“I'll just work during quiet time” is something I tell myself every summer. It has never once been true.

When you run your own business and you're raising two boys who never stop moving, there is no “out of office” that actually means out of the office. There's just you, your laptop, and a Slack notification pinging while a tiny human asks for the fourteenth time if they can have screen time.

But I've learned that, for those of us who stay home to work, summer doesn't have to mean your business falls apart or your kids live on screens until September.

With a little structure (not the color-coded binder I made and threw away three days later, just gentle structure), you can enjoy this season and still get real work done.

So I put together a no-fluff guide based on what's actually worked for me, from one full-time working parent to another.

First, Drop the Guilt

This one's personal for me.

I am your typical Type A kinda parent, the one who thrives on goals, structure, rule enforcement, and schedules. uhhh….. I feel sorry for my children as I'm writing this.

So before we get all tactical and strategic, let's get this out of the way: your kids do not need you to be a full-time camp counselor all summer. They need you present, not performing. They need a parent who's engaged when it's time to engage and who models what it looks like to care about meaningful work.

So if you're reading this while hiding in the bathroom pretending to “use the restroom” for the ninth time today, just take a breath, you're doing just fine.

Now let's build a plan together.

The “Block & Blend” Daily Routine

I need to be honest, I literally just threw away the color-coded, hour-by-hour fantasy schedule I made three days ago. Writing about this has completely changed my perspective on how to approach summer, so keep reading.

Instead of scheduling every minute, think in blocks. Big, flexible chunks of time that give your day shape without making you feel like a failure when lunch happens at 2 PM. Here's a rhythm that actually works across kid ages:

Early Morning: Your Golden Hours (before kids wake up, so yeah, really early hours) 

This is your unfair advantage, and in my opinion, it’s worth the sacrifice if you are not a morning person.. 

Even 60–90 minutes before the house wakes up can be the most productive window of your entire day. Use it for deep work,  the stuff that actually moves your business forward (so not email or Slack, even if it's tempting!)

Morning Block: Kid Time (roughly 8–11:30 AM)

• Feed them and if your children are old enough to start cooking, teach them how to make breakfast. 
• Do something together. This doesn't have to be elaborate (actually, please don't make it complicated!). A walk, watering the garden, building with LEGOs, drawing, doing a puzzle, you name it!  Younger kids thrive on sensory play (water table, playdough, sandbox). Older kids might want to read, ride bikes, or start a project. 

The goal is connection first, then transition them into independent play or a structured activity.

Midday Block: Work Sprint + Lunch (roughly 11:30 AM–2 PM)

This is where the magic of “parallel play” comes in.

Set the kids up with lunch and a low-key activity. We do lots of audiobooks (we live in an era of so many great options online! I’ll list some below), coloring, quiet building, or yes, some screen time (more on that below)  and get a focused 60–90 minute work sprint in. For toddlers, this often overlaps with nap time. For older kids, this is “quiet time” which is  a non-negotiable hour where everyone does their own thing.

Afternoon Block: Adventure or Outing (roughly 2–4:30 PM)

Pool. Library. Park. Sprinkler in the backyard. A friend's house. This is the block where kids burn energy and you're mostly offline. Be here for this one, put the phone in the bag. These are the hours they'll actually remember.

Late Afternoon: Flex Work (roughly 4:30–6 PM)

Older kids can often entertain themselves during this window (think reading or creating).. Younger ones might watch a show or play nearby while you knock out emails, follow-ups, and lighter admin tasks. This isn't your deep work time, it's your “clear the runway” time (you know what I’m talking about).

Evening: Done means done.

 Time for dinner, the bedtime routine, and then, if you have the energy, one more small work block after kids are down. But don't build your business plan around 10 PM productivity. Burnout is not a summer activity.

 The Art of “Blended” Work Time

Some of the best entrepreneur-parent hacks aren't about separating work and kids, they're about folding them together. 

Here are some ways to blend.\

1. Bring kids to the work.

Have a client call from a coffee shop while the kids eat muffins and color. Set up a “mini office” next to your desk where your five-year-old can “work” too (old keyboard, sticky notes, and a clipboard go a long way). Let your teen sit nearby and read while you write.

2. Narrate what you're doing.

“I'm working on a project for a client right now so  I need 20 more minutes, then I'm all yours.” Kids (even little ones) respect work when they understand it. You're also modeling focus, follow-through, and the reality that adults have responsibilities they care about.

3. Batch your kid-facing energy

Instead of 12 scattered half-hearted interactions, give your kids two or three fully engaged windows. Thirty minutes of truly present, phone-away time is worth more than four hours of distracted hovering.

4. Use voice memos and notes apps.

Some of your best ideas will come while pushing a stroller or floating in a pool. Capture them. Don't try to execute on them in the moment, just capture and move on.

The Screen Time Reality Check

Let's be honest: screens are going to happen and that's okay. The goal isn't zero screens, but intentional screens.

Here's a few guardrails that help

Set a daily budget that feels reasonable to you (not Instagram).

For most families, 1–2 hours of screen time on a normal summer day is completely fine. Use it strategically during your most important work sprint, or during the hot, cranky afternoon slump.

Swap passive for active when you can

A kid building in Minecraft or following a YouTube art tutorial is doing something fundamentally different from mindlessly scrolling. Choose the stuff that engages their brain.

Make “earning” screen time part of the day.

I took time to work on a “Summer XP” game for the summer where everything they do earns them points, and screen time has a value so they really want to get their chores and activities done. Read for 30 minutes, play outside for an hour, do your one chore and then screens are unlocked. It teaches delayed gratification and takes the negotiation out of it.

Build a Summer Support System

You are not meant to do this alone. Even if you don't have family nearby or a partner who's home, there are ways to build a support system:

Trade childcare with another parent

Find one or two families and rotate. You take their kids Tuesday morning, they take yours Thursday morning. Everyone gets a few golden work hours, and the kids think it's a playdate.

Hire a mother's helper

This isn't like a full nanny. It can be a responsible teenager who comes over for a few hours and plays with your kids while you work from home. It's affordable, and a total game-changer.

Say yes to camps strategically

Even a half-day camp for a couple of weeks can anchor your summer. Pick the weeks when you have big deadlines or launches and stack your support there.

Co-work with other parent friends

Take turns at each other's houses. Kids play together, parents work in the other room. It's free, social, and effective.

Give Kids Real Responsibility

Summer is a perfect time to level-up your kids' independence, which also happens to free up your bandwidth.

Depending on age:

• Toddlers and preschoolers can help with simple sorting, putting toys away, watering plants, and “helping” with cooking (stirring, pouring, tearing lettuce). It's slow. It's messy. But it's engagement that doesn't require you to entertain.
• Elementary-age kids can make their own breakfast, load the dishwasher, fold laundry, feed pets, and manage their own morning checklist. Create a simple visual routine chart and let them own it.
• Tweens and teens? They can cook a meal, run a load of laundry start to finish, babysit younger siblings for a stretch, mow the lawn, or even help with parts of your business (filing, organizing inventory, basic data entry). Pay them. Teach them what it means to earn.

The more they own, the more you free up, and the more capable they feel walking into the next school year.

Protect Your Energy, Not Just Your Time

Time management advice is everywhere. But what most entrepreneur parents actually run out of isn't hours, it's energy (I know this first hand!). 

Here's a few things that help

Plan your week on Sunday

Just take 15 minutes. Know what your top 3 work priorities are, what kid activities are happening, and where your support windows are. You don't need the perfect plan, just a rough map.

Move your body

A 20-minute walk, a quick workout before the kids are up, or even stretching during nap time. Physical energy drives mental energy.

Lower your standards… on purpose (sorry!)

You've gotta realize the house will be messier, dinner will be simpler and some emails will wait. That's fine. Summer is a season, not a lifestyle. Adjust your expectations so you're not running on fumes by July.

Protect one non-negotiable per day

 Pick the one work task that would make today a win, and make sure it happens, even if nothing else does. Most days, you can get more done. But on the hard days, one thing is enough.

The Real Secret

Here's what nobody tells us about summer as an entrepreneur parent, it can actually be good for your business.

The constraint of fewer work hours forces you to prioritize ruthlessly. The slower pace invites ideas you wouldn't have had while grinding at full speed. The presence with your kids fills a well that makes your work sharper and more purposeful when you sit back down.

Try not to think about summer as something to survive. It's something you get to design, imperfectly, flexibly, on your terms.

You had what it took to built a business from nothingo, you can absolutely handle a few months of sunscreen and popsicles.

Now go put your phone in a drawer and go play.