Planning Time as a Self-Employed Human
If you’re self-employed and constantly feel like you should be doing more - more work, more movement, more life admin, more thinking-about-the-future - hi, hello, welcome. You are absolutely not alone.
I wanted to write this because recently I’ve had a bit of a realisation about time, guilt, and what working for yourself is actually meant to look like. And it’s not colour-coded chaos, 5am starts, or pretending you have the same capacity you did pre-children / pre-burnout / pre-real-life.
So this is a blog about lifestyle, planning time, and learning (slowly, imperfectly) how to work with your life instead of constantly fighting it.
A Little Backstory
Last year, I was on my second - and final - maternity leave. I’d been in my marketing job for eight years, and as that maternity leave was coming to an end, I had this very quiet but very persistent feeling that… I didn’t want to go back.
There was no dramatic resignation moment. No big “I quit” speech. Just a slow realisation that the version of work I was heading back into didn’t really fit the version of me I’d become.
So I spent that summer doing two things:
Enjoying my family properly, soaking up the sun, living at the park, watching my kids do absolutely nothing important at all.
Casually dipping my toe into job applications, just to see what was out there.
And honestly? Nothing lit me up.Nothing made me think yes, that’s it. Nothing felt exciting enough to justify the juggle.
The Conversation That Changed Everything
A few weeks later, I was chatting to a friend - and ex-colleague - who’d gone self-employed a couple of years earlier.
She asked if I’d ever thought about working for myself. She talked about building something of her own, choosing her clients, being her own boss. She didn’t sugarcoat it, but she did make it sound possible.
And suddenly, something clicked.
It felt like something I could actually be passionate about. Something I could grow slowly, around my life. Something that belonged to me.
Being my own boss? Yes please.
Building something for myself? Also yes.
So, with a mix of excitement and mild terror, I decided to give it a go
Falling (Accidentally) Into Squarespace Web Design
Long story short, I kind of… fell into Squarespace web design.
I’ve got a general marketing background, plenty of experience working on websites, and apparently a lifelong calling that can be traced all the way back to making custom Bebo skins. (If you know, you know.)
When I zoomed out, it actually made perfect sense:
Marketing knowledge ✔️
Website experience ✔️
Obsession with layout, fonts and colours ✔️
Desire to help small businesses look legit and feel confident online ✔️
Squarespace felt like the perfect intersection of creative, strategic, and practical. And I loved the idea of building websites that weren’t just functional - but full of personality.
So that’s what I started doing..
The Reality of “Getting It Off the Ground”
Since October, I’ve been grinding. There’s no other word for it.
Building a business from scratch is a lot. There are a million moving parts, most of which no one sees. And I am far from perfect.
Far. From. It.
Business development is a huge part of my goals for 2026, and I’m slowly coming to terms with the fact that it’s probably never “finished”. There’s no magical moment where you tick a box and think, great, business is done now.
It’s ongoing. Always evolving. Which is exciting… and exhausting.
Enter: Guilt (My Least Favourite Co-Worker)
Here’s where it gets very real.
I’m a working mum to a four-year-old and a two-year-old. I’m also the default parent and, let’s be honest, the CEO of the household.
And recently, I’ve been carrying a lot of guilt.
Guilt about:
Whether I’m getting enough focused work hours in
Whether I’m moving my body enough (spoiler: not really - running motivation has left the chat, thanks to this weather)
Whether I’m on top of life admin (always no)
Whether I’m doing enough, full stop
I felt like I was constantly behind. Like no matter what I was doing, I should probably be doing something else.
Working? Should be with the kids.
With the kids? Should be working.
Exercising? Should be replying to emails.
Resting? Absolutely not allowed.
It was exhausting. And also… not sustainable.
The Conversation That Reframed Everything (Again)
Then I was chatting to another self-employed friend - a proper guru - who’s been doing this for over ten years.
She told me that as of January 2026, she’s outlined her week in detail:
Exactly when she’s working
Exactly when she’s exercising
Exactly when she has downtime
Exactly when she does life admin
And she follows that routine every week.
Not rigid in a joyless way, but intentional.
She said it took her ten years to realise that this is the whole point of working for yourself. You have the flexibility and authority to dictate this stuff, so why not use it?
So I Tried Something Radical (30 Minutes, Actually)
One day, instead of adding another unrealistic to-do list to my already full Notion, I did something different.
I spent 30 minutes mapping out my week.
Monday to Thursday — my actual working week, because Fridays I’m off with my littlest.
I went pretty granular. Almost hour by hour.
I factored in:
A proper 12–1pm lunch break every day
The days I do the school run
One run a week
One gym class a week
Admin time
Actual focused work time
And honestly? It felt like a weight lifted instantly.
Seeing the Reality on Paper
Here’s the thing: I was already doing most of these things.
But writing them down - properly, clearly, realistically, changed everything.
I realised my working hours are around 22 hours a week.
Twenty-two.
So why on earth was I setting to-do lists and expectations that felt like a full 38-hour working week?
It’s not possible. And more importantly — it’s not fair.
Once I saw my week laid out properly, so much guilt evaporated. I wasn’t failing at time management. I was just expecting too much from the time I actually had.
Movement Without the Mental Noise
Another unexpected win: movement without guilt.
By scheduling one run and one gym class into my week, they stopped feeling like “extras” I had to earn. They became part of the plan.
And movement is just… good. For the soul. For the brain. For the body.
I am objectively a better worker when I’ve been outside, breathed in fresh air, and moved my body recently. That’s not laziness - that’s biology.
And isn’t that the whole point of being self-employed? To build a life that supports you, not one that drains you?
A Love Letter to Realistic Planning
I use Notion for planning (highly recommend if you don’t already), but honestly, this isn’t about the tool.
It’s about:
Looking at your week realistically
Accepting your actual capacity
Designing your time around your life, not an imaginary ideal version of it
This exercise didn’t take long. But the impact has been huge.
I feel calmer. Clearer. Kinder to myself.
If You’re Self-Employed, Please Try This
If you’re a freelancer, business owner, or self-employed human feeling constantly behind, I really recommend doing this.
Map out your week. Include life. Include rest. Include movement. Include admin.
Then look at it honestly. You might find, like I did, that you’re not doing too little. You’re just asking too much of yourself.
And once you stop doing that? Everything feels lighter.