Balancing work, family, and the mental load.
293 threads
My tech company started offering 4-day compressed weeks (10 hour days) and I jumped on it. Having Fridays home with my 5yo and 7yo has been incredible. We do projects, go to parks,
Started doing freelance work for an old client about 18 months ago, just 5-10 hours a week on weekends. Hit $15k revenue last month. It's not replacing my main job but it's giving
Got the email reminder at 3pm today. It was at 5:30pm, 20 minutes away. I was downtown in meetings. I just... left. Told my boss something came up, got in the car, drove like a man
Okay so this is semi-rant, semi-question. I have a work trip next month (pre-planned). My manager just asked if I could "take one of the team members' kids to school" while they're
Got a Fitbit last year specifically to track stress levels (heart rate variability). Sounds stupid but data helps me see when I'm running on empty. Also set up automated Google Ho
We're paying $2,400/month for one kid at a supposedly mid-range place in Ballard. TWENTY FOUR HUNDRED. That's almost 30% of our household income. I've heard horror stories about t
Everyone says "be present with your kids" but I'm genuinely wrecked by 6pm. My brain is fried from problem-solving all day. I'm sitting on the couch while my kids play and I'm half
Following up on my earlier post where I was stressing about this. I finally did it. Proposed going 4 days/week starting next quarter. My boss didn't say no, which I guess is good?
Third-grade parent-teacher conference. 2pm on a Thursday. DURING A WORKDAY. How is this still a thing? Why can't schools do evening conferences or weekends? My company gives us 'fl
So my role got restructured and suddenly I'm down from 2 weeks/month on the road to just 1. It sounds amazing in theory but now I'm home more and... I don't know what to do with my
I explicitly told my boss that I need to be home by 6pm to help with bedtime routine. He knows I have three kids. So WHY does he keep scheduling calls at 4:30pm that "definitely" r
Mornings: me = dropoff guy. My commute starts later so I do 7:30am school run with my 2nd grader. Afternoons: wife does pickup because her job is flexible. It's working surprising
Pulled the trigger last month and honestly? Best decision I've made since my kids were born. Working Mon-Thu, and Fridays are just for me and the girls (ages 5 and 7). I pick them
We had a good 18 months where I could mostly stay local. Now my company is doing quarterly conferences and they're "encouraging" attendance. Next one is in Vegas for 4 days in Marc
Had a conversation with my wife about whether I should pursue the director-level role that's opening up (would require more hours, likely more travel) or stay where I am and keep t
How do you do it? Honest question. I come home after 8 hours and my tank is empty. Kids want my attention, my wife wants to talk about her day, there's dinner and baths and bedtime
We just hired our first nanny and I'm paranoid. Started looking at Nanit and Owlet cameras. Does anyone actually use these? Is it helpful or just feeding anxiety? Don't want to be
After 12 years in tech, I'm done. The pace, the expectation to always be on, the performance reviews, all of it. I'm fortunate enough that we can swing it on my wife's salary (she
Started buying used furniture and reselling it for extra cash. Making like $200-300/month on 5-6 hours of work. Question: does anyone else do this? Trying to figure out if I should
First kid on the way. My company offers 6 weeks paid paternity leave. I'm thinking about stretching it to 8 weeks unpaid (so 2 extra weeks I'd have to figure out). Is that crazy?