I used to think my day fell apart sometime around 4:30 p.m.
Kids loud, everyone hungry, backpacks exploding open like they were spring-loaded, and my patience melting faster than the ice cream we forgot in the car.

But my day didn’t fall apart at 4:30.

It fell apart at 6:02 a.m.
Right when I opened my eyes.

That’s when the first mistake happened — the mistake that guaranteed I’d spend the rest of the day reacting instead of leading.

And the worst part?
It took me 38 years to realize the mistake was only five minutes long.

Alarm goes off.
Hand shoots out.
Phone in hand before I’m even fully conscious.

Email.
Texts.
Slack.
News.
A random notification reminding me a package is “arriving soon,” which for some reason my brain treated like a crisis.

Before my feet hit the floor, I’d already consumed:

My nervous system was taking punches before I’d even opened my eyes fully.

And then I’d go downstairs wondering why I couldn’t stay calm with my kids.

The first five minutes after waking are not neutral.
They are not casual.
They are not disposable.

They are the loading screen for the entire day.

And I was loading anxiety, chaos, and comparison into my system before my brain had even booted up.

You can’t run a regulated day on dysregulated fuel.

If I want to be a calm dad at 7 p.m.,
I need to be intentional at 7 a.m.

This is one of the tools I’m building into Overcurrent, the 30-day reset I’m creating for ND dads, because most of us don’t realize how much of our reactivity is decided before our feet even hit the floor.

That’s when the 5-Minute Morning Reset was born — and I’m not exaggerating when I say it changed more about my fatherhood than anything else I’ve done.

And because I want you to feel what I felt, here’s the actual structure I used.

(Try it tomorrow. You’ll feel the difference by lunch.)

Not what you think you do.
What you actually do.

Be brutally honest:

What does that first “mental meal” do to your nervous system?

And what does it cost your family later?

Sit with that for a moment.

Tomorrow morning:

After you try this:

Most dads don’t realize how much of their reactivity comes from the way they start the morning.

Changing the first five minutes won’t make you a perfect father.

But it will make you a present one.
And that’s worth infinitely more.

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