Dadvice Weekly #4 / New Routines

Dadvice Weekly - #4

I always think of the start of fall as a semester for my work. My next vacation tends to be Thanksgiving, and I view this as heads down time to make traction on my biggest efforts in the office. This tends to be the busiest time of year for my company and the last few years I have done my best to find a sustainable pace of work given the season of life I am in.

While this is a trendy topic, there isn’t a magical set of inputs to generate the output of a sustainable pace of productivity, especially as that pace is likely to be a little different for everyone. With that being said, here are the habits and rhythms I have tested and prioritize during the Fall.

1. Get 10,000 steps a day. It's not a magic number, but it gets the job done. I wear a Fitbit and have noticed positive life improvements when I stay active. I like this as a goal because it's something I can get credit for by walking the dog, playing softball, or running on the treadmill.

2. Set a “done for the day” list. This is a list of tasks that you update throughout the day. Leaving these tasks unfinished makes it difficult to turn off your work mind once you’re off the clock or at home. I like to update this list throughout the day and spend the last 45 minutes of work knocking out so I can disconnect when it’s time to turn off the computer.

3. Take a lunch break - every day. This is so simple, yet so challenging. When the calendar gets full, the first thing I give up is my lunch break. I’ve learned that when I don’t step away from my computer, even for just 15 minutes, my tank tends to get empty over time. Said backwards, and your mileage may vary, but I find it only takes 15 minutes away from my laptop to find a sustainable work pace. If I have to do a meeting over lunch because there are no other times then I do not have capacity for that meeting.

Setting habits and sticking to them is important in so many areas of life. Here are some of the resources that we personally use to create, evaluate, and continue healthy rhythms.

Dakboard

Here’s a screengrab of our Dakboard setup. It’s a mountable screen we use for planning, lists, and daily tasks.

As a busy parent with kids headed in different directions for appointments, practices, and activities, our Dakboard has been a lifesaver for us. The setup can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. I bought the Dakboard CPU v4 (it’s just a Raspberry Pi—if you already have one, just buy the SD card) and connected it to a used touchscreen monitor I found on Marketplace. We keep it by the coffee maker, and it’s become the hub of our mornings. It syncs all our calendars and gives our family a clear baseline for planning each week.

I installed an outlet halfway up the wall so there wouldn’t be cords hanging (more on that project in a later newsletter). What I love most about Dakboard is the customizability: set it up to do whatever you want! For us, one screen shows actionable items for the day, our grocery and to-do lists (syncing from Google Tasks), the weather, and a daily quote, while another displays a monthly calendar so we can plan ahead. It’s turned our scattered schedules into something we can actually see and share—and sometimes even get ahead of!

We use the $8/month plan, which allows up to three custom screens and instant syncing. It’s a small price to pay for the peace of mind of taming your family’s schedule. –KC

Intelligent Change Productivity Planner

This planner asks basic questions every month, week, and day. I’ve found that spending 10 minutes a month and 5 minutes a day interacting with this planner significantly improves my wellbeing. Each week there are guiding questions that help you look forward to what you want to accomplish, then questions to reflect on how well you did progressing through your priorities. There are guiding questions to record habits and intentions you want to track for the month. Then every day you set your intention, prioritize your task list, and reflect on your day once its done. I use it while I wait for my computer to power up and log in. I have found it helps my mental health significantly and forces me to prioritize my day and time. Its well worth the money if you have the discipline to engage with the pages each day. -SW

Book Reco: Atomic Habits

I’m a huge reader in the self help genre. Anytime people ask me for a book recommendation I always say Atomic Habits. This book does a great job of explaining how one small change can compound to something significant. It has greatly shaped how I view life, rhythms, and the power of doing something over and over again. It has also matured my thinking in using systems to solve problems in my personal and professional life. The most memorable quote from this book that is written on my white board is, “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” -SW

Just For Dad: Rolling TV Stand

If you know me then you knew this was coming. In my house I have a rolling TV stand. I have been told it reminds people of middle school health class. Someone also told me it feels like I should be giving a product demo for Apple. The real ones know though.

This TV stand gives you double the football on a Saturday and Sunday. This TV stand gives you the power to not decide if you should watch football or the MLB playoffs in October because you can watch both. This TV stand gives you the ability to have multiple games on at the same time during March Madness. If you can’t tell, I am passionate about this thing. My wife is slowly coming around to it too (as long as it gets put away when sports aren’t on and during the summer when sports are scarce.)
-SW

---

Dadvice Weekly is written by two friends in their thirties trying to be thoughtful, present dads without losing our minds. It’s our small way of sharing gear, routines, and ideas with other dads who are in the thick of it too.

We publish once a week. No fluff, just useful stuff to help you lead your home with a little more purpose and fun.

If that sounds good, stick around and subscribe. We’re glad you’re here.