After almost a decade of creating and a few years of working remotely, becoming a mother became a challenge in mid-2024 and consistency and work-life balance was my biggest challenge.
Before I knew it, I was burned out, questioning myself, and barely able to stay productive. TL; DR: I found myself spiraling, 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. Luckily this season didn’t last too long.
After a messy few months, I found a simple system – including some clever outsourcing – that now helps me:
- Post 2-5 times a week on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
- Grow my audience (from ~7k to ~10k) and increase engagement (from ~50 to ~80+ per post)
- Get in touch with potential employers
- There is still time for the client’s work, family and rest
So here’s the tea. ☕
1. Work with a hybrid content assistant
I work with a content assistant who supports the conception, photography, design, editing and logistics. We meet in person 2 to 3 times a month batch createand I pay her a deposit. She also goes to events with me, such as parties or outings, to capture moments vlog style content.
This arrangement works because it:
- Lighten my mental burden
- Holds me accountable (because I pay for it!)
- Allows flexible collaboration, depending on my schedule and budget
- Increases the productivity of my remote work
To align expectations and remain agile, we communicate via phone calls, email and WhatsApp conversations.
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You do not necessarily need full-time employment. Start small: even a few hours a month can make a difference. It was an easy hire for me because she is my cousin, who is also a social media manager with great content creation skills. But you can get yours through referrals or an open interview.
However, outsourcing goes beyond human capital. Automation is also where the magic is, which brings me to my next point.
Create consistency isn’t about having the best content strategy or hiring staff who are out of budget. With the right tools (free or paid) you can keep your production fast, organized and scalable, even when schedules are tight.
For example, I sent my newsletter, The profitable content marketerso haphazard that growth stagnated. Once I mastered ChatGPT prompts and started scheduling social media posts with Buffer, I spent less time writing and posting – and more time growing my Substack.
These are the exact tools my assistant and I rely on the most:
I don’t use each tool daily, but I combine them every month based on my workflow.
I jot down ideas while cooking in Notes and then refine them in ChatGPT before a shoot. My assistant can then design and edit all the posts in Canva and CapCut, while one of us updates the calendar.
Fortunately, most of these tools are completely free or come with robust trial versions, so you can explore them with minimal financial investment.
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Start with free or trial versions and only upgrade once you’ve proven your workflow or generated revenue. And if you feel comfortable with it, you can give your assistant access to your tools and social accounts to keep everything on track.
Of course, tools only work if you can find the time to use them. Here’s how I squeeze that out of my busy schedule…
3. Use deep work sessions late at night
With a toddler and freelance work, my days fly by quickly. So sometimes I take 2 to 4 hours after bedtime to:
- Generate substantive ideas
- Respond to emails
- Complete customer results
- Include content
- Track analytics and update my content calendar
This isn’t forever; it’s exactly what works in my current season of life. For context, I wrote most of this article late at night while my baby was sleeping. No jokes. 😂
Meanwhile, besides not having time during the day, I have also become quite nocturnal since the pandemic lockdown period. And I know I’m not the only one.
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If you have early mornings or childcare support, adjust your “deep work” window. Also set a cut-off time (mine changes every night depending on when I start) and keep a hot drink or light snack nearby, rather than endless caffeine. Prioritize one “must-finish” task each evening for a sense of accomplishment.
But the point is, working incessantly at night is unsustainable. You could find yourself in an endless cycle of unproductive days and sleepless nights. And take it from someone who has been there, you really don’t want that. That’s why I recommend you, in addition to snuggling away for a night every now and then
4. Visit co-working spaces when necessary
When I have tight deadlines or need uninterrupted focus during the day, I book a co-working space. It:
- Helps me get more done faster
- Provides a mental shift from family life to work mode
- Prevents me from working all night and being tired all day
- Can be paid daily, weekly or monthly depending on budget and specific needs
My local space costs about $3 per day and a focused session easily pays for itself in the client’s work. Exhibit A:
On this day I had several deadlines to meet and I knew that even with a babysitter, I wouldn’t be able to complete all the assignments if I worked from home. So I went to a nearby work center for a few hours and finished the rest at home, usually during my late-night deep work sessions.
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Use co-working for ‘sprints’. For example, come up with two weeks’ worth of content and add it to your calendar, apply for your weekly dose of jobs, or complete ongoing projects that drag on.
Even with all these tips, you can’t really optimize what you don’t measure. That’s why you should always do that
5. Track results
I don’t use 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:
- Assess follower growth and engagement (likes, comments, shares)
- Find out which posts performed best
- Look for patterns (format, topic, time of posting) and adjust future content ideas accordingly
One way this played out is that we noticed that LinkedIn had a shortage of video content creators, but people actually value them more than you might think.
We started posting more LinkedIn videos and significantly increased engagement. Helpful list-style posts (job tips, advice on building a network, practical resources) also perform very well in 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 discovering.
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Choose one key metric per platform (e.g. shares on Instagram, DMs on LinkedIn, or comments on Twitter) and track it from month to month. This allows you to make small, data-driven adjustments without becoming overwhelmed.
So yeah…
Creating consistency is difficult
It’s even harder if you are also a mother or external employee without the right structure.
Not sure where to start? Here’s my recommendation: Improve at least one part of your process and see how it reduces posting gaps and burnout.
Serious. It could turn your messy notes into an organized note calendaror record video content on Sundays for the next two weeks to free up your weekdays.
Trust me, your future self will thank us! 😎
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