Fatherly Newsletter

Why work harder when you can work smarter? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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One of the most valuable pieces of advice to remember is: Why work harder when you can work smarter? That is, why sink time and energy into a normal routine or problem when you can spend a chunk of time one day arriving at a better route that will save countless hours down the road? Efficiencies are everywhere — particularly when it comes to establishing better sleep routines, meal routines, or family routines in general — and they’re worth the effort they require to establish.

One of our favorites time management tips comes from Anne DeWitt, marriage therapist and co-host of the Passport to Parenting podcast, who suggested this hack for helping families make the most of transition periods — getting out of bed, moving from one task to another: “Take or draw pictures of each step as a visual reminder of the next step in the process,” she said. “Kids should be involved in making and adapting the routine, so they have buy-in and ownership of it.”

The reason this idea is so brilliant — and, yes, effective — is that it requires the parent to do the work too. As you visualize the process, you also set up, or at least fine-tune, the process. You’re leading by example, but also setting up rules to follow.

But best of all, you’re bringing your whole team into the problem. After all, the most efficient family is often the one that works at being efficient together.