Mike DiFabbio

Mike DiFabbio wishes he could say he has a relaxing morning routine that involves reading and meditation.

“But I am usually woken up early by our rambunctious three- and five-year-olds. I play with them for a while before checking emails and our internal communication software to make sure I’m up to speed.

The co-owner of Encore Landscape Management in Phoenix, Az., then plays some sports.

“My son is getting into golf and baseball, so we’ll spend some time in the backyard hitting it around before I head out for the day,” he says. “I try to sneak in some type of exercise a couple mornings per week.”

Here is DiFabbio’s Average Day.

I am hit and miss on breakfast. Most days I skip it, but if I do eat, it’s usually some type of eggs or fruit because that’s what the kids eat. Some days it’s a peanut butter sandwich on the drive in to work. I’m not a coffee guy; I only drink water for the most part.

My commute to the office is 30-40 minutes, depending on traffic. If I’m not on a call, I listen to sports radio/podcasts or a business podcast.

We have morning meetings on Monday and Tuesday, so I get in around 7:30 on those days. I have a weekly networking breakfast at 7 every Thursday. Typically, I will use Wednesday and Friday mornings to do new maintenance estimates before heading to the office. I average 4-5 meetings a day and they’re a mix of internal and client meetings. I spend quite a bit of time at our Las Vegas location, and when I’m there, I just do whatever the team tells me to do.

Lunch is typically around 11:30-12. I will have a lunch meeting at least a couple days per week. When I don’t have a meeting, I’ll grab a sandwich, sushi or a salad bowl while I’m out and about. I’ll likely eat in the car while listening to sports radio.

My partner Juan Hernandez is a stud, and he leads a quick team huddle every day at 2 p.m. to make sure things are tight. After that, it’s either a client meeting or proposal work/estimates. I try not to be in the office past 4 p.m. The kids are young, so I try to get home to hang with them and then catch up on work after they go to sleep. We encourage our team to spend as much time as possible with their families, so our office is usually empty by 4:30. I still do the majority of the business development for the company, and I have an evening work event/happy hour at least one night per week. My wife is a rockstar.

When I’m home, the evening routine with the kids is hectic. It’s nonstop from about 5-8. I try to put my phone away for most of that time, but that’s a work in progress. We always want to be there for our team and clients, so it’s hard not to keep an eye on things. Once the kids are down, I will get caught up on emails, work on proposals and occasionally sneak in a workout. Jill and I watch a show a couple nights a week. I’m in bed by 10:30.

I do some work on the weekends; it just depends on what is needed. During busier times of year, that’s the best time to get caught up. For the most part though, it’s family time. I do love to play golf, but that has become more rare these days with the business and kids. I do sneak in the occasional weekday afternoon round or a weekend tournament. I’m a sports junkie in general, so if there is free time, I’ll watch just about anything that’s on.