Today is a bonus episode perfect for the middle of the summer. Chances are good you’re having people over or very much want to. Summer feels like an ideal time to finally open your home and invite more people over for a cookout or hangout, or to watch the World Cup, which you still have a couple of weeks to do. Whether you’re a seasoned host, freaked out about inviting people over, or somewhere in the middle, this episode will be a big help.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Let us know how we’re doing in our annual survey

• My Breezy Instrumental playlist on Spotify

• Priya Parker’s Magical Questions

• Kate Strickler (Naptime Kitchen)’s Black Bean Soup

• Change Your Life Shawarma

• 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

We are smackdab in the middle of summer, and now seems like a great time to assess what’s working and what’s making summer easier. One of the best parts about being a Lazy Genius is getting better at solving small problems. The more we keep things small, the more helpful change we actually make, and this episode is that in a nutshell. Thanks to everyone who sent in so many great ideas.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Let us know how we’re doing in our annual survey

• Episode #266: How to Lazy Genius a Summer at the Pool

• 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.

Every time I make a meal in a bowl, it’s like I’m writing a love letter to myself. And dinner bowls are wildly helpful in the summer. Having a dinner bowl formula that you can personalize for your own set of summer dinners is going to be a huge help when you are too hot and tired to think about dinner, much less cook it.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Find out everything about The Playbooks here.

• 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.

• Sign up for The Book List to get all my monthly book reviews.

• 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.

This is an episode to help us be kind people to our people, particularly in this summer season when kids are usually home. We all want to be kind people, to be thoughtful about how we treat each other, and in the pressure cooker of a weird summer, kindness and thoughtfulness might get compromised. Today, I’m sharing seven typical obstacles to being home with people for a long stretch of time and how to approach them from a kind Lazy Genius perspective.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Episode #473: How to Deal with a Messy House All Summer Long

• Episode #423: How to Get Unstuck When Your Space Is a Mess

• Episode #369: The Snack Episode

• 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.

If your summer looks different than the rest of the year because you have kids at home and everything is more chaotic or your rhythms are a little different because of summer activities and travel and just reading more than tidying, this episode is for you.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses

• Creature of Habit by Courtney Barnett

• Pumpkin by Georgie Parker

• Group Project by Hi Lo Jack

• Music Speaks Louder Than Words by Candi Staton

• To Keep by Dominique Adams

• Big Flower Light Go Bloom by Henry Jamison

• 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.

We’ve collected a handful of great summer reading ideas across several categories that I’m going to share with you today, along with my own personal ideas. Plus, we have some reading questions, kind of like Office Hours, that I’ll sprinkle throughout. We’re going to talk about reading vibes, ways to read more, permission to read what works for you, and lots more.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Get this month’s Book List by signing up here or peeking through the archive

• Bookmark strap

• Episode #471: Easier Summer Chores for Families

• 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.

Today is a bonus episode for you that I think will help you ease into summer. We like to release favorite reruns so you don’t have to go digging for an episode that would be great to listen to right now! In this episode, you’ll walk through five clear steps to help you figure out what this season is going to be about for you. This is my favorite kind of planning: kindly thinking about a season, naming a few things to help anchor me, and doing what actually matters. I hope you enjoy it!

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Learn more about The Playbooks or grab a Summer Playbook here

• Summer Break Calendar from The Essential Calendar

• 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.

When kids are home all the time, the house gets dirtier, patience gets shorter, and the pressure to make every day count mounts. Today, we’re going to talk about how to create easier summer chores for families in a very Lazy Genius way. The first part of the episode will be about you and how you think as a parent of these kids, and the second part will be some practical ideas of how to get chores done in your house without you and your kids hating the chores or each other. Let’s jump in.

Helpful Companion Links

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

• Episode #330: How I Manage a Busy Season

• Episode #382: How to Manage Calendar Logistics

• 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.