Happy Friday guys. Have a good holiday weekend. See ya Monday!

PS: If you’re new here, we mix it up on Fridays with a quick recap from the week and a few extra gems to head into the weekend right.

❝

"You are not your grand plans. You are your daily patterns."

James Clear

THE DIGEST

Wisdom of the Week: It’s wild how fast we can create pressure that doesn’t actually exist anywhere else. And when it doesn’t, we feel it immediately. But most of the time, no one else is holding that same standard. Not your kids. Not your family. They’re just in it. Doing their thing. Happy to be where they are.
Meanwhile, we’re running a whole different version of the day in our heads. Just a reminder that a lot of the pressure we feel…we put there.
Most Clicked: The Thing Nobody Tells You About Meeting Your Newborn
Gear of the Week: Rinse Kit Pro
Community: We’re starting weekly giveaways for folks in our Strava group. Whether you’re logging 1 mile or 100 per week, make sure you’re in.
For the Kids: Floor is Lava Game

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📕 Read: The Guide to Getting Dressed Up For the Guy Who Hates Getting Dressed Up

📺 Watch: We Put Some Visuals Behind a Recent Newsletter

🍔 Eat/Drink: 15 Must-Make Grilling Recipes

🎧 Listen: The Invisible Limits Holding You Back

IN THE TRENCHES

Topic: How Much Sleep Are Dads Actually Getting

We asked how much sleep you’re getting right now.

Over 400 of you weighed in and the sweet spot landed right where you’d expect…6–7 hours took the top spot.

Which sounds decent…until you read the comments.

A few notes from the field:

6–7 hours isn’t always clean. A lot of dads said it’s broken sleep, random wakeups, or just inconsistent night to night.
5–6 is the grind zone. Sick kids, night terrors, daycare germs, toddlers calling the shots. One dad said schedules are more of a suggestion than a reality.
Under 5… is survival mode. New dads, anxiety, tough life seasons, or just kids who don’t sleep. No real system, just getting through it.
Even the 7+ crew is working for it. Early bedtimes, early wakeups, syncing schedules with their kids.
And one honest takeaway that came up a few times: sleep is often the first thing we borrow from to keep everything else moving.

Different numbers. Same reality. Most dads aren’t optimizing sleep. They’re negotiating with it.

Will H. with the legit garage gym setup! Nice work.

We want to see your projects. Send ‘em our way! Just reply to this email.

Here’s a fun one.

3 Rounds For Time

… pick a weight that keeps you moving. Use a dumbbell if you don’t have a kettlebell.

🎧 On Repeat
This week’s playlist. Throw it on and don’t think about it. Updated weekly.
→ Listen

🧠 Worth Knowing
Kids are more likely to open up when you’re side-by-side vs face-to-face. Car rides > forced convos.

👊 Try This
Let your kid “run the show” for one hour this weekend. You just follow along. It’ll be chaos. It’ll be fun.

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dad shower thoughts: The most powerful phrase in parenting is: “Let’s ask Mom.”