A Day in the Life of a Working Dad
In honor of Father’s Day, we sat down with the dad of a five-year-old and Product Lead on the kid’s side here at Hatch, Kyle. Here’s what a typical day in his life looks like — balancing work and parenting!
7:01 AM My son is my alarm clock. His Time-To-Rise light turns on, a glowing green that he’s chosen himself, letting him know it’s okay to get out of bed and come into our room.
7:03 AM He brings an armful of stuffies with him as he climbs into our bed. I love our morning cuddle time before work.
7:15 AM Who let the dog out? Who, who, who, who? It’s me. Just me. I let the dog out before breakfast.
7:31 AM I make coffee and breakfast for the family. Having breakfast together is a sweet way to start the morning.
7:34 AM I try to get in a quick Wordle if I’m lucky.
7:41 AM I am lucky! I get the Wordle in three tries. I won’t spoil it for you, though.
7:51 AM I play with my son a bit before getting him ready for school. Today we’re Octonauts saving the reef (our living room) from a jellyfish invasion!
8:14 AM Into the car, shoes on, lunch packed, car seat belt fastened — getting a 5-year-old to school on time should be an Olympic sport. On the way to school, my son tells me that when he turns six, he’ll need to use two hands to show people his age.
He pauses for a minute, before asking “But how do pirates show how old they are if they have a hook on one hand?” (Honestly, it’s a valid question!)
8:23 AM We arrive at school, getting there in nine minutes exactly. He loves school and is excited for the day! He spends Mondays with my mom (his grandma), who lives nearby. Tuesday to Thursday he’s in preschool until 4:30pm, and Fridays my wife picks him up at 1pm. He’s starting Kindergarten this fall though, which will shake things up.
8:35 AM Driving back home, before making myself another cup of coffee, ready to work by 9 AM.
8:54 AM I start my work day. Back-to-back meetings and a new product launch make the morning zoom by.
12:14 PM Work is lighter this afternoon, so I sneak out on a lunchtime run for self-care.
1:04 PM More meetings, work, and virtual chats with coworkers. I hope they can’t tell that I’m still sweating a bit from my run.
4:03 PM I stop working and head back to the preschool to pick up my son. I set pretty firm boundaries around my working hours so that I can be fully present with my family when I’m done with work for the day. This includes muting Slack and email when I’m not working.
4:44 PM We stop at the library on our way home from preschool.
5:15 PM I start to make us dinner. This evening it’s pasta and vegetables.
5:44 PM We sit down and eat together as a family — always. We have a “no devices at the table” policy that helps us connect better and be present. I’m sure this will especially come in handy when my son is a teenager! We each reflect on one thing we liked about our day and one thing we didn’t like.
6:22 PM Tonight, I’m on dish duty while my wife plays with our son. I can hear them laughing in the other room and it makes me smile.
6:44 PM It’s bath time! We head upstairs to start my son’s nighttime routine. We’re big on consistency.
7:15 PM We head into my son’s room for jammies. His Rest light is already on, scheduled to turn on at 7 PM every night. It’s playing white noise as I tuck him into bed for story time with my wife.
Our son used to struggle with sleep during his first year and didn’t sleep through the night until he was a year old, but thankfully he’s now a champion sleeper.
7:30 PM Lights are officially out. Bedtime. We did it!
7:34 PM My wife and I chat about our days, our son, and spend some time relaxing together. She’s my favorite person.
8:01 PM My wife and I turn on an episode of Stranger Things (season 4). So good.
9:02 PM We’re exhausted from our days — waking up at 7 AM, working and parenting. We get in bed and read for a bit.
Recently I feel like I’ve been getting enough rest, but it ebbs and flows. I’m also no stranger to insomnia, often struggling to fall asleep or waking up in the middle of the night. It’s taken me a while to develop healthy sleep habits. But on a good night, I can sleep for 8-9 hours.
10:04 PM Lights out for us!
10:06 PM Before I fall asleep, I think about how I’ve finally accepted that I can’t be the perfect dad, spouse, friend, and overall human being simultaneously. Instead, I choose one or two of these areas to focus on depending on the week.
Some weeks this means I neglect my self-care, or I’m not as present as I’d like to be with my family or a flakier friend than usual, but it usually evens out in the long run. I don’t break myself trying to do everything for everyone.
I love being a dad and seeing the world through my son’s eyes. Sometimes it can be challenging to remain present with my son’s big emotions without trying to “fix it.”
My default is to try and remedy the situation for him, to make the feeling go away quicker, but this doesn’t help him build perseverance through tough situations, or develop confidence that his emotions will eventually pass and not consume him. My wife is great at this, but she’s a therapist so that’s cheating. But really, we’re lucky to have her.
I love my work, and I love being a dad.
10:17 PM Now, bedtime, before we do it all again tomorrow!
From all of us here at Hatch, we’re wishing all the dads, grandpas, and fatherly figures in your lives a Happy Father’s Day.