Having a kid changed my life. Not just in the practical side of lack of sleep but also in how I design my life. Having a kid meant suddenly that I 'm not just living for me, I'm now there for someone else. Someone who didn't ask to be here, but that is here because of me. So my life is not anymore just mine. As kids learn a shitload by mimicking the people they are around with, my way of living is suddenly a teaching moment.

So for the last 6 years I've been using more and more this perspective to guide me when I'm making decisions about how I live my life. The questions I ask myself when I'm unsure in which direction to go look like this:

• Is this a good example for my son and the people I train?

• If my son would do what I do, would I be proud of him?

• What is the example that I can give that will help my son the most?

As someone who is also a Service Design educator these questions work also well by taking the tense of wanting to be an example for the learners I support.

In the end I've noticed that it's often easier for me to do lifestyle changes like eating well, going for runs, sleeping enough not so much for me , but for others.

If I don't sleep enough I'll be a grumpy dad, I'll show to my learners that it's okay to not take care of your health. So I go to sleep early so that I can be an okay dad and educator.

For the nerds out there, this is a common idea in habit building. Tie your habits to your identity. For me it's linking them with my identity of dad and educator.

Backstage of this article

This article was written and illustrated by hand on a refurbished Remarkable II tablet. The handwritten text was converted to typed text with the Connect Service by Remarkable. If you are curious you can download the original note below.