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Working from home (on hard mode)
Plus: Count seconds, not reps and a free health and fitness discussion
Geoff Girvitz
September 26, 2024
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Today on Dad Strength
Working from home (on hard mode)
Count seconds, not reps
365X
A book, a quote, a dad joke
Fatherhood: Working from home (on hard mode)
My son just coughed onto my hands and keyboard. He’s juuust sick enough to stay home today and I’m doing my best to be productive. Is it harder to get things done with a sick kid at home? Is water wet or sand gritty? Is someone on the internet upset right now?
Some tips:
Set realistic expectations for your kid(s)
They’re going to need some time and attention from you. However, larger meals tend to be preferable to constant snacks. Creating a schedule can help. In my case, I suggested that my son write out a full plan for the day. This was not received with enthusiasm. However, we created an MVP version that covered the next two hours. He went to his room to rest and I got back to work.
Set realistic expectations for yourself
Things you probably won’t experience:
Award-winning levels of focus
Record-breaking levels of productivity
Things to go off without a hitch
As an example, just moments after our scheduling talk, my son returned to strike me directly in the kneecap with a small wooden hammer. He was “testing my reflexes.”
Be more boring
“Fate whispers to the child, ‘You can not withstand the boredom.’ The father whispers back, 'I am the boredom.'”
Look, I know you’re a delight. However, in moments where your kid is looking for a break from their own boredom, you cannot be so delightful. You must become more boring than whatever they are trying to distract themselves from. As a father, being boring is one of your superpowers.
In my case, I started teaching my son about the location of the patellar ligament, which is not on the kneecap. I would have gotten into the majesty mono-synaptic reflex arc that makes your leg go all kicky – but his eyes rolled back so aggressively that he was carried backwards into his room.
Please only use your powers for good.
Make space for light movement
If your kid is well enough to take a walk with you or otherwise engage in some general movement, you boost the odds of them waking up zesty tomorrow. Some outside time syncs up the ole circadian rhythm and while intense exercise can suppress immune function, easy movement enhances it. Plus it gets the ants out of their pants.
Have a reverse bug-out bag prepared
Good activity choices provide a kid with an appropriate level of challenge AND connects it with something your kid has inherent interest in.
Here are some quick suggestions broken down by ages and stages:
Early Elementary (5-8 Years)
Find challenges that your kid can work on independently. Think LEGO, craft stick creations, and puzzles. Some of the tasks we’ve used (as of 10:40 in the morning): a colouring sheet; a sketch and two-sentence description of an invention; a couple of pages out of a book of visual, math, and word puzzles.
Average attention spans:
5-6 years old: 12-18 minutes 7–8 years old: 16-24 minutes
Middle Childhood (9-12 Years)
Find challenges that combine creativity with planning/clear thinking. These an include journalling and short stories, art projects, model-building, etc. with some level of complexity, and scavenger hunts that may lead to rediscovery of old favourites.
Average attention spans:
9–10 years old: 20-30 minutes 11-12 years old: 25-35 minutes
Early Teenagers (13-15 Years)
Find projects that raise the stakes a little bit, like preparing simple meals, DIY projects, or planning and strategy work, like preparing reading lists or skill development plans for things they already have high interest in.
Average attention spans:
13-15 years old: 30-40 minutes
Be safe. Have fun. I hope your kiddo is feeling better.
Coming up on the next Dad Strength call (Tuesday at 3 PM EST): Managing push-back from kids.
Want to check things out?
Fitness: Count seconds, not reps
As a coach, I am not interested in how many reps you can do badly. Whether it’s three sets of 10, four sets of 6, or 10 sets of eleventy-seven, it’s quality I’m looking for. Reps are just a code. Put in the stimulus in, get the adaptation you want out out. Muscle growth, aerobic fitness… You just have to know what to plug in.
The problem is when rushing through your reps makes you less effective. Sometimes, to really move forward, you have to slow things down. This can make people nervous, though. When your glutes feel like they’re going to pop off four reps into a 10-rep set of Bulgarian split-squats… well, it can be hard not to rush.
If you find yourself speeding through certain exercises – and especially if you are rushing to meet your rep count, try using time. For example, ~40-70 seconds per set is a good general window for hypertrophy. Whether it’s done over 20 reps or two reps, the time is the time. This gives you a flexibility in how you do things – and an ability to really feel your way through the set.
Final tip: to maximize the benefits of this approach, stay in motion by eliminating pauses at the top or bottom of your reps.
Join me for a FREE HEALTH AND FITNESS DISCUSSION on Monday, October 7 – at 7 PM EST
We’ll talk about exercise concepts for busy dads, exercise, nutrition, and whatever is on your mind
Ease into investing
Ease being the key word. With automated tool like portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvestment, Betterment makes investing easy for you, and a total grind for your money.
Mindfulness: 365X
Author, editor, and Very Interesting Person, Kevin Kelly, asks, “If you repeated what you did today 365 more times, where would you be in a year?”
What I’m reading
10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People by David Yeager
Stay tuned for thoughts on that in upcoming editions
A Quote
When we mentor for future growth, it’s far better to give young people experiences that show them they are capable of meeting the high standard with the appropriate support, rather than offering them unfounded assurances of their abilities—or, worse, hiding the standards from them altogether.
A Dad joke
How much does a grandpa weigh?
A bit more than a gram.
Take care of yourself, man!
Geoff Girvitz
Father, founder, physical culturist
dadstrength.com