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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to go for a 5 p.m. walk.
A little bit of physical activity is a great way to transition between work and the rest of your evening and can help boost your energy so you can make the most of your evening hours.
Long-time listeners know that I have been exploring the topic of weekday evenings lately.
I like to call these the golden hours.
Just as retirees can celebrate their golden years of leisure and family time after years of work, we can celebrate our golden hours every evening.
If you are done with work and commuting by 6 pm or so and go to bed at 10 pm, you have got four hours each night for family and leisure.
It is not a small amount of time.
It is also incredibly hard to use well.
People are tired after a long day.
There are often have-to-dos like making dinner and feeding people and getting kids through homework or to activities and, of course, to bed.
The house might need to be picked up, And yet, even with the have-to-dos, there is often some discretionary space.
We just have to think of what we want to do and manage our energy to make it happen.
Thinking about what you would like to do in your golden hours is a topic we've talked about in other episodes.
But today's tip is about how to have the mindset and the energy to take advantage of this time.
So this episode is first running in February.
In my part of the world, it is finally light late enough where you can see the sun after work.
So consider going for a 5 pm walk as you finish up work in order to reset your mood and energy levels.
If you are working from home, when you are done with your last meeting, walk outside for 10 to 15 minutes.
Bundle yourself up and get out there, even if it's cold.
Walk briskly.
The space will help you mentally prepare for evening and your home life.
The physical activity and fresh air will do what we know they do, namely reliably boost your energy levels.
So you can do more than just collapse in front of the TV.
Now, if you aren't working from home, maybe it's a little less obvious how this works, but I think you can still structure your time to fit in a 10 to 15 minute walk.
One option is to park a little further away from your office.
So you have to walk 10 minutes to get to your car.
Then really treat this walk as a brain break and an energy booster.
If you have to walk to a bus or train stop, you're probably already getting this in and perhaps walking briskly if you are running late.
Really notice the break and think about mentally resetting yourself for the evening.
If there is no place to walk near work, you can get yourself home and walk in your neighborhood before heading in.
Now, I am not necessarily suggesting getting home later.
Perhaps you could end work a tiny bit earlier.
Often people have the ability to cut 10 minutes off the end of the day if they want.
If you have to make a daycare pickup, really think about how you might structure your time so you can still build in this tiny bit of space.
It will help make you more patient for everything else.
But, if need be, perhaps you can walk with your kids for a few minutes after work and before the rest of the evening.
Put them in the stroller and walk around outside for 15 minutes.
Perhaps you could give them a small snack, so they are not screaming for dinner the second you get home.
You can all get some fresh air together.
It doesn't have to take a long time, but fresh air and physical activity are known energy boosters.
If you have more energy, you will be able to choose activities for the evening without feeling incredibly exhausted.
You might be able to think about doing a puzzle for 30 minutes or playing a musical instrument or doing some drawing, rather than just scrolling around online during whatever time is available.
By taking a walk, you also create a clear demarcation between work mode and home mode.
This becomes the official start of your evening.
You are starting with something good. rather than sliding from one thing into another.
That mental shift can help you start seeing this time as real time that can be used.
So I've been doing a 430 or 5 pm walk a reasonable number of days lately and it really is helping me feel like now it is the evening.
Yes, it is hard to get outside in winter when it is cold and snowy.
But as the sun is setting, everything is colorful and beautiful.
Pink and golden light on the snow is amazing.
What a treat to see it.
It's a different sort of happy hour.
Maybe you would like a 5 p.m. walk too.
Does not have to be every day.
But try it a day or two this week. and see how it goes.
My guess is you will start the evening feeling better.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at LauraVanderkam.com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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This is an iHeart Podcast.
Guaranteed human.
