Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is...
is to pick your long weekend leisure. Before you go into a long weekend, more so even than just a regular weekend, make sure that you have a first choice for how to spend your downtime. This increases the chances that you'll spend time on that and less time on other things. Today's tip is first airing right around the 4th of July. In the United States, this is a national holiday and this year it happens to fall on a Friday, which is pretty exciting. We have a ready-made long weekend.
I know a lot of folks are taking advantage of that to get to the beach or go see family or go to an amusement park or watch some great fireworks. But even in a weekend with a lot of stuff going on, there is always some downtime, hopefully more than a little. The problem is we don't always think about exactly when this leisure is going to happen or perhaps we just don't know. You're hanging out at grandma's and no one is up.
Or you didn't go on that group boat ride at the lake, and they're late coming back, and you're sitting around in the quiet. Now what? The easiest thing, as usual, is to pick up the phone, but then precious leisure time is spent looking at influencers you don't even know. It doesn't feel all that rejuvenating. So instead, going into any long weekend, figure out what your first choice leisure activity is going to be. For a lot of people, that might mean reading a really good book.
So you need to make sure you have that really good book. Go get it from the library or go visit the library if you don't know what you want to read and see what looks alluring. If you don't always win at the library, and I get it, it happens, go to a bookstore. Sometimes the newer stuff is more readily available there. Books are cheap, as entertainment goes. Whatever it is, though, make sure you are really looking forward to reading this book because then you will pick it up as soon as you realize that no one else is up at Grandma's.
or the boat is coming back later than you thought, or whatever. Of course, books aren't the only option, or you might need a break from reading. I love doing 1,000-piece puzzles, so before any long weekend, I make sure I have a new one ready to go. Puzzles are pretty cheap entertainment, just like books. $20 for something that often takes me at least 10 to 15 hours. But you could swap some puzzles with friends if you're looking to save cash there, too. You might buy a new crossword puzzle book,
or get a new cross-stitch pattern. You could buy a new art kit or set yourself a goal like sketching three different kinds of wildflowers over the course of the weekend. Even if your chosen leisure is screen time, I still think it is helpful to figure out exactly what this is so you know what to seek out and you know what you are excited about. Maybe you download a new game and decide to play that or set up an online tournament with friends. You wait to stream the next season of a favorite show until it's the long weekend.
So you can really savor it during that time. You and your spouse decide to go to a movie marathon based on a particular actor's work. Or maybe your favorite baseball team has three games over the holiday weekend. Maybe you can go to one and make watching the other two on TV into an event. The point is you're going to have some leisure time, even if it's not as much as you want. You will be more likely to notice that this time is happening and really savor it if this downtime is intentional.
When you finish a fun summer read by the end of a long weekend, it's hard to tell yourself the story that you have zero time. When you are halfway through a 1,000-piece puzzle by the end of a long weekend, it is hard to tell yourself the story that you have zero time. Because in general, we do have time. Time is big enough for all sorts of things. So it is good to make sure that the long weekend helps paint an accurate picture of life. 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 lauravandercam.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.
In sitcoms, when someone has a problem, they just blurt it out and move on. Well, I lost my job and my parakeet is missing. How was your day? But the real world is different. Managing life's challenges can be overwhelming. So what do we do? We get support. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have mental health resources available for you at loveyourmindtoday.org. That's loveyourmindtoday.org. See how much further you can go when you take care of your mental health.
Hey, I'm Radhida Vluchia and I'm the host of a really good cry podcast. And I have the opportunity to talk to Vivian too. Whether you're trying to get out of debt, build wealth, negotiate like a boss, or just finally understand how to do money right, Vivian is the person to ask. Not understanding your own money and not understanding finances, there is risk for financial abuse. Yeah. And that is why every single woman needs to be good with money.
Listen to A Really Good Cry on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.