👋 Hey Reader!

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

→ You’re busy all day… but nothing to show for it

→ Recommendation of the week - the app helping me with interval training

Let's get into it.

You’re busy all day… but nothing to show for it

Ever finish a day packed with meetings, Slack messages, and emails… and still wonder what you actually did?

That’s what Cal Newport calls pseudo-productivity — the illusion of progress. It’s that feeling of constant motion that doesn’t always translate into meaningful work.

In his book, Slow Productivity, Newport lays out a framework to fight that:

1. Do fewer things
2. Work at a natural pace
3. Obsess over quality

I love the simplicity of the framework, but also feel that these aren't the easiest to do, particularly if you're an individual contributor at a company and you can't always decide what to work on or the deadlines involved.

But no matter your situation, it's worth reflecting on these principles to think how your work can be more sustaintable.

Let’s unpack the principles.

1. Do fewer things

Newport’s argument is straightforward: you can’t do great work if you’re doing too much work.

He writes:

That phrase “time to spare” is what stood out to me. Because honestly, that almost never happens. And on the rare days it does, my instinct is to ask: “What else can I squeeze in?”

It’s like having extra time feels wrong, like I misjudged the day or didn’t do enough. But Newport is pushing for a mindset shift—one where we expect and plan to have time left over.

That doesn’t mean you’ll always end early. It just means you build your day assuming things will take longer than they “should,” and leave a buffer so you don’t run on fumes.

Try this:

Block the final hour of your workday as “flex” time.

The goal is to finish everything before it starts. If something runs over, that’s your safety net. If not? Even better. You’re done early.

I’ve started using this during my own time-blocking experiments, and even shifted some meetings into that slot to protect earlier hours for deep work.

2. Work at a natural pace

When you’re a work-from-home dad, your time already feels squeezed. Between meetings, school drop-offs, and unexpected kid sick days, slowing down can sound like a pipe dream.

But Newport argues that overstuffed schedules kill creativity and lead to burnout. He even recommends doubling your project timelines.

I wasn't so sure about that at first.

At first, that felt counterintuitive. If you give something more time, won’t it just take more time? (Hello, Parkinson's Law) But maybe that’s the point. Instead of cramming everything into the smallest window possible, let your work breathe.

When I was working at a previous company, I used to jam my days full. If one project took longer than expected, I’d start getting anxious. It messed with my overpacked plan. Back to principle 1, I was doing too many things that it wouldn't allow me to work at a natural pace. Everything had to be rushed.

These days, I'm trying to give my mind (and calendar) more space to let projects breath.

Rushed work is never good work.

Try this:

Pick one important task this week. Double the time you think it’ll take (and actually stick to it.)

Notice what changes: not just in quality, but in how you feel while doing it.

3. Obsess over quality

When you decide to do fewer things and work at a more natural pace, you finally have space to do your work well.

Newport warns that obsessing over quality can slip into perfectionism. But the goal isn’t to nitpick everything. It's to bring real attention and intention to the work that matters most.

He quotes Company of One, which profiles a web designer who chose not to scale his business. Instead of building an agency, he just doubled his prices and focused on doing great work. Same income. Half the chaos. Higher quality.

That’s the approach I want for my own projects, including Work-From-Home Dads.

Focused work, done very well.

Try this:

What’s the core of your role?

• For a designer: effective visuals
• For a manager: a well-functioning team
• For a marketer: building the brand

How can you apply all three of Newport’s principles to that one thing and raise the quality bar?

Why this matters for work-from-home dads

Most dads I talk to aren’t lacking in work ethic—they work hard!

But they don't always spend their time working on the right things.

We say yes to too much.

We sprint through days that never end.

And we convince ourselves that slowing down means falling behind.

What Newport calls slow productivity is about sustainability.

It’s the difference between working long hours with little progress vs. real progress that leaves time for dinner, soccer practice, or just being present.

Doing fewer things.
Working at a natural pace.
Obsessing over quality.

It's a better way to work.

And a better way to live.

Recommendation of the week

A simple interval timer app (iOS, Android)

Recently saw this doctor talking about the benefits of 4x4 interval training as a great 'minimum viable dose' for exercise.

It's a high-intensity workout that goes like this:

• 4-min cardio at 90% effort
• 3-minutes of rest
• repeated 4 times

So I started doing this for my runs once a week. I didn't want to fiddle with timers on my Apple Watch so I downloaded this simple Interval Timer app (iOS, Android).

And it also is super helpful because I've been wanting to do some mobility work a couple times a week (since more body parts just hurt as I'm pushing 40 🫠) and I was able to program the mobility circuit in the app so it tells me what exercise to do and when to transition to the next one.

Let me know if another newsletter issue about my running / mobility work would be helpful.

What about you? Which principle do you think would be the hardest to implement in your role?

Reply and let me know. I read and respond to all of them.

Thanks again for being a part of this community!

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Thom Gibson Founder of WFH Dads ​​

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PS -

I was a guest on the Dad Up podcast recently:

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Bryan and I chatted about my proven framework that helps dads build more time, focus on what matters most, and create deeper connections at home. Super fun conversation.

The image above will take you to the YouTube video. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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