6 Easy Steps To Stay On Track In Your Business For Busy Moms

We’ve talked about the best-kept secret for productivity while growing your online business- consistency. But as a busy biz mom, it can feel hard to stay on track in your business. To find the time to do anything consistently, much less work on your business through the chaos of #momlife, can feel nearly impossible. 

That’s why you need to create a routine to help you stay on track to continue to grow your business. I’m talking about a daily, weekly, and monthly routine.

But before you roll your eyes and sigh because you’re not a routine person, hear me out. I’m not a routine person either. 

A routine isn’t necessarily a schedule

I’ve actually spent many years of my life proud of the fact that I don’t have strict schedules running my life. I’ve always nursed my babies on demand, followed wake windows instead of strict nap schedules, and dinner time changes time based on whatever we’re doing that day.

So trust me when I tell you, I don’t do strict schedules. Unfortunately, I also wasn’t getting anywhere in my business when I haphazardly “worked” whenever a “good time” came up… because as you busy moms know, that’s pretty much never.

And then, when I did find some time to work on my business, I spent half the time staring at my computer trying to figure out what to do first. By the time I started something, my “work time” was over as the baby woke up from a nap or my toddlers decided to start throwing kinetic sand at each other instead of playing with it nicely (whoever said that stuff isn’t messy, by the way, must not have toddlers…).

Obviously, that’s not a recipe to excel in business. And something needed to change. That’s why I started to create routines to keep me on track.

But a routine is not necessarily the same thing as a schedule. Instead of saying “at 6 am every day I will write blog posts,” (schedule) you can say “I will write for my blog every morning” (routine). That gives you the accountability of having a routine, but the flexibility to change the time around if one of your kids unexpectedly gets up early.

Before I tell you about my routines, let me say this: they don’t happen perfectly. They don’t even happen every day. But by HAVING a routine in place, I’m much more likely to get something done rather than nothing. And I never waste time trying to figure out where to start anymore. 

Routines help with consistency, and consistency leads to increased productivity. It’s like a positive feedback loop, and once you get on track you can keep going much more easily.

How to create routines to increase your productivity

By now you’re probably wondering how to actually create these routines, especially when you’re constantly running around filling sippy cups, finding more snacks (after we JUST had lunch!), and taxiing kids all around. 

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Create a master list of business tasks that actually have an impact. You know, those things that drive your business forward and help you make actual money (aka not scrolling Instagram reels…)
   
   
2. Sort your list into things you can do daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly
   1. Pick things you can do quickly and rotate through one or more of them on a daily basis. 
   2. Things that take a bit longer should become part of your weekly and monthly routine. For example, you may choose to learn how to run Facebook ads this month as one of your bigger projects. 
      
      
3. Choose your “schedule.” I recommend at least 1 focused block per day (usually when kids are sleeping) and then fitting the rest in during your shorter pockets throughout the day. You can also determine how many days per week you’d like to work instead if that’s easier for you. 
   
   
4. Actually work when you plan to work. Shut off notifications, close all of those 245 tabs, eliminate as many distractions as you can so you can focus.
   
   
5. Be consistent. Even if you only have 15 minutes per day, if you commit to doing one activity every day for 15 minutes, by the end of the month, you’ll have worked on that activity for almost 7.5 hours!
   
   
6. Give yourself grace. Since you have kids, you know that the best-laid plans can change at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s an unexpected trip to the ER or simply a naptime that ends an hour early, things are going to come up. When that happens during your planned work time, try not to get too frustrated. At least by now, you know what you had planned to do, so it’s easier to fit it in at a different time. 
   

If you’re not sure where to start, be sure to download my free guide, Quarter Hour Power. It’ll help you go through this process quickly and easily so that you don’t spend all your time planning instead of taking action!

What activities can actually drive my business forward?

One of the most common things that keep people stuck is taking the wrong actions. This is second only to not taking any action at all.

But as a busy biz mom, you don’t have time to waste by doing things that don’t move the needle. 

When your time is limited, I recommend not trying to do #AllTheThings. Choose one channel to focus on for growth and start there instead of trying to be on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, AND growing an email list.

(Spoiler alert though, growing an email list should be the goal on all of those other social channels! We’ll talk about funnels another time though.)

Here’s a quick list of high impact areas you can focus on to grow your business:

1. Write SEO optimized blog posts
2. Email your email list regularly
3. Create and/or optimize opt-in offers (aka freebies)
4. Post regularly on ONE social channel following a content plan (not just randomly posting to post)
5. Create new products to sell
6. Optimize existing offers and make sure the information in them is up to date (this is a good quarterly activity)
7. If you have a product-based business, make sure to follow up with your customers

By focusing on activities like these, you will start to see progress and gain traction in your business instead of spinning around in unproductive circles, even if you don’t have much time to work on your business. 

Keep chipping away and continuing to build and fine-tune your flexible routine. Your consistent efforts will start to pay off. If you’re just starting out, it won’t be right away. That can feel discouraging but keep at it. Consistency is the key to long-term success. 

And don’t forget to grab your free copy of Quarter Hour Power to get you on your way to more productivity today!