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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Good morning. This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that something might be more relaxing than nothing.
When people are feeling tired and stressed, aiming to do something specific and enjoyable might improve matters more than lying on the couch.
So we have all been there.
You are exhausted after a long week.
You get to the weekend and you want to do nothing.
But what exactly does nothing mean?
It is impossible to literally do nothing, in the sense that you need to eat, and sleep at least.
So what people mean when they say they want to do nothing is that they don't have a lot of energy, and they don't want to do things that they don't want to do.
They want to fill their hours with things they find relaxing and enjoyable.
And that is great. But if you ask people what they find relaxing and enjoyable, they rarely say trying to fast forward through a ton of political commercials, or looking at pictures of influencers on Instagram who are addressing their children in matching outfits.
People mention curling up with a good book, or baking, or gardening, or doing other hobbies like puzzles.
Even screen desires tend to be intentional things like watching a movie, playing a particular video game with friends, watching a favorite team play, or something like that.
In other words, what is relaxing and enjoyable is something specific rather than nothing, which is impossible in any case.
So if you are feeling overwhelmed and tired, why not choose something specific that you would like to do to recharge yourself?
If you have been staring at spreadsheets all week, baking an apple pie might get your mind off of it.
Or going for a long walk with your dog to see the fall leaves.
Decide that you are going to make a Saturday night date with your favorite home renovation show, and watch a medley of episodes, rather than just seeing what is on.
There are a few reasons to do this.
First, chosen fun is almost universally going to be more enjoyable than whatever just shows up in front of you.
We all like some things better than others.
Consciously filling our down time with things we actually like might seem like a no -brainer.
And yet when people get exhausted, they don't do it.
So it might be helpful to make a list of what you truly enjoy sometime when you've got a bit more energy.
That way you can pull from the list during low energy times.
But more importantly, when you do something specific, it stands out in the mind.
As you are doing it, and as you are looking back over your down time, you remember what happened.
You don't discount this time as smaller than it was or non -existent.
When we are busy and tired, we can sometimes tell ourselves a story that we just don't have any time.
You can spend three hours lying on the couch and still tell yourself that you didn't do anything since it was forgettable time.
But if you buy fresh apples from a farmer's market and then go bake a pie, it is pretty hard to tell yourself the story that this time didn't exist.
I mean, the pie is sitting right there, at least until you eat it.
Ultimately, having some sense of autonomy is just a better story.
I am busy, but I do have some time for myself.
That's a more useful story than no time, because if you can find some time, maybe you can find a little bit more.
So rather than thinking you will do nothing, think about what something would be relaxing and enjoyable, and figure out how you might do that.
You will feel a lot more recharged than if you just let your down time happen.
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 .lauravandercam .com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
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