How To Reclaim 10 Hours Per Week (While Being A Present Parent)
The Parent-Creator's Secret Weapon: How to Find 10 Extra Hours Without Sacrificing What Matters Most
"There just aren't enough hours in the day."
How often have you whispered this to yourself late at night, after finally getting a moment to yourself? Your eyes heavy, your mind foggy, but it's the only "free time" you can find.
For parents, the struggle is real. The average parent loses 8.5 hours of personal time per week to family responsibilities. That's nearly 450 hours per year—vanished into the beautiful chaos of raising tiny humans.
But whether you're juggling kids, aging parents, demanding relationships, or just a hectic career alongside personal projects, the fundamental challenge is the same: how do you make time for what truly matters?
"You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." — Charles Buxton
Here's the paradox so many of us live: We want to be fully present in our personal lives AND create meaningful work that fulfills us. These desires aren't mutually exclusive, yet they often feel that way.
But what if we're all wasting more hours than we realize?
What if with the right systems, you could reclaim 10 hours every week without sacrificing what matters most?
In this guide, you'll discover a sustainable system designed specifically for busy parents who want both quality family time and creative fulfillment. No more guilt, no more exhaustion—just practical strategies that work in the real world of parenting.
This isn't about hustle culture. Those approaches might work for those with nothing but time and energy.
When your life is complex with competing demands, you need something different.
Let's break it down into actionable steps that work for everyone—parents or not.
The Time Abundance Mindset
Traditional time management strategies often fail because they don't account for the unpredictability of real life. They were created for people with perfectly predictable schedules and few interruptions.
Most of us are trapped in what I call the "Time Scarcity Spiral."
You believe there's never enough time, so you rush through important moments, feeling guilty.
Then you try to work, but your mind is clouded with that guilt. The work takes longer, which reinforces your belief that there's not enough time.
Sound familiar?
The solution isn't finding more time—it's changing how you think about the time you have.
"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." — Stephen Covey
The person who operates from time abundance doesn't say "I don't have time."
They ask, "How can I design my time to honor what matters most?"
Now let's transform this mindset into practice with six specific strategies that work together as a complete system.
Each component addresses a different dimension of time management, creating a comprehensive approach that builds on itself.
The 10-Hour Reclamation Blueprint
Let me show you exactly how to reclaim those lost hours—with specific, actionable steps that work whether you're managing kids, projects, or both.
Step 1: The Energy Audit - Know Your Prime Hours
Action step: For one week, track your energy levels hourly on a scale of 1-10. Note when you feel most mentally sharp, creative, and focused.
Most productivity systems focus on time management.
But energy management is far more critical.
Your "Prime Hours" are when your mind is clearest and your focus strongest.
For parents, this might be during school hours.
For night owls, it might be after 9 PM.
For early birds, before 7 AM.
Once you identify your Prime Hours, schedule your most intellectually demanding tasks during these windows. Even just 5 hours of work during your Prime Hours can accomplish more than 15 hours of foggy, low-energy effort.
Real-life example: Mark, a father of two young children, discovered his peak energy occurred between 5:30-7:30 AM. By shifting his creative writing to these hours before his family woke up, he finished his book manuscript in six months despite having a full-time job.
Pro tip: Create a "power hour" calendar block during your peak energy time. Protect this time fiercely and use it only for high-impact work.
Time reclaimed: 3-4 hours
Step 2: The Quality Time Block System
Action step: Schedule 3-4 "sacred" blocks each week (30-90 minutes each) for your most important relationships or personal recharge time.
Whether it's family time or personal relationships, being fully present for fewer, higher-quality hours is better than being physically present but mentally absent for more hours.
During these blocks:
All devices go away
No multitasking allowed
Be fully present
These blocks are non-negotiable – treat them like your most important meetings
Implementing structured "quality time blocks" similar to what I'm describing can help increase parents' perception of relationship quality while actually reducing the total hours needed to feel connected.
For parents, this might be dedicated playtime with kids. For others, it might be connecting with partners, friends, or simply yourself.
Pro tip: Create a visual signal that indicates you're in "quality time mode" – maybe a special hat, a door sign, or even just putting your phone in a designated box.
Time reclaimed: 2-3 hours of guilt-free focus during your work time
Step 3: The Digital Detox Protocol - Eliminate Time Vampires
Action step: Install a screen time tracking app and review where your digital hours are actually going.
"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." — Simone Weil
The average American spends several hours on their phone daily.
Most of that isn't intentional – it's mindless scrolling in five-minute increments that add up dramatically.
Your Digital Detox Protocol:
Delete social media apps from your phone Monday-Friday (access via computer only during designated times)
Set app limits for entertainment apps (30 minutes daily)
Turn off ALL non-essential notifications
Create "device-free zones" in your home or office
Real-life example: Sarah, a working mother of two, replaced her morning social media habit with a 10-minute journaling practice. She now checks Instagram only during her designated 3:30 pm "social window," resulting in 7 additional hours weekly for her novel writing project.
Many people are shocked to discover they spend 2+ hours daily on social media in tiny fragments that never feel satisfying. Batching this time to 30 focused minutes, three times a week, can transform your productivity.
Pro tip: Use the "grayscale" setting on your phone to make it less visually appealing. This simple hack can reduce aimless scrolling by up to 40%.
Time reclaimed: 1-2 hours
Step 4: The Micro-Productivity Method - Maximize Small Windows
Action step: Create three lists in your task manager or note-taking app:
5-minute tasks
15-minute tasks
30+ minute tasks
Life rarely gives us 3-hour blocks of uninterrupted time.
Instead of fighting this reality, embrace it with the Micro-Productivity Method.
By categorizing your tasks by time requirements, you can instantly know what to work on when you find yourself with a small pocket of time – whether waiting for a meeting to start, during a train commute, or while dinner is cooking.
Pro tip: Set up templates for common tasks so you can jump in immediately without setup time. For example, have email templates ready, or pre-format documents you use regularly.
Time reclaimed: 1-2 hours of formerly wasted transition time
Step 5: The Support Alliance - Get Buy-In From Your Inner Circle
Action step: Have an intentional conversation with the key people in your life about your goals and boundaries.
The secret weapon of successful creators isn't superhuman productivity – it's support from their inner circle.
Create your Support Alliance:
Explain your goals and dreams to those close to you
Create visual reminders of when you're in "creation mode"
Celebrate wins together
What if your partner is skeptical? Frame your need for creative time not as escaping family responsibilities, but as becoming a better, more fulfilled parent.
Share how your creative work makes you more energized and present when you're with your family.
Start small—request support for just 2 hours weekly, prove its positive impact, then expand gradually.
For parents, this might mean showing children that when the red light is on, it's "creating time." For everyone else, it might be setting expectations with roommates, partners, or colleagues about when you're available and when you need focus time.
Pro tip: Create a shared calendar that visually displays your focus blocks so everyone knows when interruptions should be limited to genuine emergencies.
Time reclaimed: 1-2 hours previously lost to interruptions and boundary-setting conversations
Step 6: The Weekly Reset Ritual - Maintain Your System
Action step: Block 30 minutes every Sunday evening for your Weekly Reset Ritual. Tiago Forte has a great Weekly Review set up that you can follow as well.
Systems fail without maintenance. This simple weekly ritual keeps your time reclamation on track:
Review your previous week (what worked, what didn't)
Schedule your Prime Hours and Quality Time Blocks
Prepare your Micro-Productivity lists for the coming week
Set intentions for how you want to show up
Pro tip: Create a Weekly Reset template with prompts to guide your review. Include questions like "What drained my energy this week?" and "What gave me energy?"
"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine." — Mike Murdock
Time reclaimed: 1-2 hours of productivity lost to disorganization and reactive behavior
The Time Abundance Matrix: Your Visual Framework
To help you implement these strategies effectively, use this simple 2×2 grid:
Plot your weekly tasks in the appropriate quadrant to visually see where you might be misaligning your energy with your activities. The key is to match your energy levels with the appropriate type of work.
The 3-Day Jumpstart
If you're feeling too overwhelmed to implement the full system, start here:
Day 1: Track your energy levels hourly
Day 2: Delete social media apps and batch-check on desktop only
Day 3: Hold a 15-minute conversation with your partner about one focus block you need
The Virtuous Cycle of Time Abundance
The beauty of this blueprint is that it creates a virtuous cycle. As you reclaim time, you have more energy.
With more energy, you're more efficient.
As you become more efficient, you reclaim even more time.
But the greatest benefit isn't just the extra hours. It's living with intention rather than reaction.
It's being fully present in your personal life and fully engaged in your creative work.
Life will always have its demands and complexities. But with these six actionable steps, those demands don't have to consume your creative life or personal joy.
You can be both the friend, partner, or parent your loved ones deserve AND the creator you were meant to be.
All it takes is reclaiming those 10 hours that are already yours.
Your Action Step Now: Which of these six strategies could you implement this week? Pick just ONE to start with – trying to change everything at once is a recipe for overwhelm.
Share in the comments which strategy you're going to try first, or ask questions about how to adapt these techniques to your specific situation. I read and respond to every comment!
As a thank you for your time, and to help you get started, download your free Weekly Reset Template here.
I hope the above helps you get more time back for your weeks ahead.
Have a great rest of your day, and as always, please, take care of yourselves.
-Matt
P.S.
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In Other News…
I also started up what I’m calling a companion to Mitten Dad Minute - it’s called Daily Refill.
As you might guess, self care and mindfulness are both very important topics to me, and the news is ever changing in the space. Don’t worry, Mitten Dad Minute isn’t going anywhere!
Daily Refill is designed to be your quick cup of curated news to either get you started on your day, or finish it up. I think my audience here would love this publication, and I would be most appreciative if you considered joining! Each read is 4 minutes or less!
I’ve also started up another space called The ApParent Solopreneur (get it?) - it’s a little more of a work in progress, but my vision is to have both that, and Daily Refill be companions to the content you see here, with Mitten Dad Minute being more of your weekly “deep dive.”
As a special bonus, if you sign up for Mitten Dad Minute, Daily Refill, and ApParent Solopreneur, I’ll give you a shout out in a future post on Substack as a well as a note, and maybe another surprise as well. :) Just make sure to forward me proof of receipt of your signing up!
Thank you as always for your support everyone! I truly appreciate each of you.