👨 3 Things I've Learned As A Dad

In this week's P.O. Box:

April turned one this week and it has me looking back on an incredible first year as a Dad.

I launched this newsletter in February, right after emerging from the trial-by-fire months of taking care of an infant for the first time.

As I scroll through the old editions, I’m realizing that most of the non-fantasy stuff I wrote about over the past year serves as real-time documentation of me figuring out how to balance being a new dad with all of my other passions/hobbies/endeavors.

Here are a few things I’ve learned during that span:

📝 Routines, not schedules.

I’m a very organized, regimented person by nature, so this one was tough to get on board with at first. But after having a kid, I quickly realized that I was no longer going to be able to do things exactly how or when I wanted to (much less indulge in an egregiously optimistic, influencer-approved morning schedule).

April did not care one bit about the schedules we envisioned for her. One blown-up nap shifted around the entire day’s sleep schedule, but we quickly learned the value in sticking to the same routine regardless of when it takes place (dinner > bath > bottle > story time > bed).

I adapted and applied the same flexibility to my personal stuff.

Because I can’t reliably schedule exactly when I exercise, I try to be flexible and stick to the framework of my routine regardless of when it happens or if it’s an abbreviated “prison” workout.

The phrase I toss around in my head to help with this is “optimizing for momentum.” As long as I do something, anything, I feel like I’ve stuck to my routine. Old me would have just scrapped a workout altogether if I didn’t have the time to do everything I wanted, but now I realize the massive value in just doing a little and making sure the momentum of the routine is in tact.

I still “schedule” as much stuff as possible as a productivity hack, but I’m quick to move things around as needed.

🥇 Constantly prioritize.

Before April, it was pretty easy to get to everything I wanted to do. I leaned into the procrastination that my schedule afforded. If I wanted to punt off a lazy afternoon dicking around on Twitter or drafting fantasy teams, it wouldn’t set me back whatsoever.

Now, I have so few blocks of free time that I have to constantly and aggressively prioritize the things I want to get done or risk falling way behind.

The biggest shift I’ve made is prioritizing the larger/harder tasks first as opposed to just picking off the low-hanging fruit, even though the latter is less daunting and makes me feel more productive.

On the weekends, this specifically means maximizing the two one-hour or so blocks in the morning and afternoon when April naps. Normally, I’ll use one of them to get work done and the other to get in some exercise.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to fight myself on getting to the exercise when I just want to relax, but then I always 2v2 it with my time later in the evening and arrive at the same conclusion that I’d rather work out now than later at night. This inevitably encourages me to get it in earlier rather than later.

The end result is even though I have way less time than now than I did last year at this time, I’m far more efficient with my time out of pure necessity and have eliminated a lot of the fat.

🧠 Practice pre-nostalgia.

One thing I’ve loved about being a Dad is how much it slows me down—not in the literal sense, but by making me more present in the moment. This is notable because I have a tendency to do everything fast—talk fast, get things done fast, move on to the next thing fast, etc.

With April, I’m constantly soaking in all of the little moments—her “cheers”-ing with her cup and saying it with the cutest lisp, cracking herself up playing peek-a-boo with a blanket, dancing on command, pointing to every duck or bear in a book and making sure I see them too.

I’ve always been bad at remembering to take photos and videos, and especially so with April, but it’s because I find myself trying to “film” those moments in my head and really relish in them.

I call it being “pre-nostalgic”—where I try to zoom out and acknowledge that in the future I’m going to be thinking about these moments and missing them. Being nostalgic for something that’s happening in real time sounds weird, I know, but it helps me slow down and appreciate something that I might otherwise trivialize.

The other positive downstream effect of “pre-nostalgia” is that I find myself less preoccupied with all of the other stuff in my life that used to chew up so much mental real estate. Everything else feels less important when you are trying to not let fleeting moments with your kid slip away.

It’s funny that I’m writing about this as a giant debate about having kids vs. being a DINK breaks out on social media.

I’m always so confused by the intensity and definitiveness of these arguments, as if there is a “right” answer on how to live your life and that it’s not entirely unique for each specific person or couple.

I can definitively say that having a kid has enriched my life in a way that I’m very thankful for, while fully acknowledging that it isn’t for everyone.

Similarly, this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive guide of Dad’ing—there are so many things that I’ve learned that are far more important (like having a great partner and constantly communicating)—but I just wanted to look at this first year specifically through the lens of learning how to fold in this life-altering addition into everything else I love to do.

As a bonus, here is a gif of a smiley April taking her first steps a couple weeks ago (in a football onesie no less):

I failed my American duty of offering a Black Friday sale to the merch store, so let’s rectify that with a holiday sale…

I got a notification from my distributor that orders need to be placed by December 10th to ensure they are there by 12/25, so feel free to use the code POBOXMAS for 20% off through Sunday, December 10th.

There’s all kinds of stuff in there, from coffee mugs and pint glasses to hoodies. If you have a specific request for a logo/avatar on a specific piece of merch, shoot me a message and I’ll see what I can do.

🧩 Week 14 DFS Strategy & GPP Picks w/ JMToWin. Topics discussed: how to think about weather impacting game environments, the double TE meta, getting weird at RB this week, and the top GPP plays at QB, RB, WR, and TE.

💎 Week 14 Hidden Gems for Battle Royale & DFS. It’s a great week to scroll down for WRs:

🥃 DFS After Dark with Sackreligious. I normally record these on Saturday nights, but due to an internet outage had to flex to Tuesday. Had an awesome conversation with the uber sharp Deposit Kingdom member, Stat Chasing host, Dawg Bowl qualifier, and Showdown king—Sackreligious—about how he became obsessed with fantasy and taught himself to code and why he embraced giving away his edge doing content. The reviews are in:

☕️ We Got The Injury Blade (Week 13 DFS Recap). Chalktober leaks into December with Zack Moss & a big injury buries us on this week's Pourtfolio Review. We go through all of our DFS and Underdog Battle Royale lineups, as well as reviewing the Best Ball Mania IV leaderboard. Other topics discussed; the sims and their influence on ownership, the Texans offense, the thesis behind triple stacking, a Deposit Kingdom lineup that would've done quite well in the milly, and friend of the show Nez takes down Da Bomb.

🏆️ Fantasy Life roundup. Recapped the brutal Tank Dell injury from Week 13, made fun of the Jets, and checked in on some fantasy relevant news, including the return of Dawson Knox.

💪 Swolecast: Draftkings Week 14 DFS picks. No Socrdave or Tuttle, so me, Davis, and Kerrane ran a three-man weave.

🚢 The Steelers' Future, Dawg Bowl Final Prep & 2024 WRs. The fellas are joined by Nez from the Badge Bros to tilt the Steelers struggling with the Patriots and whether he's in or out on Kenny Pickett long term. They also talk strategy for his Dawg Bowl Live Final where he'll be competing for a $200K top prize. Later, Steph Miller joins to discuss our red-hot high stakes teams in the playoffs and Gretch talks college football.

🌴 Week 14 First Look, Dawg Bowl Preview, & Crypto Rally. The Club welcome Krutches back on the show for a first look of the Week 14 NFL slate on Underdog and a preview the Dawg Bowl final in Miami this weekend, plus some crypto/NFTs discussion.

📈 RBs To Stash, Intriguing Rookie WRs, & Week 14 Plays. Gretch & I filled in for Drico and joined Sack for Stat Chasing this week. Topics discussed: CJ Stroud and Geno Smith in challenging matchups, RBs to stash on your bench for the fantasy playoffs, backfield flippenings, a TE set to see a big volume boost, and rookie WRs who could spike in the fantasy playoffs.

📊 Ship Chasing High Stakes Team Reviews & The Final Waiver Roundup. Playoffs are here and our portfolio is looking pretty good. Check out Steph’s piece.

We got 2 shows on tap before the Week 14 main slate kicks off:

⏱️ Off & On The Clock w/ the Badge Bros: Week 14 Draft Party Live from Miami

🤓 Week 14 DFS Cram: Top GPP Plays & Hidden Gems

I’m off to Miami for the Dawg Bowl final. Will share updates on X if you want to follow along. See ya Monday.

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