Here is exactly what I stopped doing to get my time back as a working mom.

If you are constantly asking how to get more done as a working mom, you are probably asking the wrong question. The real question is not how to do more. It is what to stop doing so you can make time for what actually matters.

This is why so many time management tips for working moms fail. They focus on optimization, efficiency, and squeezing more into an already full day. That approach ignores reality. Most working moms are already doing too much.

The fastest way to reclaim time is not to add another system. It is to remove what should not be there in the first place.

How to Get More Done as a Working Mom by Doing Less

If you are a working mom, you are likely doing three jobs at once. You are working, parenting, and running a household. That load is heavy, and pretending otherwise leads to guilt, stress, and burnout. Often it also leads to self-sabotaging habits like overeating, overdrinking, or numbing out at night because there is nothing left.

Doing more is not the solution.

Doing less, intentionally, is.

I walk through the full framework for this in my post on the 7-hour challenge, which lays out a system for reclaiming time by eliminating, delegating, and protecting what matters. But instead of more theory here, I want to show you what this looks like in real life.

Below is exactly what I stopped doing to get my time back as a working mom. You may recognize yourself in more than a few of these.

What I Stopped Doing to Get My Time Back as a Working Mom

Here is a list of things I stopped doing in order to reclaim my time.

Home:

• I stopped organizing all of my kids’ things in the morning. Instead, my seven- and eight-year-olds have simple checklists on the fridge that show everything they need to do. Change clothes. Brush teeth. Use the bathroom. Pack backpacks with lunch, snacks, and books. They manage it themselves. This made them more independent and saved my sanity.
• I stopped managing sports I was not interested in. For baseball and basketball, I handed over signing the kids up, getting the gear, and handling practices and games to my husband. Full ownership. If something is missed, it is missed. That boundary alone saved hours and mental energy.
• I stopped grocery shopping. I use Shipt. I skip the lines, avoid impulse purchases, and no longer lose time to a task I do not enjoy.
• I stopped doing laundry. I hired someone to wash, fold, and put away all of our laundry each week. This alone reclaimed several hours and removed a constant background stressor.
• I stopped being the default communicator with the school. At one point, I accidentally blocked the school’s number, and they started calling my husband instead. It worked so well that even after I unblocked them, they kept contacting him. Problem solved.
• I stopped returning items, handling dry cleaning, and packing lunches several days a week. I hired a household helper to handle these tasks. They get done faster and with far less friction.

Work:

• I stopped attending meetings where I was not truly needed. And for the meetings I do attend, sixty-minute meetings became forty-five minutes by default.
• I stopped treating all emails the same. Many emails now skip my inbox entirely and go into folders I check once a week. This keeps my attention on higher-value work.
• I stopped checking dashboards, LinkedIn, and news sites daily. Once a week is enough. Constant checking creates the illusion of productivity while quietly draining focus.

Mindset:

• I stopped resenting others. Instead of resenting my husband for not helping with laundry when I was doing a load a day, I hired it out. Resentment disappeared instantly.
• I stopped expecting perfection. If backpacks are not neatly organized, that is fine. I am not the one organizing them. If clothes are folded differently, that is also fine. Done is better than perfect.
• I stopped explaining or justifying my choices to people who are not affected by them. If my friend thinks it’s ridiculous to have someone fold my laundry, oh well! It is my life.
• I stopped holding onto routines just because “this is how it has always been done.”
• I stopped feeling guilty for making things easier for myself and my family.
• I stopped confusing busyness with productivity. They are not the same thing.
• I stopped waiting for “more time” and started taking control of the time I already had.

How to Get More Done as a Working Mom

Most productivity advice for working moms focuses on doing more. In reality, the breakthrough comes from being ruthless about how your time is spent.

The 7-Hour Challenge is built around this idea. One of the fastest ways to reclaim time is to eliminate what does not matter, delegate what does not require you, and protect what gives you energy. That is how you reduce the invisible load and create space for the things that actually improve your life.

If you want a practical place to start, you can download my free guide with top unconventional productivity tips for working moms that actually work. It walks you through how to identify what to cut, what to delegate, and how to protect reclaimed time so it does not disappear again.