Stealing Late Night Hours to Build My Dream Life

I have a cozy little vision for my life. Picture it with me — a warm, inviting home; a happy, healthy family; and a thriving business that gives me the freedom and flexibility to be home with my son as he grows.

I’ve built businesses before. Entrepreneurial ventures that provided small injections of extra income here and there, and I’m so proud of that. But now I’m on a mission to build something sustainable. Something that supports my lifestyle without requiring me to also hold down a job, or adhere to a strict budget while leaning mainly on my husband's income.

And since this phase of life (with a new baby) is so demanding, I have to steal hours away from my sleep — late into the night — in order to build the foundation for my business and the financial expansion for me and my family. It isn’t ideal, especially because I value my wellbeing. I know how important sleep is for that, but just as this high-demand phase of life is only temporary, so too is the foundation building phase of a business.

And if my sleep is already interrupted anyway, why not take advantage of the extra time I have when I should be sleeping? I’ll get good, consistent, long stretches of sleep again one day, but this isn’t my time for that. This is my time to nurture — not just my baby, but the vision I hold for us.

So, when he goes to sleep, I plan, I strategize, I draft. When he wakes me up to eat, I feed him, and then I feed my business plan. And when he’s awake during the day, my attention is on him. Because sacrificing our precious moments together isn’t an option.

Things can’t really move too quickly with this strategy, but at least they’re moving. Entering motherhood is sort of like pressing pause on everything else. You’re just too busy to be fully engaged with anything other than your child. Every now and then you can press play, and catch a few minutes of the show that the rest of the world is living out, but that pause button is always on deck.

I’m not in a hurry, though. I’m being reminded that things don’t need to be fast to be meaningful, and I trust that everything is unfolding in exactly the right timing. As long as I stay committed, I’ll get where I’m going — no matter how long it takes. 

I’m grateful to have a network and community like Ritual Space — where I can grow at my own pace alongside other women and mothers in business who are just as committed to what they do.