Matt Campbell had his phone out during the family’s protected window of time. Work had been intense — a company restructuring had left him and a small team doing the work of a much larger one. The pressure to be on at all times was overwhelming. And so he was.
Then his two-and-a-half-year-old son looked up at him and said: Dad, can you put your phone away?
“That stung,” Matt said. “I felt disappointed in myself. And then I got that look from my wife.”
That moment — a toddler articulating what adults couldn’t — was the turning point. Matt built the 5:30 to 7:30 rule around it. Phones away. TV off. Two hours of full presence every day. No exceptions.
On the Working Dads Podcast with host Johnathan Grzybowski, Matt — Business Development Director at Advertise Purple, co-creator of Dadgood, and high school sweetheart husband — unpacks what it took to build a present family life, what going from one kid to two actually costs you, and why the partner you choose is your most important professional and personal decision.
The 5:30 Rule — Protect Two Hours and Change Everything
Matt did not figure out the 5:30 to 7:30 rule immediately. It took four years. The agency world is high volume and always-on by nature. The pressure to be available is constant. And working from home — which Matt does — means the office is always visible.
“It’s very hard. But I’ve learned to just disconnect. Phones away. No phones at the dinner table. TVs off. Just be as present as possible. Because that’s only two hours. But to the kids it means so much.”
The physical act that makes this work: taking off his Apple Watch. Putting his phone in another room. Removing the notification triggers entirely. Because for Matt, who has ADHD, if a notification arrives he responds immediately. The solution is not willpower — it is environmental design.
For working dads who are struggling to be present in the evening: don’t rely on self-control. Change the environment. The phone in another room is not a suggestion — it is the non-negotiable that makes everything else possible.
Going From One Kid to Two Takes a Full Year to Figure Out
Matt is honest about the timeline. First baby: chaos for three months, rhythm at three to five months, normalcy at six to twelve months. By one year, he and his wife started to feel like husband and wife again.
Second baby: six to twelve months to find a rhythm. Two years in — which is where he is now — they are finally hitting a stride.
“Two years into it, I feel like we’re finally hitting a stride. I feel like I have the time in my day to carve out to go to the gym again. I feel like we are giving each other the ability to just find that hour in the day to do whatever you need to do to feel like yourself.”
For working dads with young children: the chaos is not permanent. But the timeline is longer than most people admit. If you are in month eight with your second child and still feel like you are drowning — that is not failure. That is on schedule. Give it the year.
The Partner You Choose Is the Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make
Matt has been with his wife since he was seventeen. High school sweethearts. They went to the same college. They grew up together. And he credits that shared growth as the foundation of everything they have built.
“She’s always motivated me to be my best self. And I’ve always tried to motivate her to be the best she could be. That’s how we’ve been able to have such an amazing relationship. We’re not trying to be who we were yesterday. How do we keep pushing our boundaries to be better for each other?”
For working dads who are earlier in their partnership: the question is not whether your partner is perfect. The question is whether they make you want to be a better version of yourself. And whether you do the same for them.
That reciprocal growth — that commitment to keep pushing each other forward — is what separates a working marriage from a functional one.
What Working Dads Can Take From Matt Campbell
Matt went from a bachelor to a stepfather overnight. Built a career in sales. Moved from California to Indiana. Co-created a community for dads. Had his kid call him out at two and a half. Built the 5:30 rule around it. And is now in the most functional season of his family life yet.
His advice: the phone in your pocket is the enemy of presence. Put it down. Not sometimes. Every night at 5:30. And let the kid who will one day be 21 years old remember that their dad was actually there.
On the Working Dads Podcast, Matt Campbell is proof that the best working dad is not the most productive one. He is the one who figured out when to stop.
Working Dads is the podcast for fathers figuring out work, family, and everything in between. Hosted by Johnathan Grzybowski, co-founder of Penji. New episodes every week.
