The key to making it work as a parent entrepreneur

Before my son, Hayden, was born, I worried if I’d have time to program, write, and create. Now I’m a stay-at-home mom with far less time to do just about everything (though the tradeoff is definitely worth it!).

Despite being a busy parent, I consistently work on and launch side projects. In fact, in many ways becoming a parent has forced me to become far more productive. The key is starting my day about an hour before Hayden wakes up.

The Early Bird

As soon as my alarm rings in the morning, I jump out of bed and turn it off. It’s early, but my motivation for working on a side hustle propels me out of bed.

I head into my office where I plug away for about an hour. I focus on one objective that I identified the evening before. I stop working as soon as Hayden wakes up.

Do I move mountains each morning?

No. I don’t try to. Instead I aim to make progress: get one step closer to the summit. I know that all of these small steps will accumulate and result in the larger outcome I’m after.

Working one hour a day in the morning has enabled me to get several projects out the door. That’s the power of an hour.

Make It Happen

Waking up early to work on a side hustle sounds nice in theory. But let’s be honest: taking care of baby or a young child is a lot of work. How do you make it a reality?

In order to get up before baby, you need to know when baby will wake up. Find out this answer by establishing a routine. I’ve written about routines in previous newsletters, but a routine is so important—for baby and you—that I need to briefly reiterate why.

A routine brings structure to the day without being a by the minute schedule. Babies thrive on routines. They like the security and predictability of what’s happening next, which is what a routine provides. When Hayden wakes up from his nap, he knows he’s going to eat then play.

This predictability helps you, too.

You know when baby will wake up and go to sleep when he’s on a routine. Use this time—in particular, the time before baby wakes up in the morning—to work on your side hustle.

There’s a newborn in the house

“This sounds too good to be true,” you may be saying as you think of your two week old who’s waking up multiple times each night to feed.

I get it. I’ve been there.

In fact, I didn’t start this early morning wake up until Hayden was sleeping through the night, which happened naturally—as a result of his daily routine—when he was 2.5 months old. He was getting plenty of calories, activity, and quality naps during the day. So by bedtime he was ready for a good night’s sleep. That’s still the case today.

So if you’re fresh from the hospital and waking up multiple times to feed your newborn, then you may want to wait a few weeks until you’ve settled into a routine before starting your early morning wake up. After all, you want that hour to be productive, which will be hard if you’re getting by with just a few hours of rest each night. In the meantime, work while baby naps.

Early to bed . . .

Once baby is in a groove, then getting up early isn’t a huge deal. Just get to bed early so you can get up early.

But that’s also hard to do.

To state the obvious: taking care of baby is demanding even when he’s on a routine (though sleeping through the night definitely helps!).

Once Hayden is asleep each evening, there’s a lot that needs to be done around the house, from making his purées to doing laundry. Add in your side hustles and you’re probably spent by the end of the day. I surely am.

So how do you resist hitting the snooze button when your alarm goes off? I could list some hacks and tricks. But you know them all.

The key is to get clear about why you’re getting up early in the first place. In other words, what’s your motivation?

My motivation is to spend as much time with my family as possible on my terms. I’m using my side hustles to help make that a reality. I also hope the content and products I create help others. My motivation fuels me to get up and get at it—even in those early morning hours.

Then, it’s a matter of discipline.

As much as I’d love to read for an hour each evening, I know that I’ll regret it the next day. I’ll be way too tired. So I usually read for about 20 minutes or so, sometimes less. Then, I head to bed.

Get It Done

Even the best laid plans can go awry. Even though baby is on a routine and things are going great today, doesn’t mean that’s going to be the case every single day.

Hayden once had a doctor appointment that caused him to miss his afternoon nap. I had planned to use his nap time to work on a side hustle. But that didn’t happen.

No worries. I had gotten up early that day to get some work in. While it would’ve been great to get even more work in, I did make progress that day.

The point is, you’ll be particularly happy that you woke up early to get something done on days that don’t go as planned. Plus, it’s a really good feeling to start your day knowing you’ve done something productive. It sets your day on a positive trajectory.

Manage Expectations

One of the biggest changes I’ve made as a parent-entrepreneur is to adjust my mindset. Instead of trying to do everything, I’m trying to make progress. So I enter an early morning work session with a single objective, which I identify before I go to bed each evening. My aim is to complete that objective, which will enable me to make progress toward a bigger project.

And an hour is plenty of time to make progress.

An hour may sound like nothing. But these small slivers of time add up. An hour each day adds up to seven hours each week, about 180 hours in six months, and 365 hours in a year. You’ll surely make progress on something if you invest that kind of time. And you will—one day at a time.

Keep It in Perspective

Hayden is almost one year old, which is very hard for me to believe. I haven’t neglected my side projects during the past year. But I’ve certainly scaled back in order to put Hayden first. I’m glad I did. Years down the road I know I’ll still be happy with this decision. Work will always be there. Enjoy the time with your children. The time goes so fast.

I write about entrepreneurship and parenting on my newsletter, Entrepreneurial Parent, which is where this post originally appeared.