How Busy Moms Can Be More Productive in Just 15 Minutes a Day

Motherhood means always having more to do than time to do it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still be CRAZY productive. After struggling for years after becoming a mom, I tried and tested every productivity and time management strategy out there to figure out which ones do—and don’t—actually help busy mamas make traction toward their goals.

In this episode, you’ll hear the best-of-the-best advice to help moms be more productive in just 15 minutes a day. I share all kinds of proven practical tips for getting more done and conquering big things, no matter how little time you’ve got.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:

• Long uninterrupted work blocks are not required to make meaningful progress
• The problem isn’t lack of time — it’s lack of preparation for small time windows
• Unrealistic expectations create procrastination and avoidance so it’s essential to adjust expectations to match your current season of motherhood
• A quick way to know which task to start with when you’re feeling overwhelmed
• How small, prepared, intentional time beats long, unplanned time — every time!

FOR SO MUCH MORE:

FREE! Get 14 days of affirmations for ambitious, heart-centered women: https://solutionsforsimplicity.myflodesk.com/goals-affirmations

Book a free consult to learn more about healing your nervous system so stress no longer sabotages you—or your relationships: https://tidycal.com/solutionsforsimplicity/free-consult)

Get on the waitlist for the next round of my 6-week program, Moms Made NewTM to learn the six most powerful life coaching tools every mom needs so that you and your family can flourish: https://solutionsforsimplicity.myflodesk.com/mmn-waitlist

HOMEWORK:

Identify one thing you’ve been wanting more time for and commit to spending just 15 minutes a day on it from here on out. Share your thoughts with me via email through the link in the show notes or DM me on Instagram @solutionsforsimplicity. 

COMING UP NEXT:

Join me back for a new episode next Tuesday at 5am Eastern to keep unpacking the hidden sources of stress stealing your time and joy.

Loving this podcast? Please help it get found by more listeners by taking quick minute to leave a rating & review in Apple Podcasts. Take a screenshot of your text review before you submit it, then email that to help@solutionsforsimplicity.com and I'll send you my powerful Happy Mom Protocol™ (a $297 value) FOR FREE!

CONNECT WITH AMBER: Website | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn 

Ready to finally get to the root of your problems and change your life FOR GOOD? Book your free 60-minute consult to learn more about working 1:1 with Dr. Amber.

Transcript

 We've spent the last several weeks on some really deep topics, and while I love nothing more than cutting through all the BS out there to help you get to the real root of your stress, I wanted to lighten the mood today and offer some of my best productivity advice for busy moms. Craving more time for whatever brings you joy. Every mom I know, including my former self, says they never have enough time for what they need, let alone want to do. The tips I share in this past interview I gave on the Live by Design podcast, give you all kinds of strategic, tactical advice to use. Whatever time you do have more intentionally enjoy.

Amber. For anyone who's listening and they aren't familiar yet with you and the incredible work that you do, can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you're all about? 

I am Dr. Amber Curtis. I'm a productivity coach for overwhelmed moms that are drowning in more to do than time to do it.

And I really walk you through how to make more time and energy for what you love so that you can break free of the stress and really try and be more productive, but purposeful and intentional so that you are then the happy, healthy, thriving mom you dream of being. 

Yes. I love that so much. And we were chatting before we hit record too, about how so often we are teaching, like we're reaching out and teaching women who are past versions of ourselves, right?

So I have gone through a season. I jokingly say I had a quarter life crisis at 25, but I definitely did write a 25. I was like, who? What am I doing with my life? Right? I love that you are reaching a hand back and you're helping those of us who are like, my gosh, my to-do list is so long. My schedule is so full, but I end the day exhausted and unfulfilled.

So this idea of being a productivity and a goals coach is just so empowering. So Amber, I'm curious what the women you work with, what is like, what's one of the biggest, um, barriers or one of the just biggest things that they struggle with when they first come to work with you? 

I am always amazed and also reassured when I find that all of us have this same underlying problem.

Yeah. And 

that is that we grow up learning to do things at a certain standard and wanting to make everyone happy and being praised for doing a good job. And so we just build our identity around how much we are able to do and the quality with which we can do it. And then. You have kids, yes. And suddenly time is no longer your own.

And you realize what an illusion of control you had before you had kids. Suddenly, all of your standard operating procedures no longer work, and that definitely thrust me into an identity crisis after I had my first son. Um, my backstory is that I am a professor by day still, initially, when I was trying to learn how to navigate the challenges of motherhood and was so torn with wanting to be with my sweet babies all the time, but needing to fulfill these very high pressure demands at my job.

Yeah, I completely fell apart because I felt like such a failure in every domain. 

Mm. And 

that looking back was all in my mind, but it felt so real and it really overtook me to the point that I got suicidal. So I'm just on a mission now that I have made a lot of changes and researched things that are scientifically shown to help us avoid the burnout and the stress.

Um, I'm, I'm just on a mission to share that with anyone and everyone who will listen. 

Oh, I love that. Well, thank you for sharing that with us, and I think that's probably such a relatable experience for so many of us. And I love your approach of, well, what can we do to help others not get to that same point?

Right? And I think that is just such a beautiful mission and why I love these conversations together. So here at the Goals with Soul Summit, we're all about moving forward with clarity and confidence, but. With that said, many of us are moms and we still have those small pockets of time, right? You're not gonna go to this summit and then all of a sudden you're like, oh, I have hours every day to myself magically.

Right? Like, that's not the season of life many of us are in. So I know you're an expert in figuring out how can we make progress in these small pockets of time. I love how you say in 15 minutes a day, what does that kind of look like? What does that feel like? 

It's so important, firstly to just recognize that this is a struggle.

I think a lot of times we feel this latent frustration with our, our circumstances. Mm-hmm. And as much as we love our families. It grates on us that we can't just do what we want to do when we want to do it, and we have this never ending to-do list. Mm-hmm. And we think in the back of our minds that we'll be able to get more done when we have more time.

And particularly we, we just dream of having those long, uninterrupted work chunks. Of, you know, 3, 4, 6 hours, maybe a whole eight hour workday all to yourself. True confession. It is still my dream to someday have a weekend away and lock myself in a hotel room and just be able to work as much as I want.

Yep. 

Not our reality as busy moms. And so then because we feel so limited in the time that we have, it is so easy for us to procrastinate, to avoid getting started on projects or goals because we don't think we can do much in just a few minutes and we end up squandering a lot of opportunities and it's my, my desire to try and help women avoid those problems.

So. The first thing I wanna emphasize is just a very simple realization, a mathematical equation, if you will, which is that even just 15 minutes a day adds up to over 90 hours over the course of a year, 91.25 to be precise. And when I first realized that. I just was amazed thinking at what I could actually accomplish in 90 hours, right?

I think I can reach so many of my goals, and so then we start to get really tactical and strategic about how to use those 15 minutes effectively, and it takes a big weight off of our shoulders because instead of thinking that we have to have. X hours, we realize, okay, this is my challenge. This is an exciting opportunity for me to be as deliberate, focused, and productive as I can be in just that short amount of time.

Hmm. 

I wanna quickly interject as well, because I'm speaking to my past self that I don't want anyone to misconstrue my advice. As extra pressure that you need to be productive with every minute of every day. I think there are two extremes, right? On the one hand, there's the person that doesn't go after their goals and dreams because they don't feel like they have enough time and they don't realize the pockets of time that they do have.

But the other extreme that I also fell into. Was putting constant pressure on myself to always be doing something and to squeeze as much as I could out of every minute of every day. And I just want us all to remember that our self-worth is not tied to our productivity. 

Yes. 

And. In other spaces. I elaborate on this and I hope your listeners are familiar with some of the problems with the standard time management literature and this idea that we can even manage our time.

I'm a firm believer that time shouldn't be managed. It should be appreciated. And when we come at our time from this belief not out of fear, right, that it's limited and scarce and, and oh my gosh, we have to use it or lose it. But from this deep appreciation of the gift we have to spend our life and our life's energy using our time, well, it's, it's that much more fulfilling.

So with that out of the way, I've got so many tips. Yay. I can get started if, if we're ready. 

Absolutely. And I, I love that kind of caveat you give of this reminder that we have to care for ourselves, right. And that we don't, I love this saying like, we don't have to be human doings. We're human beings. And it's just, and your, um, your mindset shift from time being this like, you know, grains of sand you're trying to squeeze in your hand and the harder you squeeze, the faster they fall out, right?

To this. Gratitude and appreciation is just so beautiful. And I just think like such a great reminder, like if everyone just takes a big breath after hearing that, because that just feels like, oh, that just feels so good. So, okay, I love this. So what are some of these like now, now that we've come from a place of gratitude and we've let go of this like.

Hustle culture, right? Which like, I am not here for like, there are sprint seasons certainly, but like I am about longevity and like sustainability and I built my business in in 15 minute increments. And this, it doesn't have to be for business. This could be any area of life, but that's just one that worked well for me.

And I work out in 15 minute increments a lot of times too. So I'm super excited to hear your suggestions. 

All right. Well, I have a bunch, so I will just start listing them off. Feel free to interrupt me at any point. 

Awesome. 

Um, so first and foremost, I want us all to just adjust our expectations in this current season of life.

It is unlikely that we are going to have those long chunks of time, and so we just need to accept that and find peace with our current C circumstances. It's wonderful to still desire those long chunks of time, but we no longer want to have unrealistic expectations that create a barrier from at least doing something right.

Anything is better than nothing. So we adjust our expectations and we reframe our belief so that instead of thinking I need huge chunks of time in order to get something done, we affirm to ourselves I am super efficient and effective at using even short amounts of time productively. 

Hmm. 

That's been huge for me.

I actually have it written out and posted up behind my computer to remind myself that okay, I can, I can crank something out and be really proud of, of what I do in just a few minutes. Mm. And uh, yeah, again, those small chunks add up. Next thing, love that thing is really. To know your windows and evaluate your day-to-day rhythm, to be looking for opportunities when you will have some time at your disposal.

Because if we are not aware of these in advance, then we can go into them feeling unprepared. And I used to get so paralyzed the moment my kids would miraculously be occupied or, you know, some, both of them, uh, when I had very young kids at the same time, you know. Everyone was down for a nap at the same time.

Amazing. But then, oh my goodness, what do I do in this time? I could take a shower, I could unload the dishwasher, I could respond to emails. I just wanna lay down and, and take a nap myself, like, or I could make traction on my goals. So the point is to try and be prepared with a sense of what you would do when a small chunk of time arises, and to be thinking about those moments during your regular.

Day when you're likely to find a few extra minutes. Nap time is the classic example. Car pickup or drop offline is another one. Um, again, finding ways to occupy your children. Mm-hmm. It's, it's an ongoing challenge I know, but being aware of your daily rhythms is key. The next thing is one of the most significant, and that is to always make sure that your to-do list stays prioritized.

Mm. We tend to write everything we need or want to do down on paper, or I hope we do because it's good to get it out of our heads. But on paper, everything looks equally important, and the reality is that we need to know what is most important and be able to start with that. When we find our free time.

Mm-hmm. And especially in terms of goals, what we want to do is really clearly break down the concrete steps that it's going to take to make a little bit of traction at a time so that instead of thinking, okay, I'm going to. Uh, you know, write this blog post in the next 15 minutes. We can acknowledge I'm going to come up with the idea for my next blog post, or I am going to insert the appropriate links that I will need in this blog post.

Or, you know, very concrete, actionable, small items that are feasible in a short amount of time. 

Yeah. 

It's then really, really helpful. This is something that I started doing and I can't believe I, I never did before, but when I write things down on my to-do list, I always include an estimate of how long I think that item will take.

So that. I can then glance at my list and specifically look for a task that aligns with the amount of time at my disposal. Hmm. And that's again, a great way of taking the guesswork out of what to do when you find those moments. 

Oh, I love that. I've actually never done that. And now that you're saying it, I'm like, that makes so much sense.

'cause I have some tasks. We have this dry erase board in our kitchen. We use that kind of as our family calendar of who is where and when, and we put our meals for the week. All the things are on there. And then there's this little like list on the side. And I've had some to-do items on there for, I mean, entirely too long.

And so the idea of just writing down like, okay, it will take me. 10 minutes to make my kids Southwest Airlines accounts. That's one of the things that's been on there forever. Uh, then that way when that moment of time comes, it's like a great reminder of like, oh, actually this doesn't take nearly as long as I think it's going to.

So true. So often we avoid getting started because we're dreading the task, or we think it's going to take so much time that it actually does, and then once we finally have to do it or we decide to just buckle down and get it done, we're pleasantly surprised that it wasn't nearly as hard or time consuming as we thought.

But yes, trying to guess in advance how long something will take is really helpful. I then always keep a running list of ideas of things I can do in 15 minutes so that when I quote unquote find those three buckets of time, I already know these are the things that fit well in that window. And this can vary.

It depends on kinds of things that are applicable to your situation, but very often we find ourselves, uh, you know, sitting in a doctor's office. Mm-hmm. Waiting for someone as we're trying to pick up a kid from activities or all of these different times where the, the small chunks of time pop up. But ideas of things you could do are obviously carry a journal or a book with you.

I love to, um, write handwritten notes so we can send little letters or cards or things. This is when I fill out all of my birthday cards. 

I love that. 

And things like responding to emails or placing the grocery order. I'm just throwing a few of my personal favorites out there. But I intentionally save those kinds of tasks for the moments that I am, uh, I find myself having free time so that I then am more intentional with my bigger blocks of time.

In other moments of the day. 

Oh, I love that. It's almost like you're protecting that future time, those bigger chunks, by being really purposeful with those smaller things where you're like, oh, I can do this on my phone while I'm like waiting for soccer practice to get out, or whatever the case might be.

Yes, and it is that balance, right, of being present and focused. Mm-hmm. Especially when kids are around. That's always my goal, but so many times we don't need to be. Like in the doctor's office, for instance, you're just sitting there, right? So you wanna do something quote unquote productive, or are you just gonna scroll on your phone and no judgment?

I've done both, but it's that personal choice, and I wanna tie it all back to the excuses we give ourselves as to why we don't have time. The hard reality is that we sometimes have more time than we think, and we just need to be prepared to use those times well. So on that note, my next tip is to adapt time management strategies like the Pomodoro method.

Mm-hmm. 

Or the amount of time that you have. Your listeners are probably aware of the Pomodoro method. I love it, but it's the idea that you designate in advance something you're gonna do for a 25 minute period. Set the timer, take a five minute break, repeat that a few times, take a longer break, and it, it's really been proven to help keep people be more productive and effective, but again, sometimes even 25 minutes.

Can feel prohibitive. Mm-hmm. And I just want us to adopt a new belief that we can do that same strategy in 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Mm-hmm. Whatever we have. And even if we only do one mini set, it's so much more than nothing. 

Oh, I love that. You know, we do in the collective, my group coaching program, we do 10 minute timers all the time, and it'll be like, and sometimes it's a task that you, you know, you actually do want to do or you want to have it done.

You, you're excited for how you'll feel when it is over. Maybe you're not excited to actually do it, and so we just set a 10 minute timer and you commit to those 10 minutes, like all in and you're like, okay, for these 10 minutes. I'm gonna clean the kitchen, whatever it is. For me, it's like, okay, I'm just gonna finally get to the dishes, right?

And so I set the 10 minute timer, and more often than not, when the 10 minute timer goes off, it's like I've gotten to a good groove. Maybe I'm listening to a podcast, or I've got some music playing. And when that 10 minute timer goes off, I'm like, oh, I could do a little bit more. And it's just what I need to like lower the barrier to entry because that big like, oh, I'm gonna.

Pick up or do whatever it is around the house, maybe for 30 minutes. Feels like too long in that moment, but I'm like, 10 minutes. Make it do 10 minutes. And then once you get started you're like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm feeling good. I've got my body moving. I'm grooving to something in my headphones. Like, let's just keep going.

I know, it's, it's amazing how just getting started is the hardest thing. 

Oh my gosh. A hundred percent. 

Well, a couple more tips then my. Favorite thing to do personally is to be aware of the times of day as well as the times of the week and the month that I am more naturally energetic based on my circadian rhythm and other types of energy rhythms that I teach in some of my other programs.

But be aware of when you're likely to have energy and not so that you can really try and save your more intense, cognitively and physically demanding tasks. For your peak performance windows when you have more energy, and then again, be really intentional with letting yourself rest and slow down when you don't.

Oh, I love that. I've actually started syncing a lot of my work around my, um, like my cycle because, you know, like, and there's so much I, I'm like, first of all, why did I not learn about this in high school health class? Like, yeah, like my whole life would probably be different. But now that I know like, oh, there's a reason during this one week, I feel.

I'm really tired, like my brain feels kinda sluggish and there's a reason why maybe a week later I feel super energized and I can take on the world, right? And just honoring the fact that I can't show up with the same capacity energetically every day, but I can honor the fact that I can show up and do my best that day with the capacity that I have.

And that's been like a huge mindset shift for me. 

I know it has been a game changer for me, and I definitely want everyone to know that you can identify these moments and these rhythms in advance. Mm-hmm. And I'm so glad word is getting out about this because I do think it's something that we all need to know.

The other way that it plays in is that in our. Peak performance windows when we naturally have more energy at certain times of the day, week, or the month. It's amazing how much you can get done. Mm-hmm. I call it your superwoman window. Right? So you will be just blown away by how much you could get done in 15 minutes of your peak performance time.

And conversely. You are going to have other moments where it feels like that proverbial slog and you're banging your head against the wall Swimming upstream, 15 minutes is just not pulling anything together. And I want you to realize it's not your fault, right? That it is just this innate biological process.

And so I, I think the. Hard thing is that a lot of times women have in the past, maybe even trying to use 15 minutes for something productive, but if it didn't align with a peak performance window, then they still didn't feel like they were effective and productive and it queued their brain to think we can't do anything in short chunks of time.

So it all kind of plays together. 

Yeah. 

I love that you brought up the timer idea. That is so just, it's definitely one of the tricks that I always do as well to gamify things for myself. 

Yep. 

On that note. One thing I've really learned the hard way is to always start with the thing you don't want to do first.

Yes. 

Amazing. How our bodies and brains really have this natural gut reaction to when we think of our tasks. Right. We, we just have this innate. Sense of I wanna do that, or Ugh, I, I really don't wanna, okay. So when you sense that you don't wanna do something that is your clearest indication that it's probably one of your more important things and you will lose so much time and energy fighting that task and putting it off instead of just getting it done and then harnessing that motivation and accomplishment to do even more.

Mm-hmm. 

So my last tip has also been so helpful because many of us have big projects and big expectations. Again, my, my job is a classic example where, you know, my performance is based on the amount of articles I publish and the research I do on top of teaching, but mostly the research. And there's no way I can write something profound that's ready to go in 15 minutes.

Right? 

Usually much closer to the 90 hours mark. And so. What I have found so, so helpful is to leave myself that last minute of my work time. So 15 minute timer. At 14 minutes I stop working and I write notes to myself about what, what I would have done moving forward if I had more time. Continue working on this project and that saves you so much time and stress so that the next time you come back to work on that thing.

You can just slide right in, pick up where you were instead of losing your ideas and wasting the first part of your work time wondering where was I? What should I do it. It just really keeps the momentum going. 

I love that. It's like past Amber's leaving breadcrumbs for future, Amber. 

Yes, yes. It's so helpful.

Oh, I love that. Well, Amber, this is just so incredibly helpful and it makes me feel like. So seen to know like, I'm not the only one who struggles to find chunks of time, or when I do have that chunk of time, what am I gonna work on? Right? And so I think especially as we apply this to our goals with soul, it's a matter of identifying like.

What is that one goal with soul that you're pursuing? What is the way that you wanna feel and how can we break that down into these kind of stepping stone goals that we can do in these small chunks of time? My brain immediately goes to like a really fun kind of, uh, like checklist where it's like you give yourself a little star and you write it all out ahead of time.

I love, and then as you do, you know, I'm all for gamifying things. Amber, for everybody who's listening and they're like, I need more of Amber in my life. I know you have this beautiful gift for everybody and it's your affirmations for ambitious heart-centered women. I love that so much. Like it makes my heart so warm.

Just to, just to share the title, so can you tell us a little bit about these affirmations and what folks can expect by opting into that for free below? 

Oh, I would love to, and I wanna reiterate how honored I am to be a part of this summit. Aw. Really struggled with motivation and just staying consistent in the habits and the things I knew I needed to do to make traction towards my goals.

Mm-hmm. And for a while, I would then berate myself about that and think there was a problem with me because I wasn't constantly motivated and wasn't taking action. And then after working with so many women and seeing the same patterns in myself, I realized motivation does come and go. But we then need to anticipate that in advance and build in ways that we can revive our motivation and get it from outside sources when we are not naturally feeling it in that moment.

So, yes. This free resource is a series of 14 powerful thought provoking emails delivered to your inbox every single day. That just give you some of my favorite motivational affirmations, and they're really geared towards the woman that wants. To finally start carving out time for herself and her goals because she knows that taking that time for herself is just gonna enable her to pour that much more back out to her family.

And so she's ready to. It's not a trade off. Right. But maybe she has put herself and her goals on the back burner. Mm-hmm. And these are gentle reminders that going after her goals and taking care of herself in this way is for everyone's benefit. So let's get that motivation. Keep it going. 

I love that.

Friends, that's one of the things I love about learning from Amber is she's, she's Dr.

Curtis guys. Like she has the educational chops, the research, all the things. So when she is sharing, it's not just personal experience, it's also science backed, like you say. And as someone who is married to a scientist, I love that so much because I think. In this world of personal growth and development, there is like the woowoo and there's the science, and it's a matter of marrying the two.

So I love that you do that so wonderfully 

well, and it takes a very specific personality, I think, to enjoy the science part of it. Yeah. Because we're like, oh my gosh, not another regression table. This is so urgent. Just give me the, gimme the good stuff, right? And that's what I try do, is give everyone the good stuff, the big takeaways, so that you don't have to comb through all those boring studies yourself.

Oh, I love it.

Amber, thank you so much for being here. Sweet friend. I always love the chance to chat. 

I had such a good time, and it's just my honor, Kate, I love to speak with you and I love connecting with all the women who are listening. Thank you so much.

Your homework for this episode is to identify one thing that you have been wanting more time for and commit to spending just 15 minutes a day on it.

From here on out, I would sure love to know what your thing is. I am about to hop off social media for Lent, so if you are listening to this in real time, shoot me an email through the link in the show notes. Otherwise, I'll be back on Instagram after Easter. And don't worry, I'll still be active here publishing new podcast episodes every Tuesday at 5:00 AM Eastern to keep helping you unpack the hidden sources of stress, stealing your time and joy.

You are also so, so invited to book a free 60 minute call with me through the link in the show notes so we can talk face to face about what's stressing you out.

Until next week, remember, nothing you do changes how wonderful and worthy you are. Have a great day.