These are the time management tips for working moms I WISH someone had handed me when I started my business. So let me show you where I was.
Picture this.
It's 3:45PM. The last bell just rang and you've got about 10 minutes to change for volleyball practice.
Then it's practice. Then it's the drive home (30 minutes... each way). Then dinner, baths, bedtime.
And THEN... around 8PM... it's finally time to work on the business you're trying to build.
That was my life when I started my business.
I was a full-time middle school PE teacher. I was the head volleyball coach. I was pregnant with our second baby. And I had an hour of commuting every single day.
Between lesson plans, practices, tournaments, my clients, and keeping our house from falling apart... I felt like I was drowning.
How was I supposed to do it all... and do it all WELL?
(Spoiler: I didn't do it all. And that turned out to be the point.)
So if you're a working mom trying to grow a business in the cracks of a really full life... I SEE YOU. I've been you.
Here's the deal... the best time management tips for working moms come down to 3 simple habits: a daily Power Hour for the tasks you do every day, a list of just 3 priorities for the day, and a brain dump for everything else. That's the exact system I used to build my business while I was still teaching full time.
Want to know what your 3 should be this week?
Picking your top 3 is the hardest part (because EVERYTHING feels important). So I made you a free Weekly Top 3 Tool that walks you through choosing the 3 things that actually move your business forward... in about 10 minutes.
How many hours do you actually have in a week?
You have 168 hours in a week. Subtract a 40-hour job and 8 hours of sleep a night, and you still have 72 hours left over.
Seventy-two. That's three full days.
I first ran this math while I was chatting with my friend Jena (a fellow former teacher who's now built her own business from home) and it honestly blew both of our minds.
Now listen... I know you're not getting 8 hours of sleep. (I don't know a single mom who is.) And there's the commute, and the laundry, and the 400 snack requests.
But here's the reality...
Time is the one thing you can't make more of. So the goal is to stop losing the time you already have.
Most of us don't have a TIME problem. We have a "where did my time actually go?" problem. If you've never tracked it, do a simple time audit for a week. You'll be SHOCKED where those 72 hours are hiding (hi doom scrolling...).
How do working moms manage their time?
Working moms manage their time best by deciding what matters FIRST, then giving everything a place: daily tasks go in one focused hour, the day's real priorities get capped at 3, and everything else goes on a list for later.
For me, the priority order has always been the same... family first. Business comes after that.
And that's hard when you run a business, because a business is available 24 hours a day. There's always one more email. One more post. One more "quick" thing.
That's exactly why you need structure. Structure creates freedom. When your time has a plan, you can actually close the laptop and be present with your kids.
So here are the 3 things I do. Every single day.
ONE || Create a daily Power Hour
Your Power Hour is the first hour of your work time, and it's for the tasks you do EVERY day.
Think about it... what are the business tasks you do daily?
Checking + answering email
Replying to messages + DMs
Creating content for the day
Checking your numbers (sales, subscribers, ads)
Writing down your top 3 priorities for the day
Instead of sprinkling those all over your day (and getting sucked into your inbox at 2PM), you knock them ALL out in one focused block.
I literally have a checklist for mine. Because the one day I didn't look at it? I forgot half of it. (Mom brain is REAL.)
And I create my content first thing in the morning, on purpose. If I wait until the afternoon, my creativity is GONE and I just don't want to do it.
Once my Power Hour is done, I close my inbox. Nothing is going to be THAT important, I promise. (Unless it's the school calling... then answer that one.)
If you only have 20 minutes a day right now? That's fine. Make it a Power 20. Same idea, smaller window.
TWO || List out your top 3 priorities for the day
Instead of staring at a to-do list with 14 things on it, pick the 3 things that HAVE to get done today.
Just 3.
Some days you'll only have 1. And that's OK too.
Here's how I pick them:
Anything with a hard deadline goes first
Then anything that makes money (sending the email, following up with a lead, posting the offer)
Things with no deadline go last... and they're allowed to move
And if you don't finish all 3? Draw a little arrow next to it and move it to tomorrow. That's it. No guilt.
You didn't fail. Your to-do list was just unrealistic.
I used to write 14 things on my list and feel AWFUL when I only finished 4. But here's what's actually happening... we almost always guess wrong on how long things take. Especially with kids at home who need a snack, need help, or have gone suspiciously quiet. (Never a good sign.)
Five things is too many. Two feels like too few. Three is the magic number.
When you only have 3 things, you can actually focus on them. You're not worrying about your inbox (Power Hour already handled it). You're not bouncing between 50 open tabs. You just do the 3 things.
(If everything on your list feels urgent right now, here's how to prioritize your to-do list when you're overwhelmed.)
THREE || Do a to-do list brain dump
At the beginning of each week (or each day, if your brain needs it), write down EVERYTHING you need to do.
Every task. Every idea. Every "oh, I need to remember to..."
This is your brain dump, and it's where your top 3 come from each day.
It also keeps you from forgetting something important, because it's not trying to live in your head anymore. And if something new pops up during the day? It goes on the brain dump. Not on today's list.
You don't need anything fancy for this. A planner, a notebook, a sticky note. It doesn't matter. It just needs to be out of your head + in one place.
If it doesn't get written down, it doesn't get done.
How do you build a business while working full time?
You build a business while working full time by keeping it LEAN. Focus on the few things that actually bring in money (talking to people, following up, making offers) and skip the time-heavy extras until you have more time.
When I was still teaching, I did NOT have time to film 10 takes of a reel, redesign my website, and write a blog post every week.
And honestly? I didn't need to.
What actually grew my business back then was conversations. DMs. Comments. Following up with people. That's what got me clients. Not the pretty Instagram grid.
It's SO easy to spend 2 hours making a reel because it's fun. But when you're brand new, a reel isn't what's going to get you a client this month. A conversation is.
So here's where I found time to work on my business:
After bedtime. 8PM to 10PM was my work time for a long time. (Now it's my favorite time to lie in bed and watch a show... but that took years to earn back.)
On my commute. I'd take client calls on my drive home. (Hands-free, eyes on the road, NO scrolling while driving. Please.)
In the nooks + crannies. Jena's favorite trick is using bath time. Kids are splashing, you're sitting there anyway (probably scrolling)... so set a 10-minute timer and start 3 conversations instead.
That's the difference. You're probably already on your phone in those little windows. What if you used 10 minutes of it to actually build your business?
What do you do when your schedule isn't working?
When your schedule isn't working, adjust it. Don't scrap it. Look at what IS working, what isn't, and change one piece at a time.
Once my kids were both in school full time, I set up a schedule where I'd work a couple hours in the morning, take a lunch break, and go back to work in the afternoon.
It looked GREAT on paper.
But after lunch? I was exhausted. I'd start reading while I ate. Then I'd throw in some laundry while listening to a podcast. Then I'd want to finish the podcast. Then I was on my phone scrolling Instagram... and suddenly it was time for school pickup.
I was blocking off the time. I just wasn't getting anything done in it.
So I changed it. Now I work one bigger chunk in the morning when I have the most energy, and then I'm done. I eat lunch and do other things before the kids get home.
Your first schedule probably won't be your forever schedule. That's normal. A schedule that doesn't work isn't a failure. It's information. (Here's how to adjust your routine without quitting altogether.)
Is it hustle culture to work on your business after the kids go to bed?
Not if it's a season and not your whole life. Some seasons will ask more of you than others, and it's OK to choose that on purpose... as long as you know it's temporary.
I HATE the word hustle. I really do.
But I'm also not going to pretend it was easy. When I was building my business around teaching, I gave up a lot of free time. It took me 2 years to save up enough money to feel confident quitting my job.
I was willing to make that trade for a season because I knew what I wanted on the other side... to be home, to have flexibility, to be my own boss.
And that season ended.
So this is your permission slip... if you're in a heavy season right now, it doesn't mean it's forever. And if you're NOT willing to give up your evenings right now? That's OK too. You just build a little slower. Both are allowed.
Busy is not a badge of honor. A season is not a life sentence.
Watch my full chat with Jena
Jena and I talked for almost 40 minutes about time management for working moms... priorities, Power Hours, buffer days, and the 168-hour math that blew our minds. If you want the whole conversation, here it is:
The simple version
If you remember nothing else from this post, remember these 3 things:
Do your daily tasks in one Power Hour (then close the inbox)
Pick just 3 priorities for the day (hard deadlines first, money-makers second)
Brain dump everything else so it's out of your head
That's it. You don't need more hours. You need a plan for the hours you've got.
And when you have a plan? You get to close the laptop and actually be with your family.
Ready for a planner that does this FOR you?
I built the SYS Planner around this exact system. Every day has a spot for your top 3. Every week starts with a brain dump + a plan. And it's all tied back to your bigger goals so you're working on the RIGHT things... not just more things.
It's simple, it's structured, and it's made for moms building a business in the cracks of a real, full life.
FAQ
What are the best time management tips for working moms? Start with 3 habits: a daily Power Hour to handle the tasks you do every day, a list of just 3 priorities for the day, and a weekly brain dump for everything else. Together, they keep your daily tasks from taking over your day and make sure the important work actually gets done.
What is a Power Hour? A Power Hour is one focused block (usually the first hour of your work time) where you do all of your daily business tasks at once: email, messages, content, checking your numbers, and writing your top 3 for the day. If you only have 20 minutes, do a "Power 20" instead.
How do I build a business while working full time? Keep it lean. Spend your limited time on the things that bring in money, like conversations, follow-ups, and offers, and skip time-heavy extras like elaborate reels or website redesigns until you have more time. Use the small windows you already have: after bedtime, your commute, or 10 minutes during bath time.
How many free hours do working moms really have? There are 168 hours in a week. After a 40-hour work week and 8 hours of sleep a night, you have about 72 hours left. Commutes, chores, and kids take a big chunk of that, but most moms have more time than they think. A one-week time audit shows you where it's actually going.
How many priorities should I have each day? Three. Five is usually too many to finish, and it leaves you feeling behind. Pick the 3 that matter most (hard deadlines first, then anything that makes money), and if one doesn't get done, move it to tomorrow.