Time—the ultimate non-renewable resource. For blue collar business owners juggling family life with entrepreneurial demands, time management isn't just a productivity hack—it's survival.
In this raw and revealing second installment of our Date Night series, my wife Sara and I pull back the curtain on how we manage the constant tug-of-war between business and family time. From our hectic 5:30am wake-ups to the delicate dance of bedtime routines, we share an unfiltered look at what keeps our wheels turning while trying to preserve our most important relationship.
"Prioritize the moment" became our unexpected mantra during one particularly stressful exchange, and it's transformed how we approach each day. We candidly discuss those times when the business completely engulfed our marriage, like during a challenging partnership dissolution while simultaneously building our home and raising young children. These crucibles taught us painful but necessary lessons about what truly matters.
The mental shift from "work mode" to "family mode" is something I still struggle with daily. Those 5-10 minutes in the driveway before walking through the door have become a sacred transition time. Meanwhile, Sara shares her perspective on handling the overwhelming mental load when there's always something else demanding attention.
Our Sunday evening calendar check has revolutionized how we function as a team. This simple practice ensures family events get priority scheduling before business commitments hit the calendar, preventing the resentment that builds when important personal moments are forgotten or dismissed.
Whether you're building a business with your spouse or simply trying to maintain a healthy relationship while pursuing entrepreneurial dreams, this conversation offers both practical strategies and the comfort of knowing you're not alone in the struggle. Join us as we share what we've learned about protecting, sharing, and maximizing our most precious resource—time together.
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More About this Episode
How We Protect Our Time, Guard Our Marriage, and Stay Sane in the Chaos of Business and Parenthood
Time is our most valuable resource, yet it’s also the one we seem to run out of fastest. In the blue collar world where jobs start at dawn, the phones don’t stop ringing, and emergencies feel like daily events, it’s easy to lose yourself in the hustle. But when you're running a business with your spouse and raising kids under the same roof, learning how to protect your time and your relationship becomes a survival skill.
In this second part of our Date Night podcast series, my wife and I sat down not just to talk about marriage and business but to pull back the curtain on how we manage our chaotic lives, protect our time, and stay connected through it all.
This episode wasn’t a list of life hacks or perfect systems. It was raw, personal, and probably the most honest conversation we’ve had in front of a mic. Here's what we’ve learned and are still learning about time, business, and love.
The Rhythm of a Real-Life Work-Family Schedule
Let’s start with the basics: what our typical weekday looks like.
Wake-up calls are at 5:30am. My wife gets started on the kids’ lunches and breakfast while I plan out my day and cross-check our calendars. We’re out the door around 7:15am - school drop-offs, prayer, and then it’s go-time.
My wife’s day may include work in the office, handling accounts payable/receivable, or personal errands that don’t fit in anyone’s planner—doctor appointments, DMV lines, last-minute school runs. Meanwhile, my day could involve being on a job site at 8am, solving issues with a superintendent, or filming content for our company’s branding. There’s no script, just organized chaos.
Dinner is at 6pm if we’re lucky. We try to protect family dinners as a sacred time. It's often the only window where we’re all in one room, not thinking about work, sports schedules, or emails.
It sounds exhausting because it is. And while the routine changes, especially now with a new baby in the mix, the one thing we don’t compromise on anymore is the effort to protect that time.
Time Is More Valuable Than Money
It took me years and a lot of mistakes to understand this. In the early days of building our company, I used to think the grind was the only way. Work harder, longer, faster. Be everywhere at once. Say yes to every project. And if family time had to wait? So be it.
But that mentality almost broke us.
Now I take the kids to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those few minutes in the truck telling them to be leaders, getting those hugs fill my tank more than any paycheck could. It's not about checking a box as a parent; it's about truly being present, even in a short window of time.
I had to start asking myself: what am I chasing? And what am I willing to lose for it?
If your business is thriving but your marriage is distant and your kids barely see you, are you really winning?
The Identity Shift of the Entrepreneur
One of the hardest transitions I’ve faced was learning how to clock out mentally, emotionally, even spiritually. In the beginning, I didn’t know where Sy the business owner ended and Sy the husband and dad began. People in the industry still call me "Sy-Con," and while I take pride in our business, I’ve had to reclaim my identity as a man beyond the job site.
I don’t ever fully clock out. But I’ve learned to shift gears. That 5 to 10 minutes in the driveway before I walk in the door? That’s sacred. That’s where I pray, reset, and make a choice: leave work at the door and show up for my family.
When Business Took Over Our Marriage
One of the hardest seasons we ever walked through was when we exited a business partnership early in our company’s life. It was messy. Emotionally draining. Financially straining. At the same time, we were building our house, raising toddlers in 586 square feet, and juggling full-time work. There was zero cohesiveness between us.
We weren’t fighting each other. We were just so burned out we forgot to fight for each other.
Looking back, I realize we weren’t communicating what we really needed. We were each trying to do our best but in isolation. And that’s a recipe for resentment, not resilience.
The Mental Load That Never Shuts Off
Even on date nights or at the kids’ games, the business is always whispering in the background.
Invoices, customer complaints, tool needs, tomorrow’s rain forecast - it never stops. But I’ve learned (through a lot of failure) to train my mind to prioritize the moment. If I’m at a baseball game, I try to be there. If I’m out with my wife, I try not to let the company take up more space than she does.
It doesn’t come easy. Sometimes she can see it in my eyes that I’ve wandered. I’ve left the table, mentally. And those moments still sting. But I’ve learned to acknowledge it, apologize, and recommit. Because, fellas, she deserves more than your leftovers.
Rest vs. Grind: Learning to Respect Each Other’s Needs
We’re wired differently. I’m in grind mode 24/7 always thinking five moves ahead. My wife? She knows how to listen to her body, recognize when she’s running on fumes, and ask for rest (well, most of the time).
We used to clash over this. She’d want to pause; I’d want to push. But I’ve learned to see her need for rest as valid, not lazy. She’s raising our kids, running parts of the business, managing our home. When she asks for an afternoon nap or needs to tap out, I try to make space for that and join her when I can.
That shared rest is where peace lives. We don’t always find it, but when we do, it resets us both.
The Marriage Calendar Check-In: Our Weekly Lifeline
If you’re building a business and a marriage, you need more than love and ambition. You need a calendar.
Every Sunday night (or at least most of them), we sit down and go over the week. What’s coming up for work, school, sports, church? What appointments are locked in? Where do we need backup?
We plan family time first, then fill in business obligations around it. It sounds small, but it’s everything. It keeps us aligned, allows us to support one another, and avoids the “You never told me about that!” fights that used to be weekly events.
And guys, when she tells you something important is coming up, don’t just nod and forget. Write it down. If it’s on my Outlook calendar, I’ll be there. If it’s not? I probably won’t.
The Power of Prioritizing the Moment
One of our marriage mantras is “prioritize the moment.” I blurted it out once during a stressful conversation, and it stuck. It means recognizing what's most important right now, not six months from now, not in five years, but now.
If your kid’s needing a moment of connection, that estimate can wait. If your spouse is opening up about her stress, that invoice isn’t more important. It’s not about ignoring your responsibilities. It’s about choosing presence over productivity, when it matters most.
The Real Challenge: Choose Each Other On Purpose
This life we’re building, business, kids, chaos and all, it’s not for the faint of heart. But if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the hustle doesn’t have to come at the cost of your home.
Here’s a challenge for you this week: Sit down for 15 minutes with your spouse. Do a “marriage calendar check.” Ask:
- What’s coming up at work that might cause stress?
- Is there a time we can carve out this week for connection (even just an hour)?
- What’s something you’ve been carrying that we need to talk about?
It doesn’t have to be deep or dramatic. But it does need to be intentional. Your business may run on hustle but your marriage needs consistency, clarity, and care.
If you’re in the trenches of raising babies, building a business, and trying to hold it all together, you’re not alone. We’re right there with you. And trust me, there’s a way to build both your business and your marriage, without losing your mind or each other in the process.
Protect your time. Guard your marriage. Prioritize the moment. And, most of all, remember: they just need you to be there.
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