hanging over your head later.
That's why you're doing it.
You know, it's a practical clean out before an eventual move.
Even a little kindness to your future self.
And I mean, that's cool.
That's cool.
That's a great why.
But also it's still like, you know, you might need to find a reason to care.
You might decide that you care enough about limiting your future stress to do this now.
You know, not feeling rushed and under the gun with all the other house projects.
That's worth it to you.
You might decide that your reason to care is that you honestly don't know what's up there.
And it's kind of like a treasure hunt.
You're going to go up there with an adventurous spirit, maybe unearth something super cool from your childhood or a kid's childhood, or whatever.
Maybe it'll be a creepy box of mannequin heads.
I don't know.
But you might find that exploration and discovery is reason enough to care.
Or the reason might have nothing to do with the attic at all.
Your reason to care might mean that when you finish, you're going to go on an overnight reading retreat by yourself.
That's your reward, but you only get to do that if you finish cleaning out the attic, creating space in your house and your future moving schedule, so that you can enjoy 24 hours of reading time right now.
Some of you might be deeply disciplined on your own and like this is an unnecessary tool, but I think a lot of us put off projects that are important because we just don't care.
We care about other things in our regular life more and we need a reason to care about the project.
We need a reason.
Or you might not care, but someone you love does.
Your reason to care is because you care about them.
You still might need a little incentive, but recognize when you don't care, someone else might.
So that's number three, find a reason to care.
Number four, keep the details in one place.
Since a project potentially has so many pieces and parts, It's really nice to have your processing, your timelines, your end game all in one place so you don't lose track of where you are or what you've already thought about.
This prevents you from feeling scattered and forgetting things.
How many times have you started dreaming about like redecorating your bedroom or planting a flower garden or trying a capsule wardrobe?
And you write your thoughts down in one of your many abandoned notebooks, never to find the list of ideas again.
It's normal, and you don't need to feel bad about that.
There's a lot to keep up with in this life.
But when you choose one specific place for all your projects, always it helps you remember what matters about them and what you've already done.
This is why we have the projects playbook.
It's exactly what I'm talking about.
It's a place to keep track of your project, your notes, your thoughts, your task list, your timelines, even some guiding questions to help you figure out why you're wanting to do the project in the first place.
Even if you have digital storage like a Pinterest board or a spreadsheet, you can make note of where those things are in your project playbook.
You know, you just write down design ideas on Pinterest.
Obviously, you can use whatever tool you like.
Later in this episode you'll hear the lazy genius of the week share the one place that she puts her projects.
So, whether it's in your notes app or Google Drive or a composition notebook or the projects playbook, keep all of your project details in one place.
The more you do, the better you're going to get at projects.
All right, number five, know what you are displacing.
When you do a project whether it's a couple of hours on a Saturday in the yard or something ongoing like training for a race the project will displace something.
It just will.
You are a finite person with finite time and an already busy life.
So you're not really adding a project to your life, as much as you are replacing something else with that project.
So number five is know what that is.
Know what you are displacing.
Usually the displacement is only for a short time, like maybe just a day.
But whether it's short or long, knowing what you're displacing helps you accept what's being displaced.
Like if you train for a race, it's going to displace leisure, the regularity of certain chores, maybe sleep.
If you decide to spend a couple of Saturdays cleaning out your kid's bedroom to transition from like a crib to a big bed, You're displacing ordinary meals, ordinary play, maybe even the actual kid, so you can focus on the task.
You're displacing them to, you know, grandma's house.
You don't have to be a superhero who can just hold more and do more.
Projects are going to displace something and they should.
So know what that is and find peace with it.
Don't try to cram it all in to the same place.
Number six, make project days easier.
This holds hands with knowing what you're displacing.
Project days will displace regular meals and routines probably.
They might throw off bedtimes for you, maybe even your kids.
They're going to impact regular chores or activities, maybe bath time routines for the little ones.
You can do what you think is best, obviously for your family, but I encourage you to not attempt to make the day as normal as possible, hustling to do the things you would normally do.
Instead, make project days easier.
Order pizza.
Put off changing the bed sheets until next weekend.
Skip bath time.
The more you make project days easier, the better you're going to get at projects.
They're going to feel easier because you're making them easier.
Number seven.
Have what you need before you begin.
There is nothing that slows down a project quicker than not having what you need, having to run to the store or something.
Now, of course, you're going to have to go out and get stuff.
You're going to run out of mulch or cleaning supplies, or you're going to take a run in your current sneakers and you're going to be like man.
These are not going to cut it if I run every day.
Of course, of course, you're going to need to get things mid-project.
But as much as you're able, have what you need before you begin.
This helps you get better at projects because it makes projects easier to do.
Like if you typically have to stop mid-project because you didn't have the knowledge, the tools or the help that you need, you're gonna feel less motivation in the future to keep doing projects.
So being prepared in whatever ways, it's gonna help you get better at projects.
Even for something as small and fun as my album project for the year.
I knew that I would need a list of albums to listen to when something didn't come to mind right away.
I wanted like a bank or a queue of sorts of albums so that I wouldn't lose momentum.
That's having what you need before you begin.
So before you get started on a project, no matter how big or small, ask yourself what am I going to probably need?
See what you can do to make sure you have those things before you start.
It's easier to keep going and finish.
Have what you need before you begin.
Number eight, go in the right order.
Go in the right order is one of the original 13 lazy genius principles from my first book, The Lazy Genius Way, and it comes in handy all the time.
I think that a lot of chores, projects and processes in life.
They really do benefit from going in the right order.
For example, you cannot organize the contents of a bathroom vanity without first kind of pulling everything out and going through it.
I mean you can, but the organization that you're after probably will not happen if you just like move stuff around or stick random items in containers without examining what's actually there.
So yes, there are right orders for all kinds of specific things.
You can spend some time thinking about a helpful order for your project, but here's an order that's good for literally anything and everything.
First, name what matters.
Second, call in the crazy.
Third, Trust yourself with what comes next.
This order works for like kind of everything.
Are you organizing the bathroom vanity?
Okay.
What matters most about the results of that project?
Is it that you can find what you need easily?
Is it that you stop buying extra toothpaste, thinking you're out, but really it's just in a random drawer?
Is it that you celebrate your evening routine and you want to make those few minutes each night feel really special?
All three of those priorities change How you approach cleaning out and organizing the bathroom.
One needs aesthetics.
Another one needs order.
Always start with what matters.
Second, calm the crazy.
What crazy chaos is keeping that thing from happening?
For a long time, we just put our stuff in our bathroom drawers based on where it would fit.
Like I'd buy toothpaste and deodorant and face wash for me and face wash for my boys and you know all kinds of things that we use.
And we just chuck them in drawers that had room.
But then no one could find the toothpaste or the deodorant or the face wash or whatever when they needed a new one.
So what mattered was categories.
And we have like a drawer for all the teeth things.
We have a drawer for all the body things.
That was the chaos is that everything was everywhere.
So I calmed that chaos by sorting everything. what was all over the place.
So that's number two, calm the crazy.
Three is to trust yourself with what comes next.
Because the internet exists, there's always an idea of how something should get done.
You might search and watch videos or pin stuff on Pinterest to find out like the best way to finish whatever project you're working on.
And that is fine.
You can totally do that.
But I don't want you to do that because you don't trust your own opinion of how to do it.
Trust yourself with what comes next.
Know what you like.
You know how your home works, what its limitations are in terms of keeping an organizational system going with you or your family.
If you see someone on the internet say that you should organize your closet with labeled bins because they're going to help you know where stuff is, but you know that you will run out of energy to do that so fast, because you know that tedium slows you down and making labels and having to put things in labeled boxes is tedious to you, then don't label your stuff.
Just use like clear bins, stack stuff, like make it orderly in a way that works for you if you want, but not in a way that you think should work, based on what the internet says.
Trust yourself.
So name what matters, calm the crazy, and trust yourself with what comes next.
You will get better at projects when you go in the right order.
All right, number nine.
Expect to pivot.
Let me first talk to my planners out there.
You will not be able to plan your project perfectly.
Not everything will go in the order you think or will take the time you expect.
You've got to expect to pivot.
If you build that into the DNA of doing a project, you'll feel less stressed out when the pivot happens.
For people who aren't as detailed and You also need to expect to pivot.
Sometimes fun things happen here, though.
I find that people who are spontaneous, they find pivoting easier.
Like this is a delight for you.
If you don't mind a pivot and even find it energizing, expect to do it during your project.
That knowledge might give you a little boost, that it's not going to be like as linear or exacting as you're afraid it's going to be.
It's okay to pivot midway through and solve problems as you go for both kinds of people.
Now, this is true not just for projects, but for life.
One of my favorite things to remind you all of is that it's more valuable to learn how to pivot instead of learning how to plan.
Pivoting is such a necessary skill in this crazy life.
So expecting it and riding the wave of a pivot is so much more important than planning something to a T and sticking to it.
At all costs.
Not everyone agrees with that or wants to live that way, but I know I sure do.
You're just going to get so much better at projects if you expect to pivot.
Don't let it throw you off or discourage your process.
Pivots happen.
Expect them and roll with it and you will get better at projects.
And finally, number 10, plan some fun.
You will get better at projects if you plan fun into them or even fun after them.
Imagine if you were putting up your Christmas decorations with no music playing, no candles burning, no like cozy sweatshirt on no plans for a mug of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.
Show when you're done.
You just like did it in silence with no fun vibes, like purely utilitarian.
That is not a fun project, right?
Now you're still doing the same actions, but without the fun infused into that project.
It is mechanical and lifeless.
So plan some fun in your projects.
Play great music.
Ask questions of people around you.
Know that you're going to get like Chinese takeout when you're done.
Invite friends over to have a drink in your newly painted moody living room.
Years ago, Kaz and I were both involved in the high school youth group at our church as like volunteers.
And we would take a trip every summer to do some type of mission work in the United States.
Well, one year we went to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and we helped people get their homes back together.
Well, Kaz and I had a group of about eight kids maybe, and we spent the entire week on the enormous project of removing all the soaked and rotted insulation in a house and replacing it with new.
It was arduous. like truly physically uncomfortable, super hot.
Insulation is itchy and it gets in every nook and cranny of your body.
It is not a fun project at all.
But because my husband makes everything fun, we honestly had a great time.
We would like take turns asking each other fun questions.
I mean basic stuff like top three favorite movies of all time or funniest movie of all time.
Singer you would listen to nonstop for a month, without listening to anyone else, what sport you do in the Olympics, if you could like suddenly be awesome at it.
Just like silly, easy questions.
And it was fun.
It made the project fun.
We often try and do this spontaneously, which is great, you know, adding fun into a project.
But I want you to think about doing it intentionally.
Inject fun ahead of time.
Think about it before or plan something fun at the end.
The more you do this, the more you're going to enjoy doing the projects on your list.
So let's recap.
Projects come in all shapes and sizes, and it's good to remember that.
You will need to be flexible and kind in your expectations, based on the kind of project that you are doing.
But no matter the type of project, use these 10 tools.
Even if you just use one, it's going to make things better.
Know what keeps you going and know what slows you down.
Find a reason to care.
Keep all the details in one place.
You can check out the projects playbook at thelazygeniuscollectivecom slash playbooks, if you don't already have a place for your projects.
Know what you are displacing and make project days easier.
Have what you need before you begin.
Go in the right order.
Expect to pivot and plan some fun.
When you do these 10 things every time you do a project, projects will become more and more enjoyable.
I promise.
And that's how to get better at projects.
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Okay, I'm weirdly excited about this.
Okay, so for today's little extra something, here is my top 10 list of favorite major sporting events.
I took a lot of time to nail this, and I'm honestly surprised by a couple of my picks.
But still, the heart wants what the heart wants.
Okay.
An honorable mention is the F1 Grand Prix race in Monaco.
It is my husband's favorite and my son's favorite race.
And Kazna actually got to tour that track just a couple of weeks before a race, while we were on our anniversary cruise in Europe a couple of years ago.
So when the race is on TV, I'm like, oh, we walked right there.
Like it's a little special because of that, but I also don't really care about the actual racing, but it gets an honorable mention.
Okay, number 10, Wimbledon.
The white tennis outfits, the green courts, the spectacularly British vibe.
It's just so much fun.
It's the only tennis tournament on my list.
And I prefer it to the rowdiness of the US Open.
I also cannot stand the Australian Open because of all that clay.
I feel like I'm covered in it when I watch.
I can't do it.
But I genuinely love Wimbledon.
Number nine is the Super Bowl.
It's fun.
But honestly, the games are usually terrible.
It's like kind of anticlimactic.
But I really do like halftime shows and Super Bowl parties and hoping that maybe this year the game will actually be good.
It happens like once every five years.
2026 did not deliver in that.
But no matter.
We will try again next year.
But number nine is the Super Bowl.
Number eight is the NBA playoffs.
The NBA gets a lot of flack compared to college ball because people say these guys don't play with heart or passion.
They're just playing for money.
Maybe some do.
That is a sport.
Dude, these guys are technicians and absolutely explosive.
They're so good at what they do, and when it's playoff time, they go so hard.
I love the drama of a seven-game series.
I think NBA broadcasters are some of the best in the business, and I will never not take a chance to watch Steph Curry play basketball.
I'm a secret Warriors fan, but Kaz can't stand Draymond Green, who is also a Warrior, so I don't flaunt that love too much.
But I love the NBA playoffs.
That's number eight.
Number seven is the men's FIFA World Cup.
I adore international soccer so hard, but I prefer watching women play than watching men play.
I still love watching men play.
The problem is that some of the dudes, they just get on my last nerve, like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Actually, it's pretty much just him.
But some of the diva vibes like spoil the whole lot for me.
Don't get me wrong.
When the World Cup starts in June, I will watch every match, every single one, no doubt.
But that's number seven is the men's FIFA World Cup.
Number six is the Winter Olympics, which we just finished.
I really do love them, particularly curling.
I'm such a sucker for curling.
I wonder if it's because I think I could do it.
Probably not.
But we all think that about one sport.
I also love like big air snowboarding and speed skating, speed skating, the drama of short track speed skating.
Figure skating stresses me out too much.
I mean, I watch it, but it's so stressful.
I do love the pageantry and the snow of the Winter Olympics more than maybe most sports.
And of course, we keep the coverage on for that all day.
It's just so much fun.
But honestly, I will say if it didn't have curling, it might drop a spot or two on my list.
Winter Olympics, maybe, maybe.
I just love curling.
Okay, number five is the Summer Olympics.
All the same things.
I just like summer more.
I like the summer events more.
Gymnastics is so fun.
It is the summer figure skating for me, though.
Like it stresses me out to an insane degree.
But I love track and field, particularly hurdles.
Man, there's just more happening in the summer games.
And weirdly, it's more it's more colorful because not everything is white.
Not everything is like ice or snow.
You know, it's just like such a good time.
Okay, number four, March Madness.
I am a Tar Heel fan, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fan.
And my husband graduated from Duke, which is one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports Duke and Carolina.
So we are a house divided a couple of weeks a year.
The game a couple of weeks ago with like the court storming, that was nuts if anybody watched that.
But I cannot believe Carolina won that game.
That one felt so good.
But March Madness, especially the first weekend of tournament play, with all of those games, it's just so much fun.
I love rooting for little schools to be big schools.
I also love the one shiny moment compilation at the end where like everybody's crying.
It's just like so fun.
Okay, now we're at the podium.
Top three.
Ready?
Number three is the NFL playoffs.
I know I already said the Super Bowl, but it's the actual playoffs, particularly wild card weekend.
It's just the most fun.
That weekend at our house is one of the best weekends of the year.
We don't go anywhere.
We order so much pizza and we watch all the football.
This year was way more fun than previous years because the Chiefs did not make the playoffs.
My middle son is a huge Chiefs fan.
So the pressure is on when the Chiefs are playing and they could lose.
Like it's very tense.
Well, this year was like way more fun because no one had their team in the fight after the first weekend when the Panthers lost to the Rams.
And we expected that anyway.
And it was close and a crazy game and great.
So football is our family sport.
So we love this, love the playoffs.
And we're so sad, so genuinely sad when the season is over.
Like the season's been over for over a month, a month, a little less than a month.
And like just a couple of days ago, Ben was like, I miss football.
It's like, I know buddy, me too.
Okay, my number two favorite is a shocker to me.
I do not watch the sport during the regular season ever.
I simply do not care.
But when we get to the playoffs, stop it right now.
And that is playoff baseball in the World Series.
I freaking love playoff baseball.
It makes my heart go all a flutter.
I think it's just the drama.
Like during the regular season, the slowness of baseball is boring.
But during the playoffs, The slowness is so intense and dramatic.
It's like you're watching a bow being pulled taut, just waiting for the arrow to fire.
It's like explosive where one big hit can change everything.
I love the strategy of playoff pitching and baseball fans are so fun.
I adore playoff baseball.
Like even though I don't even root for any particular team, I love playoff baseball.
And the number one favorite sporting event of all time and has been for quite some time, drum roll please is the Women's FIFA World Cup.
Women's international soccer is peak of the peak.
The athleticism, the precision, the drama of a goal, the fact that it's international play.
I love international play.
The fact that it's played every four years makes it so special and so dramatic.
I will kick my whole family out of the room if they get in my way of watching the Women's World Cup.
The next one is in 2027 in Brazil, a country obviously top tier for soccer pageantry and fandom.
I could come out of my skin in anticipation.
Like it's on my actual calendar.
The FIFA World Cup is on my Google calendar.
I love it so much.
I love it so much.
Go Team USA.
And also sort of Team Japan.
We root for both.
Okay.
That was it.
Thank you for indulging me in this very specific list for today's A little extra something.
I enjoyed it so much.
I hope you enjoyed it even a fraction of the amount that I did.
Okay, let's get into the Lazy Genius of the Week.
This week's Lazy Genius comes from Angela from Winston-Salem.
Winston-Salem is my neighbor town.
So hi, Angela.
You have excellent bakeries.
Okay, Angela writes I'm always wanting to tackle random house projects, but these ideas and plans always seem to fall to the wayside.
So this year I've decided to create a house project note within my phone and placed a recurring reminder for the second Saturday of every month on my skylight calendar to tackle a house project.
And then I will refer to my list on my phone for ideas.
This strategy will give me the flexibility to work on a project based on my own energy and creativity at that time, while still tackling things I want to eventually get to.
This list will also be something I hope I can refer to during any other time I have the energy and motivation to tackle a project.
And lastly, this will also give me a way to brain dump these ideas somewhere that isn't my weekly to-do list or seasonal Lazy Genius playbook.
This is such a great idea.
Angela is supporting her weaknesses, like the thing that slows her down, by carving out specific time one Saturday a month to work on projects.
She's keeping everything in one place in her notes app.
She is expecting to pivot by having different projects that require different types of energy and choosing whichever one works.
Like this is such a great example of compassionately getting better at projects.
So great job, Angela.
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on being the Lazy Genius of the Week.
All right, let's finish with a mini pep talk for when you're cranky.
So a couple of weekends ago, I was so cranky.
I was so cranky.
Not for any particular reason, at least none that I can name, which is almost harder, because you can't point to a reason.
It was probably hormonal.
But I was just on edge and sharp.
I did not leave much room for error on my part or anyone else's.
I was hanging out with some friends that day and I walked into my friend's house and I was like hi, I'm cranky.
Some days we just are.
Some days we are and also things keep making it worse.
So on this same cranky day, I was watching, this is so silly.
I was watching ski sprinting like kind of cross country skiing but where they're like kind of running, but on skis.
And I got so irritated.
I was like, how dare those people run up a hill on skis?
This cannot be tolerated.
Because I was feeling tired myself that day.
And anything active, even looking at it, like almost made me angry.
Some days are just like that.
It might be hormonal or circumstantial or because you didn't sleep well the night before.
Who knows why you're cranky?
But here is the tip for being cranky when you're cranky.
Be patient.
When you're cranky, be patient with yourself.
Be patient as you try and get past it.
And also be patient with your family and friends who have to tolerate your crankiness.
You know they might snap back in their own crankiness and you know we need to extend patience to them, just like we hope that they extend patience to us, right.
So just be patient when you're cranky.
Be patient with the process of getting out of it.
Sometimes like a couple of bangers can get you back to normal right away, like put on some music.
Other times you wake up the next day still feeling cranky.
You don't know what the timeline is going to be.
So be patient with the crankiness as you feel it, as you're around other people, as you wait for it to pass.
I think the more we force the issue and just like try to feel better with a grunt, the more likely we are to stay put.
So be patient in your crankiness and you're likely going to feel softer, faster than if you didn't.
Be patient.
And that's a mini pep talk for when you're feeling cranky.
If this episode was helpful to you or if you've been looking for a way to support the show, please share this episode with someone you know, or you can leave a kind review on Apple Podcasts.
Every mention and share makes a difference in turning more people into lazy geniuses.
So thank you for being so supportive.
This podcast is part of the Odyssey family and the Office Ladies Network.
This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.
Special thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production.
If you'd like a podcast recap every other week, be sure to sign up for latest Lazy Listens.
That's our email that goes out every other Friday.
Head to thelazygeniuscollective.com slash listens to get it.
Thanks y'all for listening.
And until next time, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't.
I'm Kendra, and I'll see you next week.
