Today, we’re going to talk about how to create healthy phone habits. Healthy habits are personal. What’s healthy or unhealthy for me might not be for you, so this isn’t a judgmental episode. Instead, we’re going to examine what healthy means, what parts of our phone experience need some attention, and figure out how to create some better practices that align with what matters.

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• My profile on Spotify

  • I mentioned looking for a folder on my profile of podcast playlists, but after recording, I realized you can’t see it publicly. Here are those podcast playlists: Planning, Margin, Work, Change, Chores, Cooking, Kids, Office Hours, Summer Sanity, Holiday Sanity, Starter Pack, and Guests

• Gonna Try to Run playlist

• Calling for Spring playlist

• Road Ready app

• New York Times Cooking and New York Times Games

• Merlin Bird ID app

• 5 Calls app

• Kindle app

• Libby app

• Chirp app

• Audible app

• Book of the Month app

• Aardvark Book Club app

• Book Buddy app

• Trello app

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchenor The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

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We like to rerun old episodes that still feel relevant and maybe even needed during this season, so today we want to share with you Episode 210: How to Lazy Genius Kids Screentime. A lot has changed in the landscape of screen time in the last five years, but I do think this episode is still relevant.

In this episode, you’ll be reminded that there’s no singular way to do this, I’ll encourage you to use screen time to fill your own bucket, and you’ll hear a handful of ideas for House Rules you could use for kids’ screen time to make it easier in your home. Overall, it’s a deep breath of an episode and will help you feel like you’re not reinventing the wheel every day.

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Here’s the episode on chores for kids from a few years ago.

• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haid

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

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We love Office Hours. Once a quarter, folks send in their problems they want to Lazy Genius, and I answer them in this episode. We get questions that run the gamut, and it’s always encouraging to hear the normal problems and normal solutions of normal people. Solve what matters, put your energy into those things in small ways, be lazy about what doesn’t matter as much, and do it all while being kind to yourself. It’s truly The Lazy Genius way which I love so much.

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Mrs. Christie and the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman

• Sign up to get The Book List, my monthly book review email

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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I’ve done a handful of travel-related episodes on the podcast over the years, but I realized I’ve never done an episode about planning an actual trip. Since we’re coming up on the summer holidays, a time when folks sometimes take trips, it seems like a great time to Lazy Genius this thing that’s fun but also a little stressful. 

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Episode 411: 10 Things to Do Before Taking a Trip

• Episode 165: The Lazy Genius Packs for a Trip

• Episode 269: How to Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

• Episode 371: How to Lazy Genius a Day Trip

• A bonus episode about how I personally Lazy Genius air travel

• Travel Playbook

• My Maps from Google

• Go Now Travel Company

• Quince Italian Leather Sling Bag

• Dreamegg Portable White Noise Machine

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen orThe Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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A few weeks ago, I followed my boys as they walked into the house, and one of them said, “Man, I love home.” And the other said, “Me, too. Home is pretty great.” I tried to play it cool and thankfully didn’t cry because that would have embarrassed them so much. But it got me thinking - why do they love home? Why do any of us love being home? I was able to identify a couple of things that surprised me, and I’m excited to share those thoughts with you today.

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Myquillyn Smith, aka The Nester, is the Lazy Genius of making your home feel like you. Virtually everything I know about decorating a home is from her.

•  House Rules by Myquillyn Smith

•  5 Calls app

• Counterweights by Shannan Martin

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius KitchenorThe Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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Usually here at The Lazy Genius, I’m here to help you find practical ways to manage your time so you can finally feel like a person again. Part of that is what we can be lazy about and part of that is facing the big, existential stuff. That’s why I’m excited to introduce you to Suzy Welch and her podcast, Becoming You. Suzy is an NYU professor and a New York Times bestselling author who has spent her career helping people make better decisions and find their authentic purpose. But she isn't just an expert in a classroom; she’s an expert in the messy, beautiful reality of real life. If you want to get closer to becoming who you are meant to be—and have a lot of fun doing it—you need this show in your life. Find Becoming You with Suzy Welch wherever you get your podcasts.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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You know that feeling of wanting to burn everything to the ground and start over? I like to call that Big Black Trash Bag Energy, and today, I want to share three small steps to help you identify what that energy is really saying. Then we’ll talk about a little framework to figure out what problems that energy wants you to solve.

This episode is chock-full of personal examples of what this looks like in my own life, and tiny problems I’ve solved recently with my Big Black Trash Bag Energy (but without throwing anything beloved away).

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• The Lazy Genius Kitchen Ep. 4 - The Freezer Fix with Annie F. Downs

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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I could talk about meals my entire life and never run out of things to say.  There are so many decisions, and things like seasons, budgets, and dietary restrictions impact those decisions. It just never ends. You’ll be feeding yourself and maybe others forever. So today, I’m sharing twelve ways to easily feed your people. They work in any season for any family grouping - single to many - and for any cooking level. These are the most dependable meal tools out there, and I’m pumped we’re going to have a whole episode of them.

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Episode #97: One Simple Step That Changes Meal Planning Forever

• Fearless Chicken Tikka Masala recipe

• Erin Moon’s episode of The Lazy Genius Kitchen video series (making regular dinners on a regular basis)

• Watch the whole series here

• The New York Times Food app

• The Cook’s Book by Bri McKoy

• Cookish by Milk Street and Christopher Kimball

• I Dream of Dinner by Ali Slagle (I talked to Ali on the podcast a few years ago, by the way!)

• Sweet Enough by Alison Roman

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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Today is a bonus episode where we’re resurrecting an old episode that feels like a good thing to listen to right now. The Seven Kinds of Rest and How to Know Which One You Need is one of those episodes we didn’t expect to become a classic, but it kind of has. It helps differentiate different kinds of rest and what you might actually need. It’s why when people, even people like me, tell you to take a nap and it doesn’t help, it might be because you’re looking for a different kind of rest than what napping offers. 

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Episode #458: Simple and Meaningful Ways to Rest

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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Daily rest is the sustainable driving force of living whole, present lives. We wrongly think that rest comes from big, sweeping things, like vacations or long weekends away. Those are great, but we all need ways to rest and feel like ourselves every single day. So today, we’re going to hear from you.

Over a hundred of you shared ideas of how you get simple, meaningful rest, and we have curated a list of ideas and experiences to share. You might hear your own idea or voice on this episode, but more than that I hope you hear yourself, your own experience, that you hear solidarity and a simple, meaningful idea that can help you rest in a sustainable, reasonable, do-it-right-now way. 

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• Counterweights by Shannan Martin

• What Should I Read Next, a podcast hosted by Anne Bogel

• Shelf Respect, a new podcast by The Popcast Media Group

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Get The Book List!

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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Life is full of projects. Some are fun, like my album project of 2026, and some are less fun, like cleaning out a garage. But we all have them, will continue to have them, and you can probably think of one that needs doing right now. It’s nice to have some tools to lean on that help you get better at projects, to start projects you’ll finish, and finish projects that matter to you. So today I’ll share ten ways to get better at projects.

Helpful Companion Links

• Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.

• The Project Playbook

• Sign up for our every-other-week podcast recap email called Latest Lazy Listens.

• Sign up for my once-a-month newsletter, The Latest Lazy Letter.

• Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links)

• Download a transcript of this episode.

Want to share your Lazy Genius of the Week idea with us? Use this form to tell us about it or record your idea and share your voice on the show.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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