Yes, you have groceries to put away. Yeah, you have some forms to get to the accountant. Yes, there is always work to do. Chores are waiting to get done, the phone is always ringing, the inbox beckons. 

But the truth is that the only thing you have to be doing is that thing you were just in the middle of with your kids. Reading that one book to your toddler…again. Listening to the story your teenager is excited to tell you. Laying on the couch as a family. Watching them play in the yard. 

As we’ve said before, quoting Bryan Caplan, your kids are not a distraction from your work, from your responsibilities. They are your work. They are the only thing you have to be doing. Even if that means doing nothing. You don’t have anywhere to be. This is it. 

This is what matters. So do it. Do everything else after, do it later, do it only once your real work is complete. 

P.S. This was originally sent on July 14, 2021. Sign up today for the Daily Dad’s email and get our popular 11 page eBook, “20 Things Great Dads Do Everyday.”