👋 Hey Reader!

Here’s what I’ve got for you in today’s issue of WFH Dads:

→ What I'm doing about my phone habit

→ Recommendation of the week - A skincare routine for dudes who never thought they'd get a skincare routine

Let's get into it.

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What I'm doing about my phone habit

I work in social media, and while this industry often rewards those who are 'chronically online,' I'd rather...not be. But it's so so easy to just grab my phone outside of work time and see how the latest post is doing or see what's going on in Slack.

Just telling myself to 'try not to check it' hasn't been fruitful.

So here are a few things I'm doing to break the my phone habit that you can try if you too find yourself pulling your phone out anytime you have 4 free seconds.

Delete Slack

For a long time I had Slack on my phone, and many days after work, I'd be hanging out with my kids.

I'd have a down moment and would think, "Well, let me get out my phone and just check in and see what's going on."

It made me feel like I was staying on top of things.

Inevitably, what would happen is something important would come up and I'd be reading it, and that's when my kids decide they want to play with me again. And then I'm like, "STOP! I'M TRYING TO MARK THIS AS UNREAD SO IT DOESN'T FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS LATER!"

Then I'd get frustrated with them. Then I'd feel guilty because I got frustrated at them since I was looking at work when I said I was going to be playing with them. And it's just not worth it.

Work will never turn off if it is always in your pocket.

You are already going to be checking Slack dozens of times a day on your computer. You don't have to be available when you go to the bathroom, or when you sit down for lunch, or when you're going on a walk with your kids.

What if you HAVE to keep Slack on there?

While I'm fine removing Slack from my phone, I do need to keep many social media apps on my phone as some things can't be done on the desktop version.

In that case, I recommend getting a device called a Brick, which is a way of actually blocking apps where you can't just easily be like, "You know what, I still want to open it."

For me, that's all social media, email, and Amazon.

You would have to physically take your phone and go up to the Brick to unlock those apps when it's bricked. The increased friction will often be enough to keep me from diving back into the phone.

Put the Brick on a schedule

For a long time, I would just manually 'brick' and 'unbrick' my phone, which led to many afternoons and evenings where it didn't get bricked at all!

Putting it on a schedule removes the need for me to have the willpower to brick myself out.

For me, it automatically gets bricked:

• all day Sunday
• during weekday morning family time
• evening time after work
• before bed

And all my apps are available during my workday or after the kids are down for bed.

Turn off notifications

Even when my phone is unbricked, I keep all social / email / Slack notifications off. Candidly, I think it's insane to keep them on.

When they're on, you are giving everyone at your company the opportunity to tap you on the shoulder at any point of the day, no matter what you're doing, and say, "Hey, do you got a second?"

I also found that I can't actually 'ignore' notifications. I take a microsecond to assess if it needs my attention before returning to my work. And even if it doesn't need my attention immediately (which it almost never does), it's broken my focus!

I do allow silent notifications from:

• text messages
• phone calls
• my kids' school app
• Amazon deliveries
• home security alerts

So for the love of all things that are holy, if you do keep the apps on your phone and you don't get something like a Brick, turn off the notifications.

Watch more

If you want to see a little more how the Brick works, along with 9 other things I wish I knew before I started working from home, check out this YouTube video:

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Recommendation of the week

An inexpensive skin-care routine

I recently saw some ads for a men's skin care product. I've never been much of a skin care guy but am starting to notice the effects of getting older in my face, and I've got a history of skin cancer in my family so I thought I'd look into taking better care of my skin.

The skin care product I came across ended up being crazy expensive, so instead, I just watched this video from a doctor who recommended a couple inexpensive products that I started using.

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The tl;dw is:

• ​Moisturizer in the morning with sun block in it
• ​Face cleanser that I use in the shower
• ​Retinoid before bed for anti-aging effects
• ​Moisterizer after the retinoid

I've always teased my wife on how elaborate her skin care routine is and now the tables have turned (though this only takes a couple minutes in the morning and evening).

I haven't noticed any big changes but it feels good to know I'm taking care of my skin!

What about you?

What's your relationship with your phone like?

Thom Gibson Founder of WFH Dads ​​​

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600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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