👋 Hey Reader!

Trying something a little different with this issue.

My buddy KC Procter has got a newsletter called Fit Dad Life and is doing a 30-day series highlighting other dads called 30 Days of Dads.​

Each day will include a reflection on fatherhood, a quote, and a recommendation.

I'm contributing to the series and thought I'd share my contribution with you here.

The official series starts June 1 so if you'd like to get the full series, sign up here:

1) FATHERHOOD REFLECTION

Why I stopped waking up early (at least sometimes)

Sundays are typically a day to take it easy. But for a long time, my Sundays looked a whole lot like my Saturdays, except with church thrown in there.

For years, I’d get up before the family to work on my side business, I’d try to get a workout in when the kids would nap later in the day, and maybe I’d even get a head start on the work week (which was particularly easier to fall into since I work from home)

To NOT do those things felt like a waste; a missed opportunity to make progress on something. And on top of that, how can you ACTUALLY rest with two toddlers in the house anyways?

But then I read the book ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.’ The general premise is that we have a ‘cancerous restlessness’ in our culture that ultimately destroys our ability to pay attention to God and others. The author spoke of the need to truly have a Sabbath in a way that made me rethink my Sundays.

I could begin to see in myself the restlessness of the constant doing and going and striving and hurrying that the author was pointing out. Being with my kids but mentally elsewhere. Feeling an anxiousness from just sitting still with nothing to do. Only feeling at ease when I was busy.

So I decided to implement a proper day of rest for me and my family.

For me in my current season of life with two young kids, that meant a few things:

SLEEP

I stopped getting up early. I now sleep until my body wakes up naturally or until my kids come into my room (which can sometimes still be early but not AS early as I was getting up). Sunday has become the day with my highest quality and quantity of sleep according to my Oura ring.

NO EXERCISE:

Besides the occasional walk with the family or wrestling with the kids, I don’t do any exercise. There’s six other days of the week to run or lift.

PLAY:

I try to say yes to whatever my kids want to do on Sundays. Go to the park, play Uno, play tickle monster. It’s the one day of the week where I literally have nothing else going on so saying yes becomes easier.

LIMITED SCREENS:

Social media, email, Slack, and news apps are blocked all day on my phone on Sunday. Occasionally we’ll watch a movie as a family.

REFLECT:

During the kids nap time, I always take time to physically journal and reflect on the week. What went well? What didn’t? It’s often full of reflections on fatherhood, marriage, and faith.

CHURCH:

Not much change here as we were already going, but for us, time worshipping God and learning about him in community is something we want to prioritize as a family.

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It’s easy for a Sabbath to become about trying to follow a bunch of rules. And the itch to ‘do more’ doesn’t just magically go away. But I remind myself that every Sunday is really an invitation to step back from all the striving, to disconnect from the digital world, and to be present with God, with myself, and with my family. And we’re all better for it.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

You don’t have to be a person of faith to benefit from some kind of Sabbath practice. Next Sunday, pick 1-2 things you would normally try to make progress on and just…don’t do them. Instead, make yourself available to your family. And try to see it as an opportunity to slow down, not a burden keeping you from crushing it.

Do you slow down at all on Sundays? Reply and let me know. I read and reply to each one.

2) QUOTEABLE

-Andy from The Office

3) RECOMMENDATION

​The Brick​

The Brick is a small physical device that locks down your phone when you tap your phone to it. You choose which apps or websites get blocked, and once your phone is ‘bricked,’ the only way to unlock those apps is to physically tap your phone to the Brick again.

I’ve tried the built-in Screen Time limits, but they’re too easy to override. The Brick has been the only thing that helps besides deleting the apps since I actually have to get up, walk to the kitchen (where I keep mine), and physically ‘unbrick’ the phone to access anything I’ve blocked. The friction is enough to keep me off my phone most of the time.

​
You can see how it works here. There’s no subscription and one Brick works for multiple people.

Hope you enjoyed this one!

You can sign up for the full 30 Days of Dads series completely for free. Starts June 1.

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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