Els Poecks said to me 'You have been doing so many amazing things, sometimes I wonder how you do it all by yourself. It is like struggling with caring for two kids at the same time all by myself!"

Gemma Hjerth said her biggest struggle is never having enough time on school days

I see many people holding themselves back from what they want to achieve, such as learning a new skill, taking on a training course, or studying for a degree... because they don't have enough time. We have so many commitments every single day as a mother, a wife, an employee, or a business owner. 

Especially if you are a mother with a young family like me, you might hear that being a mother is like taking on five full-time jobs. If you are a mother, you get what I mean. 

I want to let you know there is also good news. Once you become a parent, you will become the most productive person you have ever been - because you don't have time to waste! 

I built my successful photography business while I had two children. I achieved many awards, taking on photography and business coaching training and also building my 2nd company Shan Fisher Education at the same time. 

As a mother, I kiss goodbye to my little boys in front of the classroom door in the morning, pick them up from school, spend the afternoon with them, attend all parents' evenings, and school activities, and prepare hot breakfasts and homemade dinners for my family. 

How do I achieve that?

1) I get up 2 hours before my children

I get up at 5 am. I work out for a half-hour, have breakfast, and study for 1 hour before my family wakes up. Having that extra 2 hours of quiet time for myself is golden. It allows me to focus on the most important tasks I need to accomplish in the day, connect to my creativity, and have time for self-care. 

I will talk about the benefits of getting up at 5 am in another post, but I definitely can't work until 1 am like I used to and force myself to get up in the morning. Making sure I have at least 7-8 hours of sleep is essential. 

2) I block 1 hour a day for learning

I am obsessing about learning. I understand that I have to keep learning to be able to grow and be the best of myself for the people I serve and what I do. However, I can't take one day away from my family or my business to focus on my training. But a 1-hour of studying a day is achievable. I normally have an extra hour for myself when my husband puts the boys to bed. 

Most of us probably spend more than 1 hour a day watching TV or checking social media anyway. 

I turn all phone notifications off and let my family know that I need 1 hour to focus on what I need to do. 

By the end of the week, I have 7 hours of photography training or working on building my new company. 

3) Hire a housekeeper

I feel so grateful to have my housekeeper Elaine to look after the housework for me so that I can have a tidy and clean house for my family. It allows me to focus on working on my goals. 

Elaine spends around 10 hours a week helping me with cleaning, tidying up, laundry, etc. I can't imagine I could find 10 extra hours a week to work on housework. 

4) Create a mobile classroom

It's hard to be able to sit down and read books for hours a week. I hardly have time to sit down on my sofa. When I need to do the little daily housework, such as tidying up after the boys go to bed, or putting the dishes in the dishwasher, it usually takes about 1 hour a day. I put my headset on and listen to my audiobooks or my study program. 

I work from home, so I don't have a daily commute to work. But when I have outdoor photoshoots or weddings, I travel from place to place. I turn on my audiobooks or podcasts instead of radio to create a mobile classroom. I have listened to more than 20 books in the last three months and many educational podcasts. 

That is how I create an extra 38 hours to build my business and achieve my goals. I hope this post will be inspirational and valuable to you.