The day isn't over after dinner

Take advantage of time that's easy to lose track of

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is a reminder that the day isn't over after dinner.
Remembering this can help you find a fair amount of

(00:23):
time even in what feels like a really busy life.
So I know many people's mornings are a frantic dash
to get everyone out the door. The workday is go, go, go,
and then everyone needs to be collected. Afterwards there might
be activities, and getting everyone fed can be its own

(00:44):
daily struggle. You clean up the kitchen after dinner and
finally think, phew, we are done. And certainly most people
don't have a ton of energy by the late evening.
But the day isn't over after dinner. There might still
be several hours left. For instance, if you are done

(01:08):
with dinner and clean up by seven thirty pm and
you go to bed at ten thirty pm, that is
three hours. You probably don't view the nine am to
noon shift at work as not existing or as being
too small to use. That time after dinner is the
exact same amount, even if you are getting kids to

(01:31):
bed and aren't done with that until let's say eight thirty,
there are two hours until ten thirty. If you are
awake for sixteen hours a day, then two hours is
one eighth of that, or twelve and a half percent.
If you work eight hours, then two hours is a
full twenty five percent of your non working time, and
it might be the bulk of your actual weekday discretionary time.

(01:56):
If you think of the day as being done after dinner,
and you won't think about this discretionary time. But if
you remind yourself that the day isn't done after dinner,
you might think about what you'd like to do with it,
and that opens up a lot of possibility. Now, to
be sure, most people have very limited energy after dinner.

(02:18):
There are certainly higher energy options for this time, like
joining a pickleball league or going to the gym, or
singing in a choir or volunteering somewhere. But if all
of that sounds like it isn't going to happen, you
can still figure out some lower energy intentions. Deciding you'd
like to read for thirty minutes is great. Deciding you'd

(02:40):
like to do a twenty minute yoga video is also amazing.
Calling a friend is good, as is doing a puzzle
or working on another hobby. As I often say on
this show, leisure time is too precious to be totally
leisurely about leisure. When you remind yourself that the day

(03:00):
isn't over after dinner, then you can take advantage of
more potential leisure time. If you don't think about this time,
it won't happen. But a little intentionality makes more enjoyment
possible in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

(03:22):
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 Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

(03:49):
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