My Five Favorite Tools

It isn't easy finding time for, well, anything, it feels like. As a 30-something year old parent to a toddler, full-time employee, and husband to a wife who is also a full-time employee, it is almost always a struggle. There's very little time for (selfishly) me, but here are some of the most impactful items in my life.

1) These first two (counting as one) are from the wonderful Ryan Holiday (https://store.dailystoic.com/collections/all-books):

• The Daily Stoic
  

• The Daily Dad
  

I admittedly can't always find the 5 minutes in the morning to go through these "dailies," but every single time I do, my day just starts off beautifully. They help remind me what is important in life - what to focus on. I'm significantly more patient with my son, and I'm significantly more productive with work. I currently work remotely, but when I didn't (before parenthood), I would read The Daily Stoic in my car after arriving to work.

2) This next one, I heard from Dr. Andrew Huberman, and while you may disagree with some of the leaps he takes from animal studies, I have so much more energy throughout the day because of it:

• Exercise Nuggets

These short-burst exercise parties (as I like to call them) are just one to five minute bursts of some sort of activity. I personally love hopping on my rowing machine and hammering out a 120 second "sprint," but pushups, jumping jacks, squats, or even just walking quickly will do the trick, too.

3) It might take a lawyer to argue that this is a tool, and it took me AGES to break this habit:

• No phone before bed!

I struggle with phone addiction. It's so easy to fall into the bad habit - so hard to break it, but spending even just the final 15 minutes of bed stretching and meditation has a noticeable effect on my sleep. Preferably you make it an hour before bed, but I get wanting some alone time to relax.

4) This one has a bigger cost to it, but it is the best decision I've made in ages.

• Stationary Bike and a stand (pictured above)

I get at least four hours of work done on my stationary bike each week, while keeping my heart rate above 120. I usually use that time to go through emails or other tasks that only require a single screen. Since my wife and I both work, there just isn't much time, so when I can take down two tasks at once, it's a huge win.

I am NOT handy at all, but I built my own stand with some planks that had been on a neighbor's curb, and my stationary bike was $280, so relatively reasonable.

5) Lastly, the tool that helps me the most is a:

• Daily Journaling
  

There's nothing special about the journal. I use a regular notebook, and I write the main tasks I need to accomplish that day - both for work and outside of work, and then I write any important details from my day. A lot of times, I never even go back and really read the journals, but getting it all down on paper just helps immensely.