Athletic coder dads, how do you balance your schedule?

Dad, professional (and freelance) developer, training jiu jitsu 3-4 times per week, and strength training. (Trying to get hella yolked).

It’s takes processes, systemization and at the end of the day: discipline. Someone else said it here, but I fully agree, you have to be willing to sacrifice other things.

I don’t watch TV, ever. I don’t stay up past 9pm (except veeery rarely) I wake up early and get my most important stuff done before noon.

Oh and I just fail a lot. But that’s part of the process. I try to build consistency and just like we do with software I try to figure out why something failed and I make adjustments. Like my own little mini-postmortems.

If you really want tactical advice, I write notes daily. I use reflect.app and I have an end of day ritual where I write down anything that sticks out as unique or interesting about my day. Then I write about 3 things I’m actively trying to accomplish and what I’ll do to make those happen tomorrow. Then I’ll write 3 things I’m grateful for. Last I’ll write one thing that’s stressing me and out then I’ll reframe it in a positive light and finally I’ll write down how my best version of myself would handle that particular issue.

Writing really helps me slow down and make sure I’m doing the right things and helps me recognize when to stop doing the wrong things.

530am workouts. That lets me get in a run/swim, eat, stretch, and shower before my daughter wakes up. I tried other solutions for a while (lunch or late-night workouts) but just couldn't hack 'em. I don't love getting up so early but it's the most sustainable option I've found.

[Full disclosure I work mostly with devs but am not one myself]

Discipline and making it a non-negotiable priority in my daily life. For me, a day I don't run is a wasted day, so I like to get it done before other stuff can interrupt. I structure my life to make that possible.

I go run about 10 miles around 4:30 to be done by the time kids need to wake for school. To make that happen, I go to bed before 9:00 every night. It doesn't leave very much time for other activities but I can't say my life was improved by wasting time on personal projects or watching TV.

Well I'm definitely not a morning person. It generally takes me until 10-11 to fully wake up so I choose lunch time. I have a flexible schedule and usually can take a 90 minute lunch break. 60 minutes for exercise and 30 for changing/eating. It works pretty well and just extends the working day a little.

Not a dad but a few sets of pushups and air squats throughout the day. Pulling requires gear of some kind so 1 set of pullups on a bar when home. Most can squeeze 1 minute of time for a set of body weight work here and there. Long walks for cardio but that takes time unfortunately.