When I had my daughter, I assumed the hardest part of running my business would be time.

I was wrong.

The real challenge was mental bandwidth (and energy) 🥶

Before becoming a mom, I could sit down and work for hours.

Brainstorm content.
Plan projects.
Experiment with ideas.
Pivot quickly.

I could come up with an idea and execute the whole thing in one day because I had 8-10 hours of blissful, uninterrupted TIME

Now my work happens in small pockets of time.

Two hours during preschool.
An hour during a nap.
Sometimes 30 minutes while she plays beside me. (note- harasses the cat who eventually smacks her )

It forced me to realize something important:

If my business depended on long workdays or constant motivation…

It wouldn’t survive this season.

So I redesigned how I work.

Less hustle.
More systems.

Here's a confession - I thought systems would ruin my creativity, make me feel trapped, and force me to follow a process that would stifle my creative juices.

But you know what's really going to stifle your creative juices?

Rushing to your desk to work 30 precious minutes only to flip between 20 tabs trying to decide what to work on, before giving up, feeling totally and utterly overwhelmed. So instead, you doomscroll on IG watching people cleaning carpets or decluttering hoarders' houses (just me? oh, ok O_O)

To preserve my energy and creative juices and let them flow in the right direction, here are the systems keeping my business running right now.

1. I Focus On One priority Per Week

I used to juggle dozens of tasks.

Now each week has one clear focus.

Examples:

Week 1 → Write 4 newsletters for the month
Week 2 → Create Pinterest pins for 2 sites and schedule them
Week 3 → Build a mini course
Week 4 → Revamp my LinkedIn and personal website for corporate training

If I finish one meaningful thing, the week is a success.

Right now, progress matters more than volume.

2. I Batch Everything

Switching between tasks kills productivity.

Especially when your time is limited.

So I batch similar work together.

Examples:

Write multiple Pinterest descriptions in one sitting
Create 20–30 pins at once
Draft several newsletters together
Outline multiple blog posts at the same time

Batching reduces decisions.

Less thinking.
More executing.

Note: This also means other tasks fall behind while I hyperfocus on each batch. That's ok, sit with it, even if it feels uncomfortable.

Wanna see my WhatsApp inbox? You don't, but I'll show you anyway. 262 unread WhatsApp messages, and 393 actual unread text messages.

Don't get me started on my email inbox. why? I am hyperfocusing on Pinterest and newsletters atm and WhatsApp can take a backseat

3. Schedule as much as possible

Life with a baby is unpredictable.

Some days go perfectly.

Other days fall apart.

Scheduling content keeps my business moving forward — even when I can’t work.

I schedule:

• Pinterest pins
• newsletters
• blog posts

Automation buys back time.

Confession: This is a work in progress for me, but 2026 is the year I want to be more ORGANISED.

I schedule pins using this fantastic tool​

I automate my newsletters using this amazing tool ​

And blog posts using the good old free WordPress scheduler

4. Work with your energy

Some days my brain works well.

Some days it doesn’t.

Instead of forcing deep work when I'm exhausted, I match tasks to my energy.

Low-energy tasks:

• replying to emails
• formatting blog posts
• scheduling pins

High-energy tasks:

• writing
• strategy
• creating products

This protects focus and prevents burnout.

Want more energy? Go check out some of the quick, healthy recipes in my Instagram highlights!

• ​Here they are ​

Also, here is FREE training on how to have more energy. I used to charge for it, but I am giving this away free for you to learn today :)

• ​HOW TO HAVE MORE ENERGY ​

If you find that useful, you can learn more strategies to boost your mind here!

• ​MINDSET MAGIC​

5. Accept this is a season

This might be the hardest shift.

My business will not grow the same way it did before motherhood.

And that’s okay.

Right now, the goal isn’t hypergrowth.

The goal is sustainability.

Keep the business alive.
Keep income flowing.
Build slowly.

There will be another season for expansion.

6. Make everything visible

When your brain is busy, you can’t rely on memory.

So I make my plans visual and obvious.

Around my office, you’ll find:

A wall calendar showing the entire year.
My running plan is pinned to the wall.
A weekly planner is sitting on my desk.
A food planner in my office.

Everything is visible.

No digging through apps.
No, trying to remember what comes next.

When I sit down to work, the plan is already in front of me.

Some days I still feel like I'm falling behind.

But zooming out reminds me of something important.

I’m raising a child and running a business at the same time.

That alone is something to be proud of.

If you're in a similar season, I'm curious:

What systems are helping you manage work and life right now?

Reply and tell me.

I read every response.

Talk soon,

Thanks for reading

Aisha Preece from Outandbeyond.com​

PS: I share my bare minimum low effort strategy to grow my blogs on my Instagram stories — if you want more behind-the-scenes like this, come hang out: @aishapreece​

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