The Lazy Genius Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#443 - What’s Saving My Life Nov 10, 2025

Show notes

It’s time to welcome back our old friend who we get to hang out with every season. These episodes where I share what’s saving my life have become such a gift to me personally. The practice of naming and sharing what is making life full and good and connected is surprisingly integral, and I’m glad this is part of our rhythm here on the podcast. So today I’ve got ten things I’ll share that have been saving my life recently, and hopefully it will inspire you to make your own list.

Helpful Companion Links

Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
Check out our newest versions of The Playbooks!
Jamie, Knox, and Erin’s new Patreon show called Shelf Respect
Make Your Own Hamburger Helper
Episode #439: Chores I Do Every Day, Part 2
Mane Ready or Knot Detangling Hair Brush
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.

#442 - Thoughtful Gift-Giving When Budgets Are Tight Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

We are entering the season where we’re beginning to think about holiday gifts, especially on a limited budget which many of us are right now. I’m going to share my five rules of thoughtful gift-giving, six budget-friendly categories of potential gift ideas, and seven themes you can use as a family or friend group that put everybody on the same gift-giving playing field.

Helpful Companion Links

Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee
Projects 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 Letteror if you’re just looking for book reviews, sign up to receive The Book List
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.

#441 - What to Do When Everything Is a Little Annoying Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

Sometimes I feel like it’ll take just one sassy comment or one missed homework assignment or one line at the store that’s longer than I expected before I just lose it. Sometimes life is like that, and it’s normal and okay. But most of us don’t want to stay there for very long.

Today, I’m going to share with you five things to remember and five things to do when everything is a little annoying.

Helpful Companion Links

Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
Learn about The Playbooks here.
Episode #409: How to Parent When Your Kid is Annoying
Find our digital products here (which are going into the sunset at the end of the year!)
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)
Check out our network’s newest show, How We Made Your Mother
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.

#440 - How to Make the Rest of 2025 Easier Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

It’s around this point, towards the end of October, that we all start feeling the pressure. The rest of the year is coming like a snowball rolling down a hill. Today, we’re going to tend to that energy and create some ways to make the rest of 2025 easier and also more joyful, grounded, and rooted in whatever matters to you.

Helpful Companion Links

Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
The Lazy Genius Collective Facebook Group!
Episode #339: How to Make the Rest of 2023 Easier
Episode #392: How to Make the Rest of 2024 Easier
Episode #330: How I Handle a Busy Season
Episode #431: 5 Things to Avoid When Planning a Busy Season
Episode #364: When Life Feels Like a Firehose
Episode #385: How to Manage an Odd Stretch of Time
Episode #395: How to Finish Last-Minute Lists
Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism
Episode #306: What We Need to Have More Fun
Episode #347: How to Know What Brings You Joy
One line a day journal
One second a day app
Learn about The Playbooks here.
Find our digital products here (which are going into the sunset at the end of the year!)
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)
Check out our network’s newest show, How We Made Your Mother
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.

#439 - Chores I Do Every Day, Part 2 Oct 13, 2025

Show notes

Chores I Do Every Day, Part 1 is one of our most popular episodes we’ve ever done, but it was three and a half years ago. A lot has changed in our home and family in that amount of time, so I’m excited to share an updated version

Helpful Companion Links

Order my book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
Episode #254: Chores I Do Every Day
Episode #91: The Lazy Genius Organizes Paper
PlanetBox Rover Lunchboxes
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.

#438 - Office Hours: Routines Oct 06, 2025

Show notes

We have an Office Hours episode once a quarter where you send in your questions and I answer them here on the podcast. This is the first time we’ve had a themed Office Hours episode, so that is very exciting. Before we get into a whole episode answering your questions about routines, remember that a Lazy Genius routine isn’t about the steps. It’s about where you’re wanting to go.

Helpful Companion Links

The PLAN is $1.99 on Kindle right now!
(If Amazon isn’t your vibe, you can find it for $1.99 on Kobo right now, too.)
Other episodes like this one: #402, #426, #413, #315, #354, and#327
Office Hours with the Office Ladies
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.

#437 - 10 Things I Always Do When I Have People Over Sep 29, 2025

Show notes

This is a community that values people and relationships and connection, and having people into our homes is so integral to us building homes, neighborhoods, and entire cultures that tend to each other, that enjoy being together, and that let each other in. I’m sharing what personally matters to me about hospitality and the ten things I always do to support it.

Helpful Companion Links

The PLAN is $1.99 on Kindle right now!
(If Amazon isn’t your vibe, you can find it for $1.99 on Kobo right now, too.)
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 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.

#436 - How to Pivot Gracefully: A Guide for the Sick, Tired, and Overwhelmed Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

What do we do when we’re hit with something out of our control within our own bodies, in the bodies of people we love and live with, or from the world itself? What do we do when we are forced to pivot away from what we planned because our energy or our attention can’t function the way they were when we made that plan? That’s what I want to consider today.

Spoiler: I don’t have an answer, not a concrete, formulaic one anyway. But I do have some thoughts about when we have to gracefully pivot.

Helpful Companion Links

Order my new book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
Our digital products are going into retirement from The Lazy Genius Digital Store. Grab them now (at a discount!) before the end of the year.
Episode #101: The Lazy Genius Deals with Sickness
Aundi Kolber (she was on the show a few years ago — listen to Episode #230: How to Feel Like a Person)
Episode #310: How to Pivot Around Any Obstacle
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.

#435 - Your Five-Step Guide to a Joyful Busy Season Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

October through December sometimes feels like a really fun roller coaster but you don’t always feel like you have time to buckle your seatbelt. This episode is going to help you not just survive a busy season but really enjoy it.

Helpful Companion Links

Order my new book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy.
Our digital products are going into retirement. Grab them now (at a discount!) before they disappear at the end of the year.
I'll be talking with Jen Hatmaker about her new book, Awake, at Festival of Books and Authors in Winston-Salem on Saturday, September 27th. There are tons of sessions to see and authors to meet, and the event is free to the public.
Episode #121:How to Build a Fall Dinner Queue
Episode #434: 10 Ways I Feel Like Myself
Counterweights: An Essential Practice for Holding Hope in a Heavy World by Shannan Martin
Sign up for the Latest Lazy Listens email.
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.

#434 - 10 Ways I Feel Like Myself Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

I get this question a lot, “How do you figure out what makes you feel like yourself? Is it even possible when you’re wearing all the hats and pulled in all the directions?”

I’ve always said yes it is. You just have to find the things that make you feel like you. Well, when I started working on this episode and made my list of things, I found a level of nuance I’ve never really named before. Essentially, there are things that wake you up and other things that fill you up, and that difference might make a difference. Let’s get into it!

Helpful Companion Links