By 
In my twenties, “personal hygiene” meant whatever I could get away with.
I’d skip showers, go weeks without thinking about my nails, and use whatever soap happened to be nearby for whatever needed cleaning.
I told myself I was busy, but I was actually just lazy; then, my daughter arrived.
You’d think having a newborn while running a company would be the worst possible time to develop better grooming habits.
Less sleep, less time, less energy for anything that isn’t urgent; somehow, parenthood turned me into someone who actually takes care of himself.
Here are five small habits I picked up after becoming a dad.
None of them are revolutionary, yet they’re the difference between feeling like a functioning adult and feeling like I’m slowly being absorbed by the chaos:
1) Making my bed every single morning
I know what you’re thinking: Making your bed isn’t exactly a hygiene habit in the traditional sense, right?
Before my daughter was born, my bed was essentially a nest of blankets that I’d crawl out of and ignore until I crawled back in at night.
Now? I make it the moment I get up, even if it’s 3 AM after a feeding.
When you’re running on three hours of broken sleep and your living room looks like a baby supply store exploded, that one neat space becomes a visual reminder that you’re still a functioning adult.
It takes thirty seconds, but walking past that tidy bed throughout the day gives me a small hit of accomplishment.
It’s proof that despite the chaos, I started my day with intention.
Plus, there’s something about climbing into a made bed at night that signals to your brain: “You did it. You survived another day.”
In early parenthood, that matters more than you’d think.
2) Washing my face with actual face wash
In my twenties, my skincare routine consisted of whatever soap was in the shower and calling it a day.
Sometimes, not even that.
However, after countless nights of interrupted sleep started showing on my face, I invested in a simple face wash.
Nothing fancy, just something designed for faces rather than hands or dishes.
Every morning and night, no matter how exhausted I am, I spend sixty seconds properly washing my face.
The cool water wakes me up in the morning, and the ritual at night helps signal that the day is winding down.
It’s such a small thing, but it makes a difference as my skin looks better but, more importantly, it’s a moment of self-care that reminds me I’m worth taking care of.
In my book, Hidden Secrets of Buddhism: How To Live With Maximum Impact and Minimum Ego, I write about how small rituals can anchor us in the present moment.
This became one of mine!
The funny part? My wife mentioned recently that I look more refreshed than I did before we had a baby.
I’m definitely not more rested, but those sixty seconds twice a day apparently work miracles.
3) Keeping nail clippers in three different places
You know that moment when you’re holding your baby and you notice your fingernails are getting long? Or worse, when you accidentally scratch them because you haven’t trimmed your nails in weeks?
I started keeping nail clippers everywhere: One in the bathroom, one in my home office desk, and one in the kitchen drawer.
Whenever I notice my nails getting long, I can deal with it immediately.
It takes fifteen seconds to clip your nails, but the difference between groomed and unkempt nails is surprisingly noticeable.
Clean, short nails make you look like someone who has their life together, even when you’re wearing the same shirt for the third day straight.
Before parenthood, I’d go weeks without thinking about my nails. Now, it’s a quick weekly habit that happens almost automatically.
Yes, I clip them over the trash can now. Parenthood teaches you these things.
4) Brushing my teeth after lunch
Everyone brushes their teeth in the morning and before bed, right?
However, adding that midday brush changed everything for me.
Working from home with a baby means lots of quick meals eaten standing up in the kitchen, coffee consumed in desperate gulps between calls; by 2 PM, my mouth used to feel like something had died in there.
Nowadays, I keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in my office bathroom. After lunch, or whenever I get a three-minute break in the afternoon, I brush my teeth.
The fresh feeling resets my day because it’s like hitting a refresh button on your energy levels.
Plus, when you’re running a business with global clients, you never know when an unexpected video call might pop up.
Nothing undermines your professional presence quite like visible lunch remnants in your teeth.
My twenties self survived on gum and mints, and my thirties self knows that actual dental hygiene beats masking the problem every time.
5) Doing a five-minute tidy before bed
Before my daughter arrived, I’d often wake up to yesterday’s chaos: Dishes in the sink, clothes on the floor, and general disorder everywhere.
Now, no matter how tired I am, I do a five-minute speed clean before bed.
I just put things back where they belong, such as dishes in the dishwasher, clothes in the hamper, baby toys in their basket, and surfaces cleared.
Those five minutes mean I wake up to a space that doesn’t immediately stress me out.
When the baby wakes up at 5 AM, I’m not navigating an obstacle course of yesterday’s mess.
Is my house perfect? Absolutely not, but it’s functional.
When you’re juggling parenthood and running a business, functional beats perfect every time.
The unexpected benefit? This habit has made me more mindful about not creating messes in the first place.
It’s easier to maintain order than to constantly restore it.
Final words
Here’s what nobody tells you about parenthood: It clarifies your priorities.
These five habits take maybe fifteen minutes total out of my day, but they’ve become the foundation that keeps me feeling human during the beautiful chaos of raising a daughter while running a company.
The irony isn’t lost on me. In my twenties, I had all the time in the world and couldn’t be bothered with basic grooming habits.
Now, with less time than ever, these small acts of self-care have become non-negotiable.
Maybe it’s because I want to model good habits for my daughter, maybe it’s because parenthood strips away your margin for error, forcing you to be more intentional with everything, or maybe it’s just that somewhere between the 2 AM feedings and the board meetings, I realized that taking care of yourself is necessary.
These habits won’t transform your life overnight, and they won’t make you a perfect parent or a productivity guru.
However, they will make you feel slightly more put-together when everything else feels like it’s falling apart.
Sometimes, that’s enough.