How To Work Before Your Kids Wake Up (Even When You Got No Sleep)

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What if you could add a full uninterrupted workday to your week? 

As a work-at-home mom who also homeschools that probably sounds too good to be true. 

But it can happen. 

If you learn how to work while your kids are still asleep.

Should You Follow That Guy’s Advice?

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A few years ago, every solopreneur out there seemed to be pushing this book on anyone who would listen. 

All about the power of waking up early and getting the day started on the right foot. 

Awesome. 

You want to get some time in to work uninterrupted too. 

But I’ve been there. 

Following tips to keep your alarm clock across the room and start the day with affirmations and journaling just isn’t going to cut it for you as a work-at-home mom. 

Because if you had time to do stinking affirmations and journaling you would spend it sleeping or, you know, actually working.

How To Make Early Mornings Work For You

Here’s what will cut it. 

Three ways to make working in the morning work for you.  (And I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you to program your coffee machine or get to bed early the night before, because duh and yeah right.)

• It isn’t all or nothing.  I gave up on waking up early to work so may times before I finally made it a habit, because I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m.  Maybe you can’t get up three hours before your kids the morning after an all-night teething session. But even thirty minutes a day five days a week adds up to 10 hours a month. Start with what you can do, and the momentum will build.
• Write your to-do list the night before.  If you are not a morning person, decide what you will be working on the next day before you go to sleep.  You will save time and stress in the morning.
• Use the time to do math homework.  As a kid, I always completed creative assignments during my most alert time of day.  If I was tired, I focused on math, because there was a definite correct answer.  In the morning, instead of setting yourself up to fail by engaging in work that requires creativity, complete routine tasks.  For me this means working on Pinterest, scheduling social media and proofreading.

Put Your Plan Into Action

You can get work done before the kids wake up, even if you have tried before. 

Start small, and decide what time you will wake up in the morning. 

Then list what you can reasonably accomplish during that time, and begin with only tasks that require very little creative thought. 

After a week, challenge yourself to wake fifteen minutes earlier, and try adding some more complex work to your to-do list.

If you stick with this plan, you can build momentum and add as many as thirty hours of work time to your month by waking up ninety minutes early. 

Imagine what you could accomplish with more than two months of additional time to work each year. 

The products you could create. 

The clients you could serve. 

The skills you could learn. 

The audience you could reach.

What will you write on your to-do list before going to bed tonight?