There's so much beauty in Mexican culture like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even lucha libre.
Join us for the new podcast Lucha libre behind the mask, a 12 episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of lucha libre.
And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, emperor of lucha libre and a WWE superstar.
Listen to lucha libre behind the mask on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or whatever you stream podcasts.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good morning. This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to play Tetris with your schedule.
Sometimes trying to fit everything in can feel frustrating, but if you recast it more as a game, you can maybe feel a little more excited about it.
So this episode is first airing in September, which is always a time of new schedules in my family.
With five kids, somebody is often starting a new school.
Kids try different activities that meet at various times.
My 16 year old will get his driver's license soon, but he doesn't have it yet.
So our number of drivers is limited.
I need to try to preserve enough time to work.
I like to have open time on weekends for seasonal family adventures.
Everyone needs to get enough sleep, me included.
This can sometimes feel like a lot to fit into 168 hours.
Sometimes I get frustrated as I am waiting for one particular organization to post their activity schedule so I can sign up for a class that a kid really wants, and that will affect what other activities he can sign up for.
And in the meantime, I see those activities filling up and, well, there are a lot of moving parts.
But a few years ago, I decided to view this as something of a game.
If you are my age or so, you may have spent a lot of time playing Tetris as a kid.
Blocks in various shapes drop from the sky, and you try to fit them into certain sized holes in the right way.
If you create a full line, it disappears and you survive to keep playing.
If too many pieces stack awkwardly on top of each other, you hit the top of the screen and it's game over.
I think this is a good metaphor for a schedule, too.
Stuff takes various amounts of time to do.
There are certain windows of time that are open and some that are not.
The biggest and strangest shapes have to be accounted for first, and then you can move other things around to fit.
I certainly try to think strategically about the Tetris of my schedule.
So, how can we schedule things in order to leave the most open time for other things?
Given that we are usually up on weekends anyway, the 915 soccer session is better than the 1145 soccer session, as the latter will chop up a weekend day.
We found a swim program that offers two different options, Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday, and we could select based on another activity that was only offered at one time per week.
Activities that happen right after school and at school are preferable to others, because there's only one round of driving required.
Leaving at least one evening open lets us have a low -key family night, or at least know we've got a spot for rescheduling lessons that inevitably get cancelled at some point.
Things like my workouts are flexible, and so can be scheduled at any point, but I know they are more likely to happen at some points than others.
That's one reason we are looking into getting a treadmill for cold winter mornings.
By thinking of the schedule as a game, I get more excited about little wins.
It's not just, phew, that's done.
It's like, hey, I just won another round of Tetris.
Maybe no one cares but me.
Scratch that, I know no one cares but me.
But given how thankless family scheduling can feel, I will take any positive reinforcement I can get.
In the meantime, this is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at BeforeBreakfastPod.
That's B -E, the number four, then breakfast, P -O -D.
You can also shoot me an email at BeforeBreakfastPodcast at IHeartMedia .com.
That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm N .K., and this is Basket Case.
What is wrong with me?
A show about the ways that mental illness is shaped by not just biology.
Swaps of different meds.
But by culture and society.
By looking closely at the conditions that cause mental distress, I find out why so many of us are struggling to feel sane, what we can do about it, and why we should care.
Oh, let me see if you can give me therapy, girl.
Listen to Basket Case every Tuesday on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
There's so much beauty in Mexican culture, like mariachis, delicious cuisine, and even Lucha Libre.
Join us for the new podcast, Lucha Libre, Behind the Mask, a 12 -episode podcast in both English and Spanish about the history and cultural richness of Lucha Libre.
And I'm your host, Santos Escobar, Emperor of Lucha Libre, and a WWE superstar.
Listen to Lucha Libre, Behind the Mask, on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you stream podcasts.
