Hilary and Doug Eldridge are the team behind Achilles PR, a DC-based strategic communications firm that works with a range of clients including athletes, nonprofits and emerging and established brands. The married couple have a packed professional schedule, but always make time for fun with their 2-year-old, Alexander—and impressive morning workouts. Here, Hilary shares what a typical day looks like for the Arlington family of three.
This is what a typical day looks like for Hilary and her family …
4 a.m.
Doug gets up. He usually has a long task list for DLE Agency, the global sports marketing and management firm he founded in 2007. After two Ironmans during law school and 14 marathons since, early morning workouts are a cornerstone of each day.
6 a.m.
I get up. Midway through my first cup of coffee, I scroll through a schedule of scripted client social media posts and spend time with Doug. He likes cable news and printed newspapers, I read news on my tablet and iPhone.
6:30 a.m.
Alexander gets up. Our energetic 2-year-old, has never “slept in” and has never woken up in a bad mood. His mornings center on cartoons and, more recently, any type of sports programming. (Credit his agent dad for the latter.) Soon thereafter, Doug will head out for the office.
7:30 a.m.
Doug’s mom, “KK” (Donna) arrives at our condo in Arlington. I usually slide out for a workout. As a collegiate swimmer and also an Ironman finisher, I also make fitness a priority each morning.
9 a.m.
Eat breakfast with Alexander and KK and then I head into the office. Doug and I each put in a couple hours of morning client work.
11:30 a.m.
We both head out for client lunch meetings.
12:30 p.m.
We check in on Alexander with FaceTime on the drive back to the office. God bless technology! We use FaceTime almost as much to check in with Alexander as we do for client meetings.
12:45 p.m.
After lunch, we spend about 2 ½ hours doing more client work. Doug compiles hours of NFL free agency research in view to an upcoming contract negotiation, while I do things like map out client social media for the next week; speak with editors and producers; and have calls with PR clients.
3 p.m.
In the afternoon, I might head out for a client photo shoot or media appearance.
4 p.m.
Doug appears as an expert on numerous national cable news networks to discuss sports-related topics. If we’re not in-studio with clients in the morning, Doug often gets a call for an afternoon segment with one of the networks. We’ve worked hard to build our media portfolio.
6 p.m.
Arrive home. We have dinner with Alexander. Unless Doug is on the road, our day always begins and ends with family time. If he is on the road, we’ll do FaceTime calls to keep that continuity—from California or South Korea, our tradition remains intact.
6:30 p.m.
Alexander’s bath time. If dinner is a celebration each night, then bath time is the after-party. Alexander has a smile on his face from sun up to sun down. He’s a constant reminder of not only why we’re working so hard, but what life is really all about in the first place.
7 p.m.
Alexander’s bedtime. Unless Doug’s in the office or on the road, we all head back, have kisses, say prayers and then Alexander and I read a book or watch a short cartoon.
7:30 p.m.
More client calls. When you run multiple businesses, there is no “quitting time.” It’s not unusual for us to take as many calls at 7 p.m. as we do at 7 a.m.
8 p.m.
Dinner. Conversation. Decompress. An episode of The Office. No work discussions allowed.
9 p.m.
I head to bed and Doug heads back to the computer and closes out client work for both DLE and Achilles. On the athlete side, he’s often on the phone with clients until 10:30 p.m.
11 p.m.
Doug heads to bed. In five hours, we start all over again.
This post was originally published in the May 2019 issue. Want more family related content? Subscribe to our newsletter.
