When I became a mom in 2020, I immediately had to become more strategic with my time which meant that I ditched several things I was doing pre-kids that I felt I should be doing even though they weren’t always the best use of my time.
In today’s episode, I am sharing 4 things that I let go of in business when I became a mom.
Now, I always stand by the fact that we don’t have to completely give up things when we have kids, our priorities just shift and change depending upon the season of life that we’re in.
Pre kids, I had the ability to work any time I wanted. My husband works a pretty demanding job himself, so I’d typically work from the time I woke up until he got home from work and then we’d hang out a bit and then I’d get back to work from around 10 pm until sometimes 1 to 2 am so I was clocking well over 40 hours per week, probably more like 60+ hours a week between long days and weekends.
Before kids, I was a total night owl and now I can’t imagine being up past midnight intentionally.
So obviously, with having kids that means, I had less time to dedicate to business each week so I have had to cut down on some things. At first, I freaked out a bit because I didn’t think I could let go of anything but I quickly realized that some of the tasks that I felt that I needed to be doing on a weekly basis were not really necessary so let’s dive into the 4 things that I stopped doing in business when I became a mom.
Working more than 25 hours per week
Even though my kids are in daycare, I still don’t work 40+ hours a week any more. On a regular week, I work about 25 hours but lately, it’s been more like 20 hours a week or less due to sickness, crazy weather, and other personal things.
With kids, there’s a lot more life admin than before so I spend a good chunk of my time tidying up, doing dishes and laundry, managing appointments, etc.
Showing up on every single social media platform
Before kids, I was trying to be present on Instagram, Facebook, etc. on a daily basis but it just wasn’t sustainable. Now my main content focuses are my podcast, my email list, and Threads. I also utilize Pinterest but I don’t have to create any new content for it since I just pin my blog posts for my podcast episodes so it’s pretty low lift.
I also try to show up on IG Stories on a weekly basis, but if it doesn’t happen then that’s fine. You don’t need to be on all the social media platforms to be successful in business. In fact, trying to show up everywhere is the quickest way to burnout. I always recommend that you find one long form content stream (podcast, youtube, or blog) and then pick one social media platform to market yourself on. A lot of the time we tend to overcomplicate things but simple is best most of the time.
Focusing on non income generating activities
I used to do random tasks in my business that I thought made a difference, but at the end of the day these things were just major time wasters holding me back from doing the tasks that really mattered. Once I realized this, I was able to only focus on things that were important and necessary, instead of the random tasks I felt like I had to be doing because everyone else was doing them.
Trying to do it all alone
Before kids, I didn’t have much help in my business. I had someone who helped edit client episodes, but that’s pretty much it. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I needed more support so I brought on team members to help during my maternity leave and never looked back. Now, I don’t have a massive team. Right now it’s me and 3 others that help with client work on a very part time basis but there is absolutely no way I could have done maternity leave or running a business as a mom without the help of my team.
I’d love to know, did you give up anything in business when you became a mom? Let me know over on Instagram. I’ll see you in the next episode.
Links Mentioned:
Moms Make Money Monthly Networking Event
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