A Day in the Life of a New Dad and YouTuber

TL;DR

Becoming a parent forces hard tradeoffs: instead of gym sessions six days a week and morning coffee with emails, a new dad now spends about 90 minutes feeding, dressing, and prepping his son before work. He prioritizes only the most urgent to-do items, accepting that ambitious daily lists rarely get finished and get pushed to later days.

Transcript

this is a realistic day in the life of a dad business owner and YouTuber my day usually starts at 6:00 to 6:30 a.m. depending on when my son wakes up can you say good morning yeah today it was 5:00 a.m. I made a few of these productivity Vlogs in the past but this is the first time that I'm doing it as a parent you want to go get breakfast and oh m... Read More

Key Insights

• Parenthood restructures the entire morning routine. Mornings that once started with pourover coffee and emails now involve messy nappies and chores, and getting the child fed, dressed, and sunscreened for the day takes about an hour and a half before work begins.
• Everything comes at a cost, so becoming a dad required cutting the gym from five or six days a week. Working out an hour every day would mean less time with family and less time for work, a difficult tradeoff that is not great for physical health.
• Being overly ambitious about a daily to-do list is common, so most items rarely get finished and get pushed to the next day. The strategy is to focus on the most urgent tasks first and defer non-urgent ones as deadlines approach.
• Writing improves through rewriting, not first drafts. The creator considers himself a decent writer but far better at editing and rewriting, noting the first thing he writes is usually complete trash that a second day helps refine.
• Descript is an all-in-one video editing platform that creates an automatic transcript and lets you edit the video by editing the text, so deleting a sentence removes it from the video. Its AI can remove filler words, create animated captions, and maintain eye contact.
• Intermittent fasting is valued mainly for calorie restriction rather than metabolic benefits. New research has led experts to suggest it is not nearly as helpful for humans as once thought, but skipping the first half of the day helps limit calorie intake.
• Playing squash once a week is the creator's most consistent cardio ever, because it is fun rather than exercise for the sake of exercise. Previous attempts at running or cycling habits after gym lifts never stuck consistently.
• Authentic content beats over-sensational clickbait for long-term audience building. Audiences are fatigued by sensational content, and creating with authenticity and integrity may lose short-term views but builds an audience that shows up for every video and podcast.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does becoming a dad change a productivity-focused morning routine?

Instead of starting the day with pourover coffee and emails, mornings become messy nappies and chores. The creator and his partner rotate mornings with their son Frankie depending on daycare. On his mornings, getting Frankie fed, dressed, sunscreened, and ready takes about an hour and a half before he can head off to work, though he genuinely loves starting his day with his son.

Q: Why did he cut back on going to the gym after having a child?

He explains that everything comes at a cost. He used to go to the gym five or six days a week, spending an hour to an hour and a half each time. Working out that much now would mean less time with family and less time for work, so he made difficult decisions that are not great for his physical health and well-being but reflect the tradeoff parenthood requires.

Q: What is Descript and how does it work for video editing?

Descript is an all-in-one video editing platform. You upload a video and it automatically creates a transcript, then lets you edit the video by editing the text, so deleting a sentence deletes it from the video. Its AI can automatically detect and remove filler words and spaces, create animated captions with a click, maintain eye contact with the camera when reading a script, and produce studio-quality audio without pricey microphones.

Q: Why does he practice intermittent fasting if research questions its benefits?

He notes new research has led experts to suggest intermittent fasting is not nearly as helpful for humans as once thought regarding metabolic effects. He still likes it because it helps restrict his calorie intake. Once he eats, it kicks his craving cycles into gear, so not eating for the first half of the day is one way he limits the amount of calories he consumes daily.

Q: How does he approach writing a YouTube video script?

Writing a video like his 'I quit the news for one year' script usually takes him a day or two. He gets most of his thoughts down on the first day, then uses the next day to refine and eliminate the garbage he wrote. He considers himself a decent writer but far better at editing and rewriting, since the first thing he writes is usually complete trash, and writing helps make the video more engaging.

Q: Why does he believe authentic content beats sensational clickbait?

He observes that people are getting tired and fatigued by over-sensational content. While sensational content will still have a place like reality TV does, he thinks there is a big appetite for creators who work with authenticity and integrity rather than resorting to clickbait. You may lose views in the short term, but the long-term goal is an audience that shows up for every video and podcast you make.

Q: How does he manage an overly ambitious to-do list?

At the start of each day he checks his calendar and to-do list so he does not forget events, meetings, or interviews, then adds them to his tasks. He admits he is often overly ambitious about what he can accomplish, so he rarely finishes everything. He focuses on the most urgent items first, like writing his YouTube video, and pushes less urgent tasks to later days as deadlines approach.

Q: Why does he play squash instead of doing traditional cardio?

He says he basically never does cardio and has repeatedly tried but failed to stick with running or cycling habits after his gym lifts. Playing squash once a week with his friend Justin has become one of the most consistent cardio practices he has ever had. He believes it works because it is fun and enjoyable rather than exercise just for the sake of exercise, helping him unwind and get a sweat going.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• A new dad who is a business owner and YouTuber wakes between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m., or earlier when his son Frankie wakes at 5:00 a.m. He and his partner Nat rotate mornings, spending about 90 minutes feeding, dressing, and prepping Frankie before heading to work.

• He starts work by reviewing his calendar and to-do list, which includes vlogging, importing interview footage, writing a YouTube video and newsletter, and a YouTube strategy call. He admits he is overly ambitious and rarely completes his list, pushing non-urgent tasks to later days.

• Between tasks he reflects on tradeoffs of fatherhood: cutting gym time, using intermittent fasting to restrict calories, and surviving on peanut butter sandwiches and yogurt. He plays weekly squash for cardio, values authentic content over clickbait, and counts finishing his video script as the day's biggest win.