👋 Hey Reader!
Here’s what I’ve got for you in today’s issue of WFH Dads:
- Summer WFH with kids—my full system
→ my context
→ get help
→ designate work time
→ get outside
→ cowork
→ screen time
→ enjoy it!
- Recommendation of the week - SaunaPod
Let's get into it.
Summer WFH with kids—my full system
We've still got a few weeks of summer here in the Gibson household and like many of you, I've been having to navigate getting my work done while also wanting to actually enjoy the extra time I have with the kids.
Here's what is working for me and has allowed me to get my important work done each day (and even getting a performance-related raise recently).
My context
My 6 year old is home for the summer. My 3 year old goes to nearly year-round pre-school, but was home for a few weeks mid-summer.
My wife works full-time in a clinic and is usually home by 3:30pm.
And in my job, I'm 100% remote with a lot of autonomy over my schedule, as long as I'm getting my work done and communicating when I am or am not available, everything's good.
So some of these ideas may work for you, some may not depending on your context.
Given that, I made a free chatbot that'll give you ideas based on YOUR context. Try it out here:
Get help
The first thing I thought about at the beginning of summer was what help I'd be able to get.
The biggest support is my wife. Before the summer started, we chatted over when she'd be able to watch the kids so I could work. She watches them in the early morning before leaving for work and in the afternoon when she gets home. That makes for a pretty long day for her, so I've taken on a few more of the household responsibilities that she would normally do to help share the load.
My parents live about an hour away. That's not really close enough to get help every day, but on days where I have several hours of meetings, I drive down to their house so my mom can watch my daughter while I work in my old bedroom.
While we didn't do any camps this year, Audrey did have the opportunity to go back to her old pre-school for a few weeks which was super helpful.
And if you didn't know, many YMCAs have 2 hours of free childcare for members. We don't have a membership but it's something I've considered. My buddy Matt does this where he'll work for 2 hours and then they all hit up the pool.
Designate work time
If you take one thing away from this newsletter, let it be this:
Don't try to work and watch the kids at the same time (at least as much as you're able to).
Nothing is worse than really trying to focus on a task while a child is trying to get your attention, but you ignore them because you're so locked in, so they get louder and more physical, and then you just yell at them out of frustration.
Time blocking has helped me avoid that situation.
An example day:
- 5:30am - 7:30am : work block
- 9:00am - 10:30am: cowork block (more on that in a bit)
- Noon - 1:00pm: occasional meeting during lunch
- 1:00pm - 2:00pm : work block during kids rest time*
- 3:30pm - 5:00pm : work block when my wife is home
*A note on rest time: My kids don't nap anymore but they spend an hour in their rooms playing. I set up a visual timer so they can see how much time is left. If they come down to my office too often during rest time, I add more time to it, which incentivizes them to actually stay in their room.
The rest of the time, I (mostly) am with the kids and am not trying to work. To help with that, I do not have Slack on my phone and I'll use a Brick to block email and other work apps if I find myself checking them throughout the day too often.
Some exceptions include listening in to a meeting while eating lunch with the kids or doing light admin work while I'm with the kids if my wife gets held up at work.
An added benefit is that having a little bit less work time than normal has forced me to focus my efforts on the most important work.
Get outside
Staying inside all day is a recipe for disaster. Get the kids outside to play off that energy before they destroy your house. I have found outside time to be a great time for me to get my workout in as well.
One of my favorite ways is to go to the track. I like to do sprints once a week so I've taken the kids to the track and let them bring their bikes and scooters (when there is no one else on the track). I'll race my daughter to see who can finish 1 lap first, giving her a 100m head start on her bike. I've yet to beat her.
On days that I want to do a kettlebell workout, I'll either do it in the garage (where she just plays with bubbles or whatever other random stuff she finds in the garage) or I'll go to a nearby park and let the kids play while I'm off to the side w/ a yoga mat and a couple kettlebells.
It's fun and we all enjoy being outside.
Cowork
I will occasionally cowork at a coffee house with my daughter.
She brings a backpack with the following:
I get a coffee, she gets some juice, we find a table, and we work.
I can usually get 60, maybe 90 minutes of work done. There are a few more interruptions than my early morning work block, but I've been able to get some good, focused work done during these times.
Screen time
Sometimes I'll have a meeting that falls outside of my designated work blocks. In that case, I'll let my daughter have some screen time. She'll either watch TV or play with her NEX (a gaming system similar to the Wii but without controllers...super great b/c the games require them to be up and moving to play).
And I don't feel bad about it.
And neither should you. I mean, you and I likely watched at least 6 hours of TV during the summer when we were kids.
I'm just intentional about it. I tell my kids what they can watch, when they will be able to watch it, and how long they will be able to watch.
'Audrey, I have a meeting for 45-minutes after lunch. You can watch Disney or play your Nex. But once my meeting is over, it'll be time to turn it off.'
Enjoy it!
You may have heard the popular saying that 'you only get 18 summers with your kids.' I don't know if I fully agree with that (I hope I spend some time in the summer with my kids after they're 18!), but the sentiment is important.
Some of my favorite moments this summer have been playing Uno in the morning with my daughter, building magnet tiles with my son, taking my daughter to the arcade on a Tuesday afternoon, and just running errands together.
You don't have to entertain the kids all summer (let them be bored), but you've got extra time with them right now. Enjoy it!
Also, give the free chatbot I created a try to see how you could apply some of these principles to your context. Just click the button, then on the chatbot, click on 'click here to start.'
Recommendation of the week
Before Father's Day, I mentioned in this newsletter that my wife was getting me a SaunaPod; a small sauna that's a lot less expensive than a traditional one.
I've now had it for over a month and really love it. I sauna nearly every day either after a workout or before bed.
I can't say I've noticed any specific health or mood benefits, but one of my main reasons for getting it was reducing the risk of Alzheimers and dementia when I get older, as that runs in my family.
I ended up getting this thermometer to see what the actual temperature is. I found it takes 35 minutes of pre-heating to reach the 185°F (85°C) that it claims.
This is perfect if you enjoy doing a sauna, you've considered getting one, but don't want to spend $6k to build out a traditional one.
Check it out here (affiliate link that saves you 5% if you decide to get it).
Let me know if you end up trying any of the ideas above (or if you check out the chat bot!)
Thanks again for being a part of this community!
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Thom Gibson
Founder of WFH Dads
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