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Modern fatherhood presents a whole new set of challenges to a man. Time is an issue, as well as personal habits, and health. Let’s take a closer look at 5 things we can do to make life better when a little one enters the equation of your family.

Modern fatherhood health

Let’s be honest, getting a workout in as a dad can be a serious challenge. We can get up an hour earlier, we can skip lunch and workout instead, or we can sacrifice evening hours that would otherwise be spent with our families. Here’s the thing: workouts that last for hours are for the birds, or “the buffs”. A better option, now that you are a dad, may be a shorter workout that includes interval training.

There are many workout plans that can be done right at home, in about 30 minutes, and with little or no equipment. FitnessBlender is the best one I can find that is absolutely free. This couple is also one of the most inspiring husband and wife teams that I have seen in a long time. They have fun together, joke around, and go on dates.

They also just created a way to add fitness to a planner system on their website so that you can schedule out your workouts. I also met another great dad blogger last week at Dad 2.0 Summit. His name is Dai Manuel. His advice to dads is to think long term vs short term. He is a great guy and has awesome tips to get back in shape.

Time management

Life can quickly feel out of balance when you have a new little one around. Many professionals and women in particular, have a great way to keep it all in order. They make lists and make plans. When a woman’s best friend comes into town, it is a highly orchestrated event. We can take hints from the women in our lives and make planning a higher priority.

Not planning selfishly, however making plans with the lady in your life and planning with your family in mind. When you can get together and be united on what is important week by week, I guarantee that you will accomplish more of your goals individually and as a couple. Look for a great planner.

Two that I recommend are the Franklin Covey planner and the Passion Planner. The Franklin Covey planner is a classic planner the simplifies your schedule and helps put your highest priorities first. The Passion Planner is positive, caters to a creative mind, helps to maintain ongoing projects, and helps you focus on what is important for the week.

The Passion Planner is my personal favourite. A written planner has tremendous value and gives you a way to see your week in a single page. Using a planner as a grown up is truly a great tool to be more of an “adult”. It can also improve the balance of your life. Put your highest priorities first and things will fall into place.

Getting in touch with modern fatherhood

Let’s be honest, getting a workout in as a dad can be a serious challenge. We can get up an hour earlier, we can skip lunch and workout instead, or we can sacrifice evening hours that would otherwise be spent with our families. Here’s the thing: workouts that last for hours are for the birds, or “the buffs”.

A better option, now that you are a dad, may be a shorter workout that includes interval training. There are many workout plans that can be done right at home, in about 30 minutes, and with little or no equipment. FitnessBlender is the best one I can find that is absolutely free. This couple is also one of the most inspiring husband and wife teams that I have seen in a long time.

They have fun together, joke around, and go on dates. They also just created a way to add fitness to a planner system on their website so that you can schedule out your workouts. I also met another great dad blogger last week at Dad 2.0 Summit. His name is Dai Manuel. His advice to dads is to think long term vs short term. He is a great guy and has awesome tips to get back in shape.

Create your own manifesto

Part of becoming a new dad is to start formulating and developing your ideal of what fatherhood is. This is why the Fatherhood Manifesto Project was created. To help men look honestly at themselves and ask the questions that matter.

Creating a written manifesto of your role as a father is a great place to start. Here is a link to my manifesto with ideas of how to write your own. When you know what you want it is that much easier to make good choices for your family.

Eating Habits

Many men are a lot healthier before baby. According to The Telegraph, a British news source, men gain an average of a stone and a half when a baby is brought into the equation. “A lack of time to exercise, increased consumption of takeaway meals and sleepless nights are said to be to blame as pressures mount on the ‘modern dad.’”

How much is a stone anyways? It is 14 pounds. So Men are gaining 14-21 pounds following the arrival of the new baby. It is clearly evident that in modern fatherhood, we turn to easy foods. Added stress contributes to the stone count. In order to gain control we need to monitor and model a better diet. Start now modelling what you want your child to eat, because soon they will be eyeballing every food you put into your mouth.

Soon they will want the colas, the candy, and the snacks you eat. Keeping our family’s health in mind, can be the greatest motivation to eat better. Start now so you can drop the baby stone.

Relationships

Gentlemen, the key to truly keeping love alive is in your ability to help out as often as you can. This is modern fatherhood, and will help your relationship. You’re a dad now, you are not “babysitting” your child ever. Your child is your responsibility. How able are you to respond to your child’s needs? Do you need to be told the baby is crying and asked to get up and help? No.

The biggest challenge in modern fatherhood is to do your best at responding. Realistically, things won’t be perfect. In fact, sometimes it will be frustrating when you have just sat down or started to do something and the siren sounds. A second idea for keeping your relationships strong, is to go to bed when your wife does. Try to retire at the same time at the end of the day.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Researchers found spouses who go to bed at different times report significantly less relationship satisfaction than those on the same schedule. They have more conflict, spend less time in shared activities and serious conversation, and have sex less frequently than couples with similar sleeping schedules.”

If you want to keep the love alive, think about syncing up your bed time.