I’VE BEEN A long-time listener of Kendra Adachi and her The Lazy Genius podcast. How I wish this type of content had been available to me when I was a young woman trying to man-handle a life-consuming job, manage a home, be the best Mom I could be to a beautiful (and strong-willed) daughter. Her counsel, I believe, would have been immensely impactful and given me much needed clarity; Kendra has a gift for—and a process that—helps you define what matters most in your life, then helps you prioritize that while letting go of the things that to you, really do not matter so much.

And I have to say I am grateful to Kendra even at this middle stage, when I have more margin (yes!) but an endless list of competing interests and responsibilites.

Anyway. Yesterday, as I took a little time to organize some Christmas presents for wrapping, I popped in my earbuds and clicked play on the latest The Lazy Genius episode: How To Enjoy The Last Two Weeks of the Year.

Kendra begins with the insight that the first two weeks of December are all about preparation, but then the energy changes. The last two weeks of the year, she says, are really about enjoyment.

Kendra says:

The first two weeks of December are very preparatory. Things are beginning. Decorations, gift-buying, planning of calendars, committing to certain things and saying no to other things, finally getting dates for the kid’s Christmas play, lots of pieces and parts. Even though it feels like a lot, I think that putting preparatory energy into those first two weeks of December really pays off later.

But then ultimately the second half of December is when things slow down from a management and preparation standpoint, and now you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You watch the movies. You wrap the gifts while watching the movies. You go to the parties and see the town square Christmas tree and see the Christmas musical you got tickets for a month ago and visit your parents. You do the things you’ve been getting ready for.

Kendra Adachi, The Lazy Genius podcast episode #292

Good heavens, I thought, I’m a “preparer” all the way to Christmas morning, when I have been known to pull out one more decoration or wrap an errant gift or two, and even on to Christmas night what with the turkey and cranberries and fancy dessert and all. There’s always more to be done! Still Kendra’s commentary shifted something in me, and then she went on with this advice.

Carry on with your focus on preparing now, but when the shift to Enjoy time comes, mark it and make Enjoyment the priority.

(Kendra also offers very helpful tips on how to go about all of this. Listen to her podcast here.)

*****

I really love this, a plan for making Enjoy my top priority. I love setting the intention as I move full-swing into Christmas, a time for Tim and me of joyful hosting that is always primed and ready for the weight of a thousand heavy expectations, all of my own invention. Not this year! This year, I’m carrying on with my preparing until the change in energy comes. (I’m marking it as Sunday, December 18th at 5pm.) At that very moment I’m going to acknowledge it, embrace it, and move into full-on ENJOY energy mode.

Woo hoo!

XXOO

30 Days of Joy

NOTE; I also enjoyed Episode #289—How To Lazy Genius Holiday Expectations.