A Day in the Life of the “Chief Uncle”
Health and wellness are two of my favorite subjects. As the founder of an organic beverage company focused on nutritious ingredients and functional benefits, these topics are more than just my day job. To me, wellness is a lifestyle. Running a business is no easy task and takes up a lot of my time, but with a balanced schedule and routine, I’m able to incorporate healthy living and quality family time into my everyday no matter how busy the workweek gets. Here’s a peek inside my day from sunup to sundown.
6:00am – Wakeup
As much as I would love to hit snooze every now and then, I set a firm wake up time during the week. After my alarm sounds, I wake myself up with a quick bit of fitness right away. In the morning I always do some full body stretching and strive to get in a few reps of pull ups and pushups. I’m a firm believer in Chris Nikic’s approach to his 1% better program, so I feel it’s important to start my day off feeling 1% better each morning.
One of my favorite parts of my morning routine is to let our Bernadoodle, Maggie, help wake up our kids. Maggie usually gives them a few sweet good morning licks, and while the girls get ready for school, I start making breakfast.
6:30am – Breakfast
My wife and I divide the cooking, so I take the breakfast shift and she handles lunch and dinner. I try to give the kids a well-balanced start to fuel their day with a combination of protein, carbs and fats complete with a glass of Uncle Matt’s Organic juice, of course.
While the kids are eating, I make my tried-and-true special smoothie. No one else in the family will touch this “masterpiece,” but this green concoction gives my day the perfect kickstart. My smoothie consists of any of the following ingredients or whatever’s in season in our home organic garden. Here we go:
- 6 oz Uncle Matt’s Organic juice
- 6 oz plant-based milk
- Organic vegetable assortment: kale, spinach, cabbage, celery, cucumber, collard greens, carrots, and tomatoes
- Frozen organic berries: strawberries, blueberries and sometimes dragon fruit
- Other organic add ins: chia seeds, spirulina powder, protein powder, a raw organic egg from our backyard chickens, beet powder, and/or mushroom powder
Hopefully that didn’t gross you out too much, but it’s really an impressive nutrient dense smoothie to say the least.
7:30am – Commute
The dad bus rolls out after breakfast to begin the 30-minute commute to take the girls to school. On our drive I try nurture a healthy father-daughter relationship by giving them some words of encouragement for the day. This is when we’ll talk about their upcoming tests, social events and instrument lessons. We’ll also listen to some music. My oldest daughter usually wins the battle in the playlist department, but every now and then we’ll jam out to some Fleetwood Mac on our drive.
8:30am – Morning In-Office
When I get to the office, I always start my workday with a quick read of my Daily Hope devotional by Rick Warren. This has been a part of my routine for years, and it always gives me an uplifting message for the day. I spend the first half of the workday with my desk elevated to a standing position as much as possible to stay on my feet and keep my energy up.
12:00pm – Lunch
One of the perks of a family business is that my dad, Benny, and my brother, Ben, are usually close by in the office. I try to have lunch with them as often as I can. We’re Chipotle regulars or we visit the local organic salad bar or BBQ joint. We do our best to stay away from fast food and fried options. These outings are a chance for my dad and brother to give me the update on agriculture and research in the groves and in our ongoing citrus projects. This is also my opportunity to spend a little extra time with my dad. He continues to inspire me in this business–as he’s done since day one.
1-5:30pm – Afternoon In-Office
Between meetings throughout the rest of the day I try to use my standing desk again as much as possible. You’ll also find me sipping on another 8-12oz worth of sample batches of some of our upcoming and exciting better-for-you beverage innovations.
6:00pm – Evening Workout
I head home from work around 5:30 and begin my hour-long evening workout at 6pm. I alternate daily between riding my bike, weightlifting in our home gym and swimming laps in our pool. Before and after dinner, downtime with the kids consists of helping with homework and playing in the backyard with Maggie and our guinea pigs Toast and Crepe.
7:30pm – Dinner
It’s very important to my wife and I that we always sit down to have a healthy dinner as a family. We talk about our day and usually each take a turn saying what we’re thankful for. My wife and I do our best to take a step away from work during this time so we can be present for our kids. We talk a lot throughout the day so we’re able to disconnect from work when we’re at home.
9:00pm – Bedtime
We begin our wind down routine with putting the kids to bed by 9, and then we get ready for bed not long after to ensure a good night’s sleep before starting our routine all over again the next morning.
This healthy routine doesn’t all go out the window on the weekends. While we may not get up quite as early and be on as strict of a schedule, we still work in regular fitness and wellness activities. With this extra time my wife and I will go on about an hour and a half to two-hour long bike rides. We’re also fortunate enough to live near a lake where the family can do water sports like wakeboarding on the weekends. This is also my time to spend working on our home organic garden and educating our kids about seasonal produce and best practices.
