Women don’t have to be productive 24/7—and they don’t have to sweat about tomorrow, next year, or eternity. They don’t have to be great. They have permission to be content. So says author Kendra Adachi, who calls herself a “professional permission giver.” Her first two books, both bestsellers, and her Lazy Genius podcast introduced her fundamental principles: People should wise up about what matters most to them and be lazy about the rest.
Now, she has a plan for readers—literally. The PLAN: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius publishes in October from Convergent. Adachi tells PW it’s a book “for people who want to be kind and still get their stuff done.”
Why did you gear the book to women in particular?
I found that 93% of time management books are written by men for men and women are just expected to make it work. We women have been trying to hack our way into getting everything done and done more quickly, rather than realizing, “I don’t have to do it all myself. I don’t have to do it all well. I don’t even have to do it at all.”
You write that you gave up on greatness because “my faith rests on the greatness of God, not on me.” Why did you bring spirituality into a self-help book?
A lot of my audience are Christians or people who have a history of faith. Many of my principles in the book have roots in Scripture that they will recognize. But I also think there are people who are not Christians or any particular faith who prioritize empathy and compassion. I’m here for them, too.
Your book counsels readers that “a plan is an intention, not a pass-fail exam.” Did you
always have this level of equanimity?
Absolutely not. I grew up in an abusive home. When you do that, you have to create your own safety. My safety was control and order. But that wasn’t healing and it wasn’t true. Now, I’m grateful, deeply grateful that God has brought me out of that, that he has used who I am and how he made me to be, and that I can use my love of order to help other people.
During the pandemic you were locked in the house with three kids doing remote schooling and your own work as a writer and a podcaster. How did that impact The PLAN?
I joke that I have a caffeinated squirrel brain that’s always going. I love to make plans, create systems, and create order as a tool to make life easier. And when there was literally nothing to plan for, nowhere to go, I was forced out of my habits. I discovered I can still be the person who loves order and loves to be involved, who will show up and help and be decisive. I just don’t have to be living this every single day. I can slow down. I can cultivate contentment.
Was it hard to maintain this new slow-down self?
Yes, but I decided to be thoughtful and intentional about this. I now take one day off a week, which I had never done before, and I do whatever I feel like doing: read a book, go for a walk, get a massage, just rest. It’s magical.
