Ideally, I would get up in the morning and complete my routine of weighing in, stretching, and doing my push ups, sit ups, and squats before waking up the boys. While they watched cartoons, I would have my standard breakfast and get ready for the day.
Assuming it’s a weekday, I would then take Brooks to school and head to the office where I would go through my morning routine, complete some administrative work for this project, publish a blog post, and begin the balancing act between work and project tasks. Somewhere in there I would fit in a morning walk, a lunch walk, and some reading.
After work, I would come home, change clothes, have dinner with the family, complete my evening chores, get the kids to bed, and finish a workout. Then, after a shower, I would spend some time working on the project or writing while watching TV with Jillian before heading to bed.
That’s the ideal weekday.
Do you know how many of those days I’ve had since this project began?
Zero.
Because the ideal day and the real day are two completely different things.
Take yesterday for example.
I had completed all of the morning pieces of my ideal day and was feeling pretty good as I headed to work. Then I got caught in a tornado of unexpected tasks. Things were flying at me from every direction, and it was a couple of hours before I could finally come up for air and regain control of my schedule.
Then I got a text that Brooks might have a fever, which meant our evening plans could be changing as well.
Thankfully he felt better, which meant that after work it was straight to karate with him. By the time we got home, dinner was later than usual, and when I started my chores it felt like I was being pulled in a million different directions. The work never seemed to end.
Eventually we got the kids to bed and, instead of completing a workout, I collapsed into my chair and started working on things here. Before long I was dozing off while Jillian and I tried to watch a show together.
None of that is unique to me.
Every parent has days like that.
I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m simply pointing out that there is no such thing as an ideal day because life is going to happen no matter how carefully we plan.
Most of us wear multiple hats.
I’m a husband, a father, an employee, a writer, a coach, a homeowner, and a dozen other things depending on the day. Any one of those roles can demand my full attention without warning, and when that happens the ideal day disappears.
The goal shouldn’t be to create a perfect schedule and then force reality to conform to it.
That’s impossible.
The goal is to find balance between the day you planned and the day you actually get.
And balance doesn’t mean giving every role equal time and attention every day.
Some days work wins.
Some days family wins.
Some days your health wins.
Some days sleep wins.
Balance isn’t perfection.
Balance is adjustment.
It’s recognizing which role needs you most in that moment and being willing to give it your attention.
And honestly, even our best attempts at balance don’t always work.
Yesterday I fell asleep in my chair with goals unfinished because I was simply exhausted. Work had been demanding. There was karate, dinner, chores, family time, and an attempt to watch soccer with my son.
There just wasn’t enough energy left to do everything I wanted to do.
But this morning I woke up and started again.
I completed my morning routine. I attended an event at Joseph’s preschool. I came to work, prepared for an afternoon meeting, and sat down to write this blog post.
That’s the thing about the balancing act.
You don’t ever complete it.
You don’t master it.
You simply keep showing up each day and doing your best with whatever life places in front of you.
Some days you’ll feel perfectly balanced.
Other days you’ll feel like everything is falling apart.
Either way, tomorrow you’ll get another chance to adjust, refocus, and keep moving forward.
The Young Napoleon Project 