Getting to know Logan
Creative human with a curious mind. Writer, graphic designer, handpoke tattoo artist, photographer, filmmaker, and community creator.

FW: Give us a glimpse into your career and how it looked in the years leading up to the pandemic?

Logan: I’ve been a creative entrepreneur for my whole professional life! I started as a photographer, and then shifted into photography education, and YouTube creation. More recently I’ve been doing handpoke tattoos (before the pandemic closed my studio down!) and currently I do graphic design, business strategy, and am starting a queer academy for personal growth and connection!

FW: Can you summarize what your journey into parenthood looked like ?

Logan: I had my first child right as I was wrapping up my photography career. My second came two years later. I didn’t grow up around babies or kids so I didn’t quite know what to expect! But when they came into my life I grew right along with them. They are the biggest source of love and motivation I’ve known.

FW: What does your current work/life situation look like balancing parenthood and your career?

Logan: I am so fortunate to be supported in my work by both my wife, and my two co-parents with whom I share parenting! We are one big parenting team and all work together to help each other navigate this challenge. I work during the day while my wife does online school (our kids haven’t been to school since the pandemic started). I usually manage to get a decent day of work in, except when my wife has to be hospitalized for her chronic illness (which has happened many times in the past year) and then I’m flying solo. On those days I work from bed, rest as much as I can, and lean on family and friends to help with food dropoffs!

Parenting through the pandemic

FW: What does a typical day for you look like right now?

Logan: On an average day with the kids we make our daily plan over breakfast. I designed a worksheet (we call it the Awesome Sheet) to help us all work together to figure out how to plan the day. We navigate two kids in school, me working, and my wife’s shifting capacities and it’s very much a team effort. From there the kids log on to school and I head to my office in the basement to get a few hours of work in. I try to start my day with either a workout or meditation to center myself before emails and to-do lists shift my energy. We all have lunch together, and then I have meetings or more work in the afternoon. I’ll hang out with the kids in the afternoon so my wife can have a break, then I make dinner and we get the kids to bed. My wife and I finally get some time together in the evening, and connect over foot rubs and Netflix.

FW: What are the best and worst pieces of advice you’ve gotten as a working parent?

Logan: The worst work advice I’ve received is to hustle. I’ve burnt myself out more than once in my career and the anxiety I’ve carried over “doing more” is such a heavy weight. I’m constantly unlearning the grind culture and capitalistic notion of productivity being my measure of worth. The best piece of advice I’ve received is to find the things that naturally excite me, and do more of that. Not only does it bring me joy and energy, it also attracts the right clients and opportunities to me. It’s a whole new way of managing my career, and it’s scary at times, but by golly, it seems to be working!

FW: How have you managed balancing your workload in a time when childcare has been sometimes unavailable or sporadic?

Logan: I am open and honest with my clients and when I can’t get things done on time because I’ve become the solo parent and have drastically less working hours, they totally understand. We all have to care for each other right now, and I give others an abundance of compassion, and receive it as well. I work when I can, and keep trusting that whatever I managed to get done was enough, and try not to panic. This is a different world right now, and we can’t be expected to maintain our same levels of output. Our best is enough right now. And some days that’s only getting a few emails done!

FW: What supports and/or resources have made it possible for you to take on both career and child-rearing responsibilities?

Logan: It’s been having a village of support that lets me have a career and kids. From my ex-husband being a huge support (we still do projects together!) and my wife taking on the majority of homeschooling, I have been so lucky to have people around me who believe in me and my goals, and do what they can to support me. I couldn’t do it alone, and I make sure the people around me know how much I appreciate everything they do for me.

FW: What have been some of the biggest challenges or changes to your work life since the start of the pandemic?

Logan: At the start of the pandemic, when the kids were suddenly home all the time, we lived in an apartment and my computer was in the living room. I had no space to work without constant interruption. I love my kids but absolutely cannot focus with them around. We moved to a house and turned a small room in the basement into my office and having that separation has made a world of difference. But I’ve had to constantly pivot my efforts, with the pandemic shutting down my new tattoo business. It’s been a nonstop rollercoaster and I just have to try to ride the waves without panicking too much.

FW: Has the pandemic impacted how you parent your child/ren?

Logan: I spend a LOT more time with my kids right now, and that has been a challenge at times. My kids are high energy and high attention and I am an introvert who loves intellectual conversation. In order for me to not get completely exhausted with them I’ve had to learn how to set boundaries and make a lot of space for myself. They don’t always love it, but it’s essential for me to be a patient parent, and it’s a good lesson for them to learn early! We have added a lot more structure to our days (with our worksheet) but at the same time I’ve also created a Wild Wednesday, where we have no rules (other than going to school). It’s been a source of fun and release that we all need during this time, and my kids look forward to it like it’s Christmas morning!

FW: How have the demands of parenthood impacted your career?

Logan: They say that each kid you have is a book you don’t write, and that’s certainly fair. I create far less with children because so much more of my time and energy goes towards caring for them. At the same time, my work has a different depth than it used to. My children have changed my worldview, and made me a much bigger activist for social justice. I want them to live in a world where everyone is treated with kindness and respect, and I know I have to step forward and make changes with my work for that to happen. I feel a different sense of responsibility with my voice and my talents since they came into my life, and for me that’s far more valuable than just making more.

FW: Have you formed a personal motto or philosophy surrounding your recent experiences?

Logan: I have written a lot of sticky notes with phrases and affirmations that I put on my office wall to keep me grounded during this time. But the one that has guided me through the hardest times is: “I only have to handle this moment.” We can only affect the present moment, and the more I come back to right here, right now, the more I can ground myself, and experience the many many blessings in my life. From that place of gratitude I can act with calm intention, rather than fear or anxiety. It’s been life changing.

FW: Has the pandemic positively impacted your career/life in any way?

Logan: Yes! I have had so much space to do a LOT of personal growth during this time. My anxiety was at an all time high when the pandemic started (not surprising) and I knew I needed help. I found breathwork and an incredible mentor and began a long journey of healing. I’ve become a totally different person and have experienced a huge reduction in my anxiety. Life is still challenging, but I feel like I have so many more tools to handle the waves. Franklin D. Roosevelt said “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor” and this year has given me many opportunities to become more skilled at navigating life!

FW: If you had to pick, what would be the biggest thing parenting through the pandemic has changed your perspective on?

Logan: I have become ever more aware of the fragility of life. And the importance of enjoying my children as much as I can while we’re all together. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude to get to have them in my life, and hope to continue the practice of appreciating who they are in every stage. Each and every day with them is such a huge blessing, especially as so many others lose their loved ones. I am so lucky to get to love them.

Check out the Parenthood Collection at The Branded Good!