Describe a typical work day?
I wake up at 5.30 to jog in my neighborhood, I get my exercise out of the way because when I get back my son Atlas wakes up. After breakfast, we head to Big and Tiny at Second Home in Hollywood. Once I drop off Atlas in the Big and Tiny pods, I settle in the courtyard or on the roof at Second Home to check emails and catch-up on any overnight or earlier timezone developments.
At 1pm I go to the Big and Tiny pods and feed Atlas his lunch after he wakes up from his morning nap. I then focus on an afternoon of work before picking up Atlas at 4.30pm and driving home. I love to cook for the family and once Atlas is in bed, I catch up with my partner or we like to watch TV with a glass of wine (we have been watching the shocking the NXIVM documentary on HBO Max).
What would be your tip(s) for any new working parent?
The biggest game-changer for me, especially during the most intense pandemic restrictions, have been to just own the time where you can’t get much done. My partner is an essential worker, so I was at home with our son for the most of each day.
At first, I was trying to work and parent simultaneously during his wake windows. Perhaps others are better at multitasking than I, but I found I wasn’t doing either working or parenting very effectively and it left me feeling down on myself and generally disappointed with how each day was going. I resolved to just be a parent during the time when he needed engagement.
Rather than having the laptop out while he tried to get my attention from the floor, we went on walks and I gave him (mostly) undivided attention. I found the additional work time that was required in the evening or at night did not significantly increase, and I felt much better about the work I was doing and the kind of parent I was able to be.