is being a mom the ultimate productivity hack?
12 hour days used to be totally normal for me in my old business. Granted it was a completely different business model I was running (a full service design & production garment & sewn goods factory with 15 employees and dozens of clients at any given time).
But then I became a mom.
My husband and I have opposite schedules, so it allows us to not need formal childcare. But it also means I have to squeeze all my work time in the time he is available. AKA 20 hours a week.
That posed the question. How much can someone truly get done in 20 hours a week working for themselves? Is it enough to sustain a whole business?
The answer was SHOCKING.
I made more money personally than I ever have in my life and am doing the most impactful work I’ve ever done. The trick?
NOT having all the time in the world to waste on shit that doesn’t move the needle.
I have to fit it ALL in 20 hours a week. I can literally only get done the things that are absolutely crucial. And the result is that I don’t do a bunch of bullshit that I have been told I “should” do or feel guilty for not doing. Only the most potent needle-moving tasks make it through.
And since I was able to prove this works for myself, this is what a lot of people come to me for now! Because, let’s face it, mom or not, who truly wants to work 60+ hours a week when you can fit it into 20?!
As a mom I don’t often have the luxury of fucking around, so when I sit down to work, I bang it out. I don’t hem and haw over my words like I used to in an email. I am not going to reread this newsletter 5 times to look for typos. I don’t overthink a proposal a million times before sending. I just take ACTION. A million good ideas don’t make it on the docket because they are not HELL YES ideas. If they are not super profitable ideas, they go on the “do not do” list. (This list is a game changer for visionaries. Try it- I dare you!)
My hypothesis was recently confirmed when I was having coffee with a client I do team facilitation for. He happens to be a cis, hetero, married with grown kids, middle aged white dude running a $4M company.
After shooting the shit about the climate of workplaces right now, how tricky it is to employ Gen Z people, the trials and tribulations of navigating remote vs in person, he said, “You know who my rockstar employees are? MOMS! They are the most efficient, dedicated employees we have. You would think that the single 20somethings with nowhere to be would be more available and dedicated to their work, but it turns out the moms, even though they have to pick their kids up at certain times and are available a ton less than everyone else, they get WAY more done!”
BOOM. confirmed by even the Gen X, cis het white men.
All this to say, don’t let your time constraints hold you back from creating the life of your dreams! It might actually be the exact boundaries you need to get laser focused on what moves the needle!
