I usually wake up around 5 am. It seems to be a natural time for me. I don’t use any kind of alarm, and I rarely vary from waking around that time.
First thing is coffee. It’s a non negotiable. I recently started using an electric tea kettle to boil the water. The regular stovetop teapot we used to have worked fine for me, but my wife wanted something new. We use a French press in our house. It’s simple and effective. It adheres to the good enough rule. The whole process takes around 15 minutes. While that is moving along, I will let the dogs out and empty the dishwasher.
Next I turn on the TV to watch CNBC. It’s a business-focused news show with various hosts throughout the morning. I like to get up to date on news and most particularly markets. I prefer to drink my coffee by myself. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t. The kids are not supposed to get out of bed until 6 am. Their clocks are set to change green then. If I get 30 minutes to myself in the morning, I consider it a success.
My wife needs to leave for work around 6:20 a.m., so the house is a flurry of activity while she is getting ready to leave.
My two boys, 4 and 5 1/2, are usually up around 6 am. They need a bit of adjusting after waking. They usually want to eat and watch some YouTube videos. Sometimes they can do this by themselves; most of the time, I need to help.
I usually have a bunch of chores to do while my wife gets out the door. I need to finish the dishes from last night, empty the dishwasher, and clean the counter and table. Make sure the kids have what they need.
After my wife is out the door, I try to get a weight lifting session in. This is a recently started habit for me. I lifted for years in the past but have not consistently done it in years. I only need about 20 minutes for this. Most of the time the kids do their own thing; sometimes they work out with me.
School starts at 8:45 am. We usually like to leave early and drive to the beach or the local pond to get the day started right. Their school is only about 1/2 mile from our house. On Fridays I take them to Dunkin’ Donuts for a before-school treat.
After I drop them off most days, I get a bike ride or run in for about an hour. This mostly happens on a trainer I have in my basement. It is easier to deal with work if needed.
I do have to go to the office two days a week. If I do go, the exercise is out. I usually leave directly from dropping off the kids.
When I am home I usually have more meetings in the morning. Details of my work day will be detailed in a future post. I try to keep up with chores if I am home and it works with my schedule. Laundry, quick stop to the store if needed.
The boys get home at noon. Our nanny picks them up and takes care of them in the afternoons. They mostly don’t bother me. I’ll come down to say hi a few times during the day. It’s a huge plus for me to be able to see them throughout the day.
My wife gets home around 3 and the nanny leaves when she gets in. I usually continue working till between 4:30 and 5.
At that point, we start planning dinner. We tend to eat on the early side, usually around 5ish. We cook about half the time. The rest is takeout. I do most of the cooking. I’m okay with it as I enjoy cooking and really like to do it my way.
Most days we all walk the dogs together about 1 mile or so around the neighborhood. The boys take their bikes or scooters. Occasionally we go to the beach or playground to let the kids get some energy out.
Bedtime for the kids is about 7ish. This takes much longer than I think it should. Sometimes upwards of an hour. I often get frustrated with this process. Lately my wife has been doing this alone.
My wife and I both take some time to be alone. She is on her phone or doing chores and cleaning. I usually watch some TV or take a nap. It’s late in the night to nap but sometimes I melt into the couch and can’t really help it.
I am usually in bed between 9 and 10pm. Asleep by 10:30 ish. And hopefully get to do it all over again tomorrow