My daily routine as a working SAHM

I’m very much a routine type of person. I like following a structure (if it’s one I’ve set for myself… don’t make me follow someone else’s rules). I like knowing what’s coming next. Predictability. I thrive creatively when things are just so. Chaos is a struggle for me, which has made my journey into motherhood the last 2+ years lesson after lesson in how to let shit go. Surrender. Perseverance. Bending to fit what my family needs each day, while still trying to live some resemblance of a routine. I’m happy to fill this role at this time in my life, but all of this leads me to the question of what a daily routine for working moms could look like…

What’s a normal routine? What’s a way of living that might feel good in this season? Am I doing this right?

I shared that I’ve been learning how to let go and go with the flow. Despite that, I know I still need some type of routine that feels like it fits for me. So we end up here. Trying to find a balance of both fluidity and structure that works for me and my family right now.

Because I know I’m not alone in any of these lessons, I figured I’d share a bit of what my daily routine looks like as a working mom. I’ll walk you through each part of my day, what my daily routines look like now, and how they’re different from before kids. Also, some thoughts on what might work better right now than hard and fast routines.

Morning routine for a working mom

Let’s start here… My morning routine looks nothing like it used to these days. I think this sets the stage for the overall picture of my day to day as a working mom with 2 littles 2 and under.

The baby usually wakes me up sometime between 4-5am, hangry. By the time I get him back to sleep, I’m in that in-between hour where it doesn’t really make sense to get the day started on my own because everyone else will be up shortly anyways. So lately, I’ve been choosing to get a few minutes of extra sleep.

Coffee. Breakfast for the toddler. Open the kitchen. Probably start some dough of some kind rising. Yesterday was tortillas.

And now that my city is basically the same temperature as the surface of the sun, we get outside ASAP after breakfast so we can hide in the AC for the afternoons.

Right now, there’s no quiet time alone. There’s no workout. No yoga. No journaling. No affirmations. No meditations. No reading.

My morning routine as a working SAHM with 2 littles is chaotic, at best.

But you know what there is instead of a perfectly curated 1-2 hour morning routine like I used to have?

A happy toddler greets me and his brother from the playroom when we come downstairs a few minutes after him. “Mommy! Baby brother!”

A supportive husband brews coffee for us because he and the toddler almost always make it downstairs first.

The baby giggles at his brother’s antics. The dog barks excitedly for breakfast. I’m lucky enough to have a family to feed and dishes to put away from the night before.

I’ve been thinking a lot about productivity and my routines and the goals I want to achieve. The biggest lesson I’ve learned lately isn’t what you’d expect. It’s not how to be better or do more, but how to let shit go. At least some of it.

Your daily routine as a working mom doesn’t need to be all or nothing.

And life doesn’t need to be all or nothing.

Lately, I’ve taken the boys for “coffee shop dates” at cafes within walking distance of our house. That means some days now, my journaling time is on a coffee shop patio, similar to what it may have been years ago at surface level. This time, with the baby asleep in the stroller and the toddler colouring, snacking, and announcing every vehicle that passed. “Whoa, white truck. Whoa, police car. Whoa, red car.”

My workouts are often a family walk and quick weight strength training session in our basement (not at the gym because that’s a 2 hour commitment I can’t make most days right now).

My quiet time is typically after the babies are in bed to the hum of noise machines and ceiling fans over the monitor screen.

Daily routine for working moms: Non-negotiables

If we’re looking at the bigger picture of an intentional daily routine for working moms, I’m currently finding more success when I focus on hitting a handful of daily non-negotiables throughout the day. Rather than trying to make every day follow the exact same routine. Instead, there’s rhythms and flows to our days. And there’s a list of things I know need to happen at some point. It doesn’t matter if that’s at morning or night, or sometime in between. Then another wish list of things that would be nice if they happened, but don’t have to.

It’s again, a lesson. This lesson is prioritization: What really matters?

Ideas to incorporate to your daily routine as a working mom.

If you’re looking for inspiration or aren’t sure what really matters to you yet, here’s a peek at what’s made my non-negotiable list.

My daily routine includes non-negotiables like these…

• Journaling for personal development, but also as a business growth tool. I need to get the thoughts out at least most days, otherwise I feel lost within my own mind. Read more about my journaling practices here.
• Daily physical movement. Like I mentioned, sometimes that’s just going for a walk with the family, although I prefer a proper sweat session. Spin, bodypump, pilates, and yoga are my favourite options.
• Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Especially when I’m exclusively breastfeeding, I pay attention to my daily water intake. It always comes back to hurt me on the days I don’t drink enough water.
• Stay on top of household chores. This looks like keeping the kitchen tidy-ish, starting a load of laundry, feeding my sourdough starter, or getting dinner started early. I’m very much in the time of my life where the dishwasher needs to be unloaded by a certain time of day, or the entire house gets backed up.
• Eat good, nourishing food. I mentioned that I bake a lot. Nearly every day at this point because we’ve stopped buying 90% of our baked goods. I bake things like our bread, tortillas, naan, crackers, English muffins, scones, biscuits, granola, and snacks like cookies and muffins. This means we know what ingredients we consume with every meal, and it’s not a ton of extra work when you get into a routine with keeping the pantry stocked.

Build habits into your daily routine, not hacks.

It’s a whole different game when you’re running an online business and balancing that responsibility with mothering young children. The typical advice you’d see from online business coaches isn’t conducive of our lifestyle. We don’t all have the same hours in the day. More on those thoughts here. You can’t convince me otherwise.

In general, I try to lean into productive habits that work for me and my family right now. Note that I didn’t say “productivity hacks”… I’m more successful when I incorporate intentional daily habits versus trying the latest hack. It’s about working more efficiently within the boundaries you have. Not trying to game the systems.

My non-negotiables can evolve, just like yours.

Looking at my daily routine as a working mom instead as a flow with non-negotiables leaves more wiggle room to incorporate other practices. It takes the pressure off of wanting to add a few more things for myself into the day, or trying out a new flow.

For example, I want to get back to (attempting to) practicing meditation. I’ve never been great at this, but I know I feel better when I at least try. Knowing I can sneak this time in where it makes sense on any given day versus trying to add more to my morning or evening routine makes it seem like an easier challenge to take on.

Another I want to get back to is reading. But I don’t often get time in the mornings, at the time of writing this, and by bedtime I crash quickly. Instead, I’ve started trying to read instead of scroll while feeding the baby. There’s always time throughout the day where I’m stuck on the couch… What better use for it?

I think the approach of flexible non-negotiables makes more sense for women like me who are living in the weeds, and beauty, of mothering young children.

Daily routine for working moms: Work time

Moving on with the routines throughout my days, let’s talk about how I manage to get any work done at my desk. Running my online and freelance business requires my attention, even if for just a couple of hours each day.

My focused work time generally happens when the babies are asleep. The days I can get a 2-hour nap lineup, I feel like supermom absolutely crushing it. They get the rest they need to have a fun second half of the day, and I get to cross all the things off my work to-do list.

In this season, I recognize how lucky I am to have flexibility with my work. Our current lifestyle wouldn’t be possible if I worked a traditional job. I’m so grateful for the growth my business has seen over the years, and appreciative of my clients who are understanding and respectful of my work-life balance. Truly grateful.

Eliminate decisions from your daily routine

When the babies go down for a nap, I get set up at my desk. My to-do lists are decided either the evening before, or I’ll take a few minutes over my coffee to check in on my list. I’ve set up my Notion account with any client task reminders for the week, along with personal to-dos. So organizing my list is quick. It’s as simple as checking what’s happening this week, and prioritizing accordingly with the time I have available and any upcoming deadlines.

Basically, I don’t need to think too much about what I should be working on. I just get into it. This is one of the reasons why I believe I’m able to be so productive, despite being pulled in different directions all day long. While I’m actively exploring and learning what it means to be productive in my current season, I think overall I’m accomplishing quite a lot with the hours I have.

Daily routine for working moms: Afternoon flow

Afternoons are different all the time. As a working SAHM, I try to get myself and the boys out of the house at least once per day. In the summer (like right now), we’ll leave the house early to be home before noon when things really start to heat up. If we go out in the afternoon, it’s probably to an indoor playdate because air conditioning is necessary right now.

So that means the afternoons are always different. If we’re at home, it could be chill time. The toddler might colour or work on a craft while I prep dinner (always cooked early to avoid a hangry family). Often, I bake… Snacks for the next day, bread for dinner, or even start on breakfast doughs that need extra time to ferment. We’ll probably get a few minutes of TV quiet time to reset. Or we’ll tackle some chores together because my goal is always to try to do as much as possible before we sit down for dinner… That way we’re not scrambling later and can actually enjoy the last few hours of the day.

And if the weather is nice and a water activity is an option, we’ll pack up and head to the splash pad or beach for hours and even stay through dinner with a picnic. Those days are my favourite lately.

Daily routine for working moms: Evening routine

There was a time in my career where I’d often work into the evenings. I’d work late… right up to bedtime with zero space to wind down. I’ve since realized that diminishing returns are real, and these late nights almost never pay off.

Yes, sometimes you need to crunch to meet a deadline because life has impacted the longer timeline. And yes, sometimes inspiration strikes so you can catch me at my desk after the babies go to bed. It’s more likely to see me wrapping up emails or Slack messages for a few minutes so they don’t carry into the next day versus getting any true work done.

But most days, I try to keep the post-bedtime evening routine as a working SAHM to house closing, self-care, and relaxing.

Reset your daily routine as a working mom

Sometimes, we inevitably fall into overwhelm. If you’re a working mom or working SAHM… Or really ANY kind of mom (working or not), there’s a lot for you to juggle. It can get overwhelming. From the moment I wake up in the morning, there’s to-dos running through my mind.

Feed the baby. Change diapers. Chug water. Get the toddler to drink water. Feed the baby. Make breakfast. What’s for dinner? Defrost meat. Start dough so it can ferment for dinner. What’s our activity today? Get started packing…

The above can run across my mind over just a few seconds, plus more. I’m sure many others can relate.

Give yourself grace if your ideal daily routine doesn’t always work.

I think we get so caught up in things needing to be perfect that we forget to acknowledge what we’re already doing… What we already have.

My mastermind clients have shared this with me too—it’s a common thread that we look to others and feel like we ourselves aren’t doing enough. They must be superhuman. They must be doing more. Their routines must be perfect so they can be productive every day.

Buy my hunch is that most of us are in the same boat.

And my new mantra is to try without expecting perfection. One day I’ll look back on these sleep deprived days with grown babies instead of ones who exist mostly in my arms. I’ll be able to wake on my own at 5am after a full night’s sleep. No one will need me to make their breakfast—they’ll do it themselves. They may not have time to go for a park picnic or cafe colouring date with me.

So for now, I’ll focus on letting shit go that doesn’t matter. And leaning into what really does.

Maybe you can relate. And maybe this helps you feel a little better about all you truly accomplished today.

Balancing mothering with online business

If you’re in this season with me, I see you. It’s a lot. When you have babies, your life gets flipped upside down in all the best ways. But as an entrepreneur, it may feel a bit more challenging to surrender to a tiny human’s schedule. I get it.

So if you’re here, researching a daily routine for working moms and looking for tips that may work for you… I hope this was helpful.