Five hours of sleep, too much caffeine, a never-ending to-do list, and a baby who won't go back to sleep.

Welcome to another episode of Dads in Real Life. ☕

Today, Travis and Robert are running on caffeine and dad energy. Between the heat, family responsibilities, and a serious lack of sleep, Travis is realizing that something needs to change.

He starts by sharing his experience with the Brick, a physical device designed to help limit distracting apps and social media.

After noticing that he reaches for his phone more often when he's tired or stressed, Travis decided to try something different. He shares the data from his first week using the Brick, why he chose it over other apps, and whether it's actually helping him break the habit of doomscrolling.

Robert shares why he uses the Brick too, along with an unexpected benefit he's discovered.

Then the conversation turns to something every parent wishes they had more of:

SLEEP. 😴

Travis has been averaging just five hours a night, so he asks Robert about his sleep habits and tracking.

They discuss:

• 📱 Why stress and exhaustion make bad habits harder to break

• 🧱 Using the Brick to manage social media and distractions

• 💤 The difference between consistent sleep and an unpredictable sleep schedule

• ⏰ How alarms and routines can help manage mornings

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The reality of trying to prioritize sleep while raising kids

And just when things seem to be getting productive, Travis introduces something he calls:

THE BAD LUCK TRAIN. 🚂

You know those days when one thing goes wrong, then another, and suddenly everything seems to be falling apart?

Travis shares a recent ride on the Bad Luck Train, while Robert adds a story involving a rushed afternoon and a diaper. Because nothing says parenting quite like being in a hurry when your kid has other plans.

The episode wraps up with a familiar dad-life moment: a crying baby, a missing pacifier, another interrupted night of sleep, and a little dad cuddling to save the day.

Sometimes being a dad isn't about having the perfect routine or getting everything right.

It's about finding better ways to manage the chaos, recognizing when something needs to change, and showing up for your family—even when you're running on five hours of sleep.

Question for our listeners: Have you ever been on the Bad Luck Train? Share your best story in the comments!

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Shout-outs:

Music produced by Trevor Gregory Follow @savten from @look.cypher

Today we pick up Part 2 of our conversation about protecting your time, attention, and mental space as a dad.

Or at least we try to.

First, there are Christopher Walken impressions. Then Travis needs to move some Magna-Tiles. Then there’s a crying child who needs help.

Basically, the perfect introduction to an episode about managing distractions and the never-ending responsibilities of being a parent. 😂

Eventually, Travis and Robert get back to where they left off and tackle something they call:

“Subscription Maintenance.”

These are the responsibilities that never really get checked off because eventually…they come back.

🧹 Daily & weekly: Cleaning bathrooms, dishes, laundry, groceries, yard work.

🛠️ Monthly & quarterly: Changing filters, maintaining the house, scheduling appointments, car maintenance.

💰 The expensive stuff: The responsibilities that are easy to forget—but can cost you financially or emotionally when you do.

Travis asks Robert a simple question:

How do you keep track of all this without allowing it to constantly take up space in your head?

Because as parents, we're not only managing our schedules. We're managing a household, kids, relationships, work, finances, maintenance, and dozens of little responsibilities that are constantly coming back around.

Robert and Travis share the systems, routines, reminders, and strategies they use to get those responsibilities out of their heads and into something they can actually manage.

The goal isn't to eliminate responsibility.

It's to create enough structure that you're not constantly reacting to life from your heels.

Instead, you're prepared, aware, and operating on your toes.

Because the dad to-do list may never actually be finished—and maybe that's the point.

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Shout-outs:

Music produced by Trevor Gregory Follow @savten from @look.cypher

Travis starts today’s episode where most dads probably start their day: with a list. Lists keep everything on track...or at least they’re supposed to.

But before getting into today’s topic, Travis has some BIG news.

He’s almost giddy trying to get Robert to guess what’s happening. How big is it? According to Travis, it ranks somewhere just below having a child.

Ten years ago, Travis said goodbye to something he loved—and next week, he’s finally saying hello to it again.

What is it? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Then Travis introduces the bigger question of the day:

How do you decide what deserves your attention?

As dads, there is a seemingly endless list of people and things competing for it—texts, social media, work, school, sports, coaches, teachers, other parents, household responsibilities, and everything else that comes with raising a family.

Travis and Robert talk about how they manage that noise while still protecting the things that matter most.

They get into boundaries, people pleasing, distractions, technology, and conserving your energy, with Robert sharing some of the frameworks he uses personally and teaches his kids:

Is this actually my problem to solve? Is this my responsibility—or someone else’s? Does this deserve my attention right now?

They also talk about navigating group politics at work, school, and youth sports; managing social media; and finding the balance between being part of a community without feeling responsible for everything happening within it.

And because this is our podcast, somehow we end up debating how to handle the salesperson who knocks on your door in the middle of the day. Let's just say Robert and Travis have very different approaches.

This is Part 1 of a bigger conversation about managing the mental load of dad life.

Next time, we’ll dig deeper into what actually belongs on your to-do list, how to prioritize it, managing social media, dealing with unavoidable time drains, staying ahead of recurring household responsibilities, and creating more mental space.

Because the goal isn't to somehow do everything.

It's knowing what deserves your attention—and getting better at letting go of what doesn't.

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Shout-outs:

Music produced by Trevor Gregory Follow @savten from @look.cypher

How do dads end up knowing so much completely random stuff?

Today, Travis and Robert attempt to answer that question with four very important categories:

Did you know? Do you know? Why do you know? Eventually, you will know.

But first, Travis needs to know what Robert has been watching lately. The answer? Apparently nothing. Travis, on the other hand, shares his current streaming favorites—including one of his guilty pleasures: Dancing with the Stars.

Then it's time for some dad knowledge.

🚽 DID YOU KNOW? Kids will flush toys down the toilet. Travis learned this one firsthand and shares his latest home-maintenance adventure. Do you fix it yourself or call someone? Like so many dad decisions, it eventually comes down to one question: time or money?

⏰ DO YOU KNOW? Travis's daughter asks a surprisingly good question:

“Why do we say ‘time is up’ when the time has actually gone down?”

Robert and Travis try to figure it out before looking up the answer—and it might be time to make Kids' Questions a regular segment.

🐿️ WHY DO YOU KNOW? What's the life expectancy of a city squirrel?

More importantly…why does Travis know this?

You'll have to listen for that one.

🚗 EVENTUALLY, YOU WILL KNOW. Travis shares a car-ownership lesson he learned the hard way involving white paint and his Honda. That leads Robert into another dad lesson: why buying used might make more sense than buying new.

Throw in the power of community, learning how to fix things yourself, the internet making every dad an amateur repairman, and Travis getting ready to host his fantasy football draft, and you've got another completely normal episode of dad life.

Because eventually, every dad seems to accumulate an incredible amount of knowledge he never planned on needing.

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Shout-outs:

Music produced by Trevor Gregory Follow @savten from @look.cypher

Today’s episode starts with a little bit of everything.

Travis kicks things off with a quick review of a very green drink before checking in on the absolutely brutal late-summer weather. Southern California is feeling more like “Cali-Florida,” schools are canceling outdoor recess, Northern California isn’t much better, and apparently it’s humid enough for mold to start showing up on wooden utensils.

From there, the dad-life rabbit holes begin.

Travis shares: 🏈 How he runs his in-person fantasy football draft 📺 Robert’s annual tradition of living vicariously through The League 🛒 Why AI-generated Facebook Marketplace photos are driving Travis crazy 🌧️ And a friendly dad reminder to get ready for the rainy season

Eventually, the conversation slows down.

Travis talks about waking up earlier and trying to replace doomscrolling with something more intentional—coffee outside, journaling, being present, and spending time with his wife before the family wakes up.

He shares a recent journal entry about gratitude and asks Robert what slowing down looks like in his own morning routine.

That leads Robert into one of the biggest insights of the episode:

Sometimes frustration isn’t because life is going badly. It’s because the season changed, but your systems didn’t.

He breaks that idea down into three words:

Update. Upgrade. Change.

Travis and Robert talk about what happens when we move through life in constant overdrive, chasing efficiency and productivity to the point that we stop noticing what’s happening around us.

Sometimes the answer isn’t to move faster.

Sometimes it’s to slow down long enough to notice what needs to change.

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Shout-outs:

Music produced by Trevor Gregory. Follow @savten from @look.cypher

Today’s episode starts exactly where you’d expect a dad podcast to start: getting new tires at Costco.

Robert shares a lesson learned the hard way—maybe don’t buy refrigerated groceries while you wait for your tires to be installed. By the time your car is ready, your food might not be. 😅

Travis shares some of his favorite Costco tire-waiting strategies, from taking pictures of prices to track future sales to finding a massage chair and settling in for the long haul.

Then Robert brings up another universal dad problem: trying to sneak out of your kid’s bedroom after they fall asleep when every joint in your body suddenly decides to crack. Travis even provides some live knee-cracking audio for proof.

Eventually, Travis introduces today’s very important question:

What garden hose setting do you use the most? 💦

After ranking their top hose settings, the conversation somehow turns into a full discussion about yard irrigation.

They talk about:

🌱 Traditional in-ground sprinkler systems

💧 DIY irrigation setups

🤖 Smart and AI-supported watering systems

💰 The pros, cons, costs, and headaches of keeping a yard alive

🏡 What they’ve learned through years of trial and error as homeowners

Robert finishes with a story that shifts the conversation from watering lawns to community. While his family was traveling, someone walking through the neighborhood noticed their garden needed water—and began bringing gallon jugs on their daily walks to keep it alive.

Sometimes an episode about Costco tires and garden hoses ends up being a reminder that good neighbors and small acts of kindness still matter.

Just another day of dad life.

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Shout-outs:

Music produced by Trevor Gregory Follow @savten from @look.cypher

Travis and Robert are back!

After taking a break from the podcast over the summer, the dads catch up on where they’ve been and why sometimes real dad life has to come before talking about dad life.

With three kids each home for summer, schedules got looser, dishes somehow stayed in the sink longer, and the daily to-do list slowly became the “we’ll get to it eventually” list.

They talk about the strange reality of summer as parents. The kids may be on vacation…but Mom and Dad definitely aren’t.

Then comes the other side of the transition: back to school.

Robert and Travis talk about navigating the first week back, surviving the never-ending drop-off and pickup lines, and trying to establish a new family rhythm after months of a more flexible schedule. For Robert, that now includes coordinating three kids at three different schools.

It’s a conversation about something every family experiences: when the season changes, the systems at home have to change with it.

And somewhere along the way, they manage to squeeze in some Spider-Man talk. Don’t worry—no spoilers.

Summer is over. School is back. And so are we. 🎙️

Welcome back to Dad Life.

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Music produced by Trevor Gregory

Follow @savten from @look.cypher

Today, Travis and Robert welcome special guest Jon Kelly to the podcast for a conversation about fatherhood, entrepreneurship, coffee, tattoos, and building a life from the ground up.

Jon shares the journey from:

☕ Roasting coffee in his backyard

🎨 Tattooing friends in his garage

➡️ To eventually owning both a coffee roasting company and a tattoo shop while raising a daughter.

What seem like two completely different businesses actually share a similar foundation:

🔥 passion

🤝 community

🛠️ craftsmanship

📈 and taking risks on yourself

In this episode, they talk about:

How Jon first got into coffee roasting

What separates a good cup of coffee from a bad one

His path into tattoo artistry and eventually owning a shop

The realities of entrepreneurship as a father

Balancing creativity, business ownership, and family life

One of the biggest themes of the episode: 👨‍👧 How becoming a dad made Jon a better businessman… and how running businesses helped shape him into a better father.

This episode is packed with stories, lessons learned, and insight for anyone interested in:

☕ coffee culture

🎨 tattoo artistry

📈 entrepreneurship

👨‍👩‍👧 and balancing ambition with family life.

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Shout-outs:

Olde Tyme Tattoo (Instagram: @oldetymetattoo )

Fullerton Raosters (Instagram: @fullertonroasters)

Music produced by Trevor Gregory Follow @savten from @look.cypher