Dadnaut Toolkit – Dadnauts

🛠 “Mini Missions: Making Time for Creativity”

In the Dadnauts universe, every spare moment is a launchpad for imagination. This week’s log focuses on reclaiming those snatched scraps of time—while the kettle boils, during nap resets, or when you’re dodging Duplo missiles—for creative micro-missions.

Whether it’s sketching a silhouette, jotting down three lines of lore, or snapping a photo that whispers “alternate timeline”, these mini missions aren’t just placeholders. They’re progress. They’re proof that creativity doesn’t need perfect conditions—just intention.

Mission Brief:

Identify 3 “creative crevices” in your day
Assign a 5-minute task to each
Celebrate every completion like you’ve escaped from a Sarlacc pit

Because even five minutes of creative push can change the shape of your storytelling orbit.

Dadnaut Toolkit — Week 4

🛠 Whiteboards & Wizardry: Tools That Actually Work

Welcome to the Lab. If you’re anything like me, your house has been taken over by scribbles: character arcs, snack schedules, impromptu NUFC lineups, and probably a reminder to buy more blue milk. The chaos needs containment—but not control.

Enter the Magic Whiteboard. Whether it’s a weekly mission planner, an ideas wall for the next Dadnaut installment, or a visual tracker for toddler emotions (it’s a real rollercoaster), this tool is pure wizardry. Here’s what works:

🪄 Dry-Erase Calendars: Perfect for parenting quests and Dadnaut deadlines.
🧩 Magnetic Icons: Assign emotions, chores, and fandom flair with custom pieces (think Slytherin shields for tricky moods).
🗂 Split Zones: Adult agenda on top, kid-friendly chaos below. Silhouettes and stickers = bonus engagement.

Real life isn’t Hogwarts, but we can borrow the best bits—like magical communication surfaces. And when your kid starts adding their own symbols? You’ve just recruited a co-pilot.

🔧 Dadnaut Toolkit — Week 3

Micro-Missions: Getting Stuff Done in the Chaos

If I had a credit for every time I said, “I’ll just do this later,” I could probably fund a toddler-free writing retreat on Endor. But when you’re navigating life with kids, “later” is often a fantasy—unless you break tasks into micro-missions.

This week, I want to share a small shift that’s changed how I approach productivity: doing less, but more often.

👨‍🚀 What Are Micro-Missions?

They’re tiny, focused tasks that take 5–15 minutes max. Enough to feel like progress, but not enough to wake the beast (aka napping child). Instead of thinking “write blog post,” I write one paragraph. Instead of “clean the kitchen,” I do one surface. Momentum over magnitude.

🪐 Tools That Help:

– The “Naptime Sprint” Sticky Notes: I pre-plan 3–4 small missions I can do if naptime happens. If it doesn’t? I still feel mentally ready.

– Audio Notes for Blog Ideas: I’ve started using voice memos while loading laundry or pushing the pram. Goldmine of half-thought genius.

– Time-Coding the Day: I loosely block the day into zones (morning chaos, afternoon slump, post-bedtime potential). It helps me know when to try things—and when to let go.

🛠 The Hobby Compass: Keeping You Centred in the Chaos

There’s a moment every parent knows: the house is a mess, the kids are bouncing off the walls, and your to-do list looks like a boss battle you’re under-leveled for. In those moments, hobbies aren’t luxuries—they’re lifelines.

This week, I recalibrated my “Hobby Compass.” It’s a mental tool I’ve started using to stay grounded. For me, it points toward sketching silhouettes, gaming trend analysis, and building the Dadnauts universe. For others, it might be painting minis, restoring old consoles, or writing fanfic at 2 a.m. Whatever it is, it’s not selfish—it’s survival.

Wednesday: Dadnaut Toolkit 002

🛠 Guardsman to Dadnaut: Discipline That Still Works

Before nappies, there were night watches. Before storytime, there were standing orders. I traded a regimented life in uniform for the whirlwind of parenting—and oddly, it didn’t feel all that different.

The discipline drilled into me as a Guardsman didn’t vanish the moment I strapped on a baby carrier. Instead, it evolved. The early routines? Gold. Nap schedules are like operations briefs: don’t overcomplicate, don’t deviate. Gear checks became nappy bag inspections. Early on, I realised that the same calm under pressure I needed in uniform was the very thing that got us through the “poonami” on aisle 7 of Tesco.

But it’s not about barking commands. It’s about presence. A soldier’s presence matters. So does a dad’s. When my kid melts down at bedtime, I channel that same stillness I used to stand ceremonial post. When I say “no,” it’s not sharp—it’s grounded. Confident. Respectful.

Turns out, you can turn a parade square mindset into a playroom strategy. Discipline, done right, isn’t about control—it’s about consistency, compassion, and showing up the same way every time. So while the tools have changed, the mission stays the same: protect, provide, and lead with honour.

🔧 Wednesday: Dadnaut Toolkit: 001

Systems Check: Time Management for Dadnauts

When I left the Guards, I thought I’d faced peak chaos—training drills, inspections, tight formations. Turns out, preparing a toddler for nursery with a banana in one hand and a sock on only one foot beats them all.

This post kicks off the Dadnaut Toolkit, your weekly dispatch of practical ideas and helpful strategies from a dad trying to balance parenting, work, hobbies and not completely losing the plot.

⚙️ Systems Check:
Last week, I lost three hours to sleep negotiations, toy troubleshooting, and a failed attempt to “quickly” tidy the Disney princesses. It made me realise I need systems—not to control the chaos, but to surf it. It also helps that my partner (Mamnaut) takes care of cooking and clothes-washing amongst the long list of other activities!

🛠 Tools I’m Using:

Micro Missions: I’ve started setting 15-minute goals—write three blog lines, put away the little people (toys), or just make a cup of tea and drink it hot. Those add up.
Mission Control Board: One Google calendar now organises everything from blog goals to family trips and working patterns to meetings. It’s visual, flexible, and satisfying to tick off—even if it’s “Remember to eat.” This has been a great help in just organising family events, nursery times, work times, nursery parents evening etc. even the occasional wedding or christening, we have all forgot them!
Scheduled Downtime: I now treat breaks like appointments. No guilt. Just recharging our own batteries so I can handle my crew with patience whether that’s Xbox or kindle! early morning, I wake up at 05:30 am everyday. Mondays and Tuesday offer an hour of me time. Wednesday to Friday gives me half an hour before Mamnaut wakes for work. Saturdays and Sundays, I have until the family wakes up time varies. Once the little one is sleeping (from about 20:30)

💬 Final Words:
Time won’t expand, but how you frame it can. Every 10 minutes reclaimed is another LEGO spaceship built, paragraph written, sanity reclaimed or just that much needed quiet. A great partnership developing clear teamwork foundations, that’s time well spent.