After almost a decade of creating and a few years of working remotely, becoming a mom in mid-2024 made consistency and work-life balance my biggest challenges.
Before I knew it, I was burnt out, questioning myself, and barely staying productive. TL;DR: I found myself spiralling, and it felt like the walls were closing in on me.
If you’re a creator, small business owner, or marketer juggling remote work and parenting, you know exactly what I mean. Thankfully, this season didn’t last too long.
After a few messy months, I found a simple system—including some smart outsourcing—that now helps me:
- Post 2-5 times a week across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
- Grow my audience (from ~7k to ~10k) and boost engagement (from ~50 to ~80+ per post)
- Connect with prospective employers
- Still have time for client work, family, and rest
So here’s the tea. ☕
1. Work with a hybrid content assistant
I work with a content assistant who supports ideation, shooting, design, editing, and logistics. We meet in person 2–3 times per month to batch-create, and I pay her a retainer fee. She also attends events, like parties or outings, with me to help capture moments for vlog-style content.
This arrangement works because it:
- Lightens my mental load
- Keeps me accountable (because I’m paying for it!)
- Allows for flexible collaboration depending on my schedule and budget
- Boosts my remote work productivity
To align expectations and stay agile, we communicate via phone calls, email, and WhatsApp conversations.
💡
You don’t necessarily need a full-time hire. Start small—even a few hours a month can make a difference. It was an easy hire for me because she’s my cousin, who’s also a social media manager with great content creation skills. But you can get yours through referrals or an open hiring call.
Outsourcing goes beyond human capital, though. Automation is also where the magic is, which brings me to my next point.
Creating consistently isn’t about having the best content strategy or making out-of-budget hires. The right tools—whether free or paid—can keep your production fast, organized, and scalable, even on a tight schedule.
For example, I used to send my newsletter, The Profitable Content Marketer, so haphazardly that its growth plateaued. Once I mastered ChatGPT prompts and began scheduling social media posts with Buffer, though, I spent less time writing and posting—and more time growing my Substack.
Here are the exact tools my assistant and I rely on the most:
I don’t use every tool daily, but I combine them based on my workflow each month.
I might jot down ideas in Notes while cooking, then refine them in ChatGPT before a shoot. My assistant could then design and edit all the posts in Canva and CapCut, while either of us updates the calendar.
Thankfully, most of these tools are either completely free or come with robust trial versions, letting you explore them with minimal financial investment.
💡
Start with free or trial versions, and only upgrade when you’ve proven your workflow or monetized. And, if you’re comfortable, give your assistant access to your tools and social accounts to keep things on track.
Of course, tools only work if you can find the time to use them. Here’s how I carve that out of my very packed schedule…
3. Use late-night deep work sessions
With a toddler and freelance work, my days pass by quickly. So sometimes, I take 2–4 focused hours after bedtime to:
- Generate content ideas
- Respond to emails
- Complete client deliverables
- Record content
- Track analytics and update my content calendar
This isn’t forever — it’s just what works in my current season of life. For context, I wrote most of this article late at night while my baby slept. No jokes. 😂
Meanwhile, beyond not having time during the day, I’ve also become quite nocturnal since the pandemic lockdown period. And I know I’m not alone.
💡
If you have early mornings or childcare support, adjust your “deep work” window to fit. Also, set a cut-off time (mine changes each night depending on when I start) and keep a warm drink or a light snack nearby, rather than endless caffeine. Prioritize one “must-finish” task each night for a sense of accomplishment.
But here’s the thing: incessantly working at night is unsustainable. You could fall into an endless cycle of unproductive days and sleepless nights. And take it from someone who’s been there, you really don’t want that. That’s why, besides the occasional nightcrawling, I also suggest you
4. Visit co-working spaces as needed
When I have tight deadlines or need uninterrupted daytime focus, I book a co-working space. It:
- Helps me get more done faster
- Provides a mental shift from home life to work mode
- Prevents me from working all night and being tired all day
- Can be paid for daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on budget and specific needs
My local space costs about $3/day and a focused session easily pays for itself in client work. Exhibit A:
On this day, I had multiple deadlines to meet and knew that even with a babysitter, I wouldn’t be able to finish all the assignments if I worked from home. So, I went to a nearby work hub for a few hours and finished the rest at home, mostly during my late-night deep work sessions.
💡
Use co-working for “sprints”. E.g., ideate and add 2 weeks of content to your calendar, apply to your weekly dose of job opportunities, or complete pending projects that have been dragging on.
Even with all these tips, you can’t truly optimize what you don’t measure. Hence, why you must always
5. Track results
I don’t use any complicated tools for monitoring social media engagement—just the built-in analytics in each platform (e.g., LinkedIn) and Buffer’s weekly email reports.
Every month, I:
- Review follower growth and engagement (likes, comments, shares)
- Identify which posts performed best
- Look for patterns (format, topic, time of posting) and adjust future content ideas accordingly
One way this has played out is that we noticed LinkedIn had a shortage of video content creators, but people actually appreciate them more than you might think.
We began posting more LinkedIn videos and significantly increased engagement. Helpful list-style posts (job tips, network-building advice, practical resources) also perform really well on the app.
Want more detailed insights? All paid Buffer plans include an easy-to-use report builder. This list of 11 top social analytics tools is also worth exploring.
💡
Pick one key metric per platform (e.g., shares on Instagram, DMs on LinkedIn, or comments on Twitter) and track it month-to-month. This helps you make small, data-backed tweaks without getting overwhelmed.
So yes…
Creating consistently is hard
It’s even harder if you’re also a mom or remote worker without the right structure.
Not sure where to start? Here’s my recommendation: Improve at least one part of your process and watch how it reduces posting gaps and burnout.
Seriously. It could be turning your messy notes into an organized calendar, or shooting video content for the next two weeks on a Sunday to free up your weekdays.
Trust me, your future self will thank us! 😎
