Momentum doesn’t come from massive action. It comes from consistent micro-moves that match the season you’re in.
I used to think I needed a full day to get anything meaningful done. A quiet office, uninterrupted hours, the perfect conditions for deep thinking.
And then I became a mother, and that vision of an ideal workday became impossible. I had 40-minute naps, unpredictable nursing sessions, and the deep, aching tug-of-war between wanting to be fully present with my baby and taking action on my dream.
For a while after having my first daughter, this kept me stuck from moving forward with my ambitions. I’d tell myself that I didn’t have enough time to do the “important” work.
Related: My career is my refuge and it makes me a better mom
Eventually, I realized the problem wasn’t the amount of time—it was how I was thinking about time.
So I rewired my approach. I stopped waiting for ideal circumstances and started trusting myself to get important things done in less-than-ideal windows. I adopted a new mantra: I have more than enough time to do everything I need to do. It felt radical at first. But over time, it became true.
Building in baby-sized bursts
I began where I was, with what I had: small pockets of time and a big vision I wasn’t willing to let go of.
My car became a mobile workspace in case she fell asleep on the ride home and I could buy myself a few uninterrupted minutes of work. I took calls while pushing the stroller. My newborn daughter napped in her car seat beside me while I worked from the corner table at Starbucks, earbuds in, laptop open, clock ticking until her eventual wakeup.
And here’s the thing—this wasn’t just about running a business. These same baby-sized bursts could be used to work on a class assignment, paint a canvas, write a short story, or meal-prep for the week. The specifics might look different, but the mindset is the same.
Sometimes I made progress during these nap-length intervals. Sometimes sleep deprivation meant that I could barely string together a coherent email. But I kept showing up, trusting that tiny efforts would eventually add up—whether toward a thriving business, a career comeback, or a personal goal that mattered to me.
And it did: The consistent efforts I put in to connect with my ideal clients began snowballing. I eventually had enough work to fill the time I had available and was close to replacing my full-time salary.
I stopped waiting for “the right time” or a certain amount of time. I worked with the time I had, consistently, and that made all the difference.
Tiny moments, big momentum
I also had to completely shift how I prioritized. My to-do list shrank to what was essential, and I let go of the rest. I constantly felt like I was not doing enough, but I started gaining clarity about what actually moved the needle.
It was never about doing more. It was about doing what mattered, whenever I could.
As someone who prided myself on productivity and efficiency, it was hard to accept that I couldn’t check everything off my list each day. So I started asking: What are the top three things I need to do today? Then I practiced being mentally okay with just doing those three things, rather than everything the entrepreneurs on Instagram had me believe were necessary.
Because I had to be radically judicious with my time, it was freeing to know that posting daily on social media, for example, didn’t actually bring me clients and therefore wasn’t necessary.
When the schedule shifts, so does the plan
Just when I thought I’d figured it out, my daughter would drop a nap. Or get sick. Or have a growth spurt and turn our entire rhythm inside out.
Each new phase demanded a new plan. Preschool brought three-hour windows I could rely on (mostly). Then the addition of another baby girl in the midst of a global pandemic shifted things again. Elementary school brought longer blocks of time, but also the emotional load of being present for the girls’ social and academic activities. Every season required a mindset shift.
I stopped fighting the fluidity and started designing my business around it. I created flexible systems, built a support network, and stopped chasing the productivity hacks and three-hour morning routine of a twenty-something guy with no kids. I used a scheduling app for client meetings, adjusting my availability based on my kids’ schedules, batched tasks like client work or research in pockets of time when my focus would be highest (like before my daughters woke up or after they went to bed), and openly communicated with my husband about my needs (“I need you to handle bedtime tonight so I can focus on this analysis.”).
Related: Motherhood has been my greatest career asset
The help I didn’t want to ask for (but absolutely needed)
Eventually, I had to confront a truth I didn’t want to face: I physically, logistically, and emotionally could not be a full-time stay-at-home mom and a full-time business owner. As much as I wanted to be with my daughters every moment, I also deeply wanted to grow the business I was building. Both mattered. And that meant I had to ask for help.
I’ve always been someone who prides herself on independence and self-sufficiency, so it wasn’t easy. But I built a patchwork of support, relying on family and babysitters when I needed focused time. As my girls and my business grew, ad hoc support was no longer enough, so I asked my family for a consistent day and time every week; when that no longer worked for them, I found babysitters to replace that consistent schedule.
Eventually I understood that bringing in outside help didn’t mean I was failing. It meant I was choosing both motherhood and ambition, and allowing myself to thrive at each.
Momentum doesn’t come from massive action. It comes from consistent micro-moves that match the season you’re in. I built something I’m proud of not in spite of being a mom, but because of how motherhood shaped me.
5 things I learned about getting things done when you have no time
- Lower the bar, then lower it again. Some days, your win is sending one email. Celebrate it.
- Prep your future self. Spend five minutes setting up tomorrow’s to-do list or workspace to make those short windows more productive.
- Say “no” more often. Every no to something unimportant is a yes to what matters.
- Energy beats time. I learned to tackle creative or “thinking” tasks when I had energy, no matter how short the window.
- Automate or delegate. Grocery delivery is your friend.
If you’re in the thick of it, dreaming of something more—whether that’s a side hustle, a passion project, or reclaiming a piece of yourself—you can start now. If you’re in the thick of it, dreaming of something more but wondering if it’s possible, start where you are. Use what you have. Progress doesn’t have to be big to be real.
Often, the most powerful things are built in the margins.
About the author
Stephanie Skryzowski is a visionary CFO, speaker, and entrepreneur who helps purpose-driven leaders build financial clarity, resilience, and impact. As the Founder and CEO of 100 Degrees Consulting, a global team serving hundreds of nonprofits with strategic CFO and bookkeeping services around the world. Her career has taken her from corporate offices in NYC to managing grants in rural Afghanistan, and she’s passionate about proving you don’t have to choose between meaningful work and financial prosperity.
Through her podcast, The Prosperous Nonprofit, and signature course, Master Your Nonprofit Numbers, Stephanie equips leaders with the tools to grow strong organizations, healthy teams, and sustainable bottom lines—without burning out. When she’s not crunching numbers, she’s traveling with her husband and their two young daughters.