10: Productivity Hacks For Single Moms (That Actually Work)
Hacks for single moms who don’t have time for Pinterest-perfect advice
Being a single mom means you’re doing it all — the parenting, the working, the mental load, the existing. And on top of all that, you also have to deal with bullshit advice.
“Just wake up earlier!” With what uninterrupted sleep, exactly?
“Hire help!” Cool, let me check my backup nanny fund.
If you’ve ever felt personally victimized by bad productivity tips, you’re in the right place. Because today, I’m sharing real productivity hacks for single moms — stuff I actually do, stuff that actually works, and stuff that won’t make you roll your eyes into another dimension.
Let’s get into it.
1. The Morning Bin
My #1 rule: no screens before school.
Now, does this mean I will sit and entertain my child every single morning? Absolutely the fuck not. So, I created the morning bin.
It’s literally just a box with toys, books, coloring supplies, and puzzles — things he can play with solo while I do important things like brush my teeth, put his lunch together, and mentally prepare for the day.
If he ever tries to tell me he doesn’t want to play with anything in the bin, I simply say, “Cool, sit and stare at the wall then. Make up a story in your head. Use your imagination — it's your best tool, okay?” (Suddenly, the bin seems very exciting.)
This has single-handedly prevented many meltdowns and kept my mornings from turning into a full-blown circus. 10/10 recommend. No feral child energy before 8 AM.
2. Screen Time is OK
Look, we all want to be the no-screens, wholesome, wooden-toys-only kind of mom. But guess what? I have work to do.
If I need an uninterrupted meeting, if I need to shower without a tiny human barging in, if I need to exist for five minutes… The TV is going on. And I refuse to feel bad about that.
I try to keep mornings screen-free and aim for one no-screen day a week. But beyond that? We’re rolling with it.
After school, my kid gets about an hour and a half of TV while I finish up work. On weekends, it could be anywhere from zero to five hours, depending on the day and my patience level.
Do I let him watch mind-numbing YouTube kids’ content? Absolutely not. We do PBS Kids Video, Lingo Kids, and other educational stuff.
Am I giving him his own iPad? Also no.
I do have an iPad and an extra phone that he can use for games if we’re on a long car ride or at a restaurant, but trust and believe I am not out here raising an iPad kid.
So if you’re feeling guilty about screen time? Don’t. It’s a tool. Use it when you need it. Your child will be fine.
3. Make Everything a Thing
Kids looooove excitement. So… make everything an event.
If something feels like a chore, they’ll treat it like one. But if you make it fun? Suddenly, they’re into it.
Instead of “Hey, let’s go to Target” try “Guess what? We’re going on a treasure hunt at Target to find the best snack ever.”
Instead of “Time to clean up” try “Let’s race to see how much we can clean in 10 minutes.”
Instead of “Put your shoes on” try “Can you get them on before I count to 10?”
Sounds ridiculous, but it works.
Honestly, this works on adults, too. We reflect the energy we’re given. If you show up with enthusiasm, other people pick up on it.
Just like when I was at a networking event and handed my business card to someone who needed marketing help. The guy next to him immediately started sulking about how he was too old to be useful. And I’m like, sir, not with that attitude.
Moral of the story: If you act like something is exciting, people — big or small — will believe you.
4. Outline the Plan
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that kids love a plan. And by "love," I mean they desperately need one, or else they short-circuit.
Every morning, before my son has even fully opened his eyes, he groggily asks, “What’s our plan today?” Because for him, knowing what’s coming makes the day feel manageable. (Honestly? Same.)
So I outline everything: “You’re gonna play with your morning bin, we’ll eat breakfast, then walk to school. While you’re at school, I’m going to the gym and working. Then Ariel picks you up, you guys hang out, and later we’ll have dinner, bath, book, bed. Good day?” And he nods, “Good day.”
It’s such a small thing, but it makes a huge difference.
No surprises = fewer meltdowns.
More predictability = smoother transitions.
5. Stick to a Routine
If you take nothing else from this episode, take this: routines are everything.
For us, that means:
🚿 Bath, 📖 Book, 🛏️ Bed. Almost every night.
(Sometimes it’s just book and bed because my back physically cannot handle sitting on the bathroom floor for another hour while he turns the tub into an Olympic swimming trial.)
It also means:
Gymnastics on Wednesdays
Babysitter on Tuesdays and Thursdays
A semi-normal weekly rhythm that keeps my child from spiraling into existential dread at every transition
Kids thrive on structure. They need to know what to expect — otherwise, they turn into tiny, confused dictators who suddenly refuse to wear pants.
Is sticking to a routine always easy? No. Do we sometimes veer off course? Absolutely. But having that foundation in place makes life way smoother — for him and for me.
6. Use Siri Reminders Like Your Life Depends on It
I set Siri reminders for everything. Like, I’ve probably set three just this morning. One of them is for six weeks from now because my brain will absolutely not remember that Dr. Seuss week is a thing until the day before, when every other kid shows up in themed outfits and my child is in regular-ass clothes looking at me like, “Mother, you have failed me.”
In the same vein, I have a Wesley calendar in Google Calendar, color-coded and separate from my own schedule, so I don’t accidentally plan a meeting when I’m supposed to be at insert child-related obligation here.
It’s ADHD-proof. It’s foolproof. It’s the only reason I’m not constantly forgetting shit.
7. Have a Place for Everything (or It’s Going in the Trash)
If it doesn’t have a home, it’s leaving my home.
I’m not saying my house is some Pinterest-perfect, labeled-container, Home Edit masterpiece. But what I am saying is that everything has a place — even if that place is just a corner next to the coat closet.
For example, when we walk in from school:
Backpack, coat, and shoes? They go in their designated corner.
School folder? We go through it immediately — important notices get dealt with, and all the never-ending kindergarten art projects go into The Drawer.
(Yes, The Drawer deserves capitalization. It’s an IKEA cabinet that has single-handedly prevented my house from being swallowed by a tidal wave of finger paintings.)
About twice a year, I go through The Drawer and decide what’s worth keeping. The truly special stuff goes into a Wesley bin (because I am that mom who saves everything). The rest? Well… I strategically toss it when he’s not looking.
Same goes for toys, books, and all the other random kid debris. If it doesn’t have a place, it’s either finding one or getting the hell out.
8. Don’t Put It Down — Put It Away
This rule is so simple, yet so life-changing.
I first heard this in an ADHD productivity tip somewhere, and let me tell you — when I actually do it, my life is 1000x easier.
Because here’s the thing: chaos in the house = chaos in your brain. And as a single mom, my brain is already running at max capacity. I’m carrying the mental load of literally everything — schedules, meals, school stuff, extracurriculars, doctor’s appointments, “Did I remember to order more toothpaste?” — so I physically cannot afford to also have my house be a disaster zone.
Now, am I perfect at this? Absolutely not. Sometimes I am in my Best Self Era, and I put everything away immediately. Other times, I am fully in my “let’s just survive” era, and things… accumulate.
But when I do follow this rule, my life is significantly less stressful.
So if you’re like me and your house is your brain’s external hard drive — trust me on this one. Try it. Future You will thank you.
9. The 10-Minute Tidy
If I could give you just one habit to make your life as a single mom easier, this would be it.
Every night (or at least on my best days), I do a 10-minute tidy. And, as I already mentioned, because everything in my house is a game, my son usually helps. “How much can we clean in 10 minutes? Let’s race.”
If I don’t get to it at night, I’ll do it in the morning, but it’s happening at some point. Because my mental load as a single mom is already astronomical — I do not need my physical space making it worse.
You know when your computer has 86 tabs open, and suddenly, it’s slow as fuck? That’s my brain all the time. Keeping my space somewhat under control helps keep those mental tabs from maxing out my system.
10. Unfollow the Pinterest Moms
STOP listening to people whose lives look nothing like yours.
If the mom giving you parenting advice has:
A husband
A nanny
A meal-prepping personal chef
A house with five bedrooms and a dedicated playroom that isn’t just a corner of the living room
She is not your girl.
Because, listen — if I start comparing my life to a partnered mom with 47 sources of help, I’m going to feel like garbage every time. So what’s the solution?
Delete. Unfollow. Mute.
The sooner you accept that you can’t do it all (and neither can they, by the way, they just have more people), the better.
I used to get irrationally mad when people would tell me to “just take time for myself.” Like, when, exactly? Between drop-off, work, meal prep, bedtime, and being the only person responsible for an entire small human’s survival? Spare time where?
And don’t even get me started on the people who assume I have unlimited grandparent help. (Spoiler alert: I do not.) I love my parents, but they have their own lives, and watching my kid full-time is not their job.
So here’s your permission slip: If following someone makes you feel bad about your life, unfollow them.
Curate your feed. Surround yourself with people who get it. And, most importantly, remind yourself that you are doing an incredible job, even if your life doesn’t look like Instagram.
11. Get Creative with Work Time & Places
If I could go back in time and tell early single-mom me one thing, it would be this: bring your damn work with you.
I used to think I needed a perfect, uninterrupted work block to get anything done. But now I work anywhere I can fit it in:
On the couch before my kid wakes up – Editing copy, answering emails, writing my newsletter.
On the treadmill – Responding to DMs, writing captions, engaging with students.
At the library – He plays; I work. Win-win.
While waiting for my workout class to start – Scheduling posts, finalizing client work.
Basically, if there’s a pocket of time, I’m squeezing something in so that my actual work hours aren’t eaten up by random admin tasks.
I’m not saying never rest. You need breaks. I’m just saying: You can get a surprising amount done in 15-minute pockets of time.
So, take your laptop to the park. Answer emails while you’re waiting for soccer practice to end. Work where you can, when you can. It’s not traditional, but neither is your life — so make it work for you.
12. Purposefully Frustrate Your Child (Yes, Really)
I know, I know — this sounds counterintuitive. But hear me out.
Dr. Becky (aka the only parenting expert I listen to) once said that kids need to experience frustration. I had a visceral reaction to her post when I saw this on Instagram, but I read it all the way and saw her point.
As a single mom, it is so easy to say yes to everything just to keep the peace. There’s no other parent to step in and say no. It’s just me. So if my kid says, I want pancakes for breakfast and to wear a pajama top to school and to go to the trampoline park after — I could say yes to all of that.
But the problem is that life does not say yes to you all the time.
So I constantly have to remind myself that I'm in charge. We're not besties. I'm forming a human and his habits and his personality and his ways — so he cannot just get his way all the time or he'll grow up to be an asshole.
For that reason, I purposely frustrate him in small ways by letting him have moments of boredom.
For example, I'm not giving him anything necessarily to play with in the car. I'll say, “We're going in the car in case you want to take a toy.” If he doesn't get it, that's his problem.
Because if I don’t teach him how to handle disappointment now, the world is gonna do it for him later — and that’s gonna suck way more.
13. The Reward Jar (AKA Bribery, But Make It Productive)
Kids love a prize. And I love anything that makes parenting easier. Enter: the reward jar.
It’s exactly what it sounds like — a jar where I put stars when my kid does something helpful, handles a tough situation well, or doesn’t lose his entire mind over something he normally would have. And when the jar is full, he gets a prize.
This time, he picked a Build-A-Bear, but honestly, you could use anything —stickers, a toy, an extra trip to the playground, whatever makes sense for your kid. The key is consistency and never taking stars away.
Yeah. I learned that the hard way.
One time, I took a star out as a consequence, and homeboy lost it. A therapist friend later told me that reward jars should only be used for positives — not as a punishment system. And you know what? That makes total sense. So now, the jar stays sacred.
He worked for three and a half months to fill it up, and watching him feel proud of himself was worth every single star. Highly recommend!
Point of the Story
Here’s what I need you to take away from this: there is no “right” way to do this.
People love to act like there’s a perfect formula for parenting, but there truly isn’t. You’re out here keeping a tiny human alive while also running a business, running a household, and trying to have five minutes to yourself without someone asking for a snack. That is impressive.
So if your kid watches TV every morning before school and mine doesn’t — who cares?
If you accidentally yelled today — you’ll have a better day tomorrow.
If you feel like you’re constantly behind — you’re not.
You’re doing what you can with what you have, and that is enough.
A child is only as happy as their mom. And while I cannot produce a scientific journal article to back that up, I swear I read it somewhere once, and I believe it with my whole heart.
And if you need a reminder of that — tag me in your stories, and your next coffee is on me. Single moms will get the bean water regardless!
I love you. Keep going.
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This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.