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I used to struggle with getting things done. I’m a mom of two, and I used to think, ‘If I just had enough time…’ or ‘If only there were more hours in a day…’ until I realised I was actually using a few hours each day simply scrolling.

That was a bit of a wake-up call for me.

There are some tiny changes I made over the last few years that have actually made a big difference in my life. Now I can do the things that are important to me: being a present mom, running my YouTube channel, an Instagram account, an online business, working out three to four times a week, running, reading, doing the school runs, and being a silly mom who joins in on the fun, all without the burnout. 

Keep reading below or watch the video:

1. Give yourself confidence boosts

I used to think I wasn’t a confident person. And back in my 20s, I think I actually wasn’t. I was lacking confidence. But the problem was that I was, in a way, waiting for it to come so I could do the things I wanted to do. 

I was recently listening to Dr Julie Smith, a psychologist, on Instagram. She was talking about how we can’t get more confidence by thinking or talking about it. We gain confidence only by doing the thing, because our brain learns through evidence. So the more we prove to our brain that we can do something, the more confident it will be next time we try to do that thing. And it just builds up from there. 

For example, that’s how it goes when starting a YouTube channel. The first videos on my channel were so cringe—please don’t look at them, seriously. They weren’t that great, and that’s okay. I wasn’t confident on camera, but the more videos I filmed, the more that confidence built.

Had I just waited for that confidence to come, I never would have actually started or grown my YouTube channel. 

It’s those small things we do that prove a point to ourselves—not to anyone else—that slowly build our confidence.

And in his book Atomic Habits, James Clear discusses the ‘identity shift’: the way we see ourselves actually influences the actions we take. So it’s really important to notice how we talk about ourselves and the self-talk that runs in our heads.

For example, if I keep saying, ‘I’m just not a runner,’ I’ll never go running. I’ll never go on those small runs that help me improve over time, because I’ve already told my brain, ‘That’s not something I do.’

But if I start saying, ‘Actually, I’m a fit person,’ then I’ll begin taking those small actions that build my confidence bit by bit. In a way, it’s a ‘fake it till you make it’ approach, but I guess that’s just how our brains work.

So I started telling myself I’m a fit person, and I began working out more seriously. And I’ve been consistent every single week ever since. I work out three times a week.

I’ve told myself I’m a content creator. So every week I post a video on YouTube and share content on Instagram. It’s because that’s who I am. That’s what I do.

Another thing I tell myself is: I’m a mom I’m proud of. And I find that helps me be less shouty, more calm, and respond differently in situations that I’d otherwise find triggering.

This can apply to so many areas of life. And if you struggle with confidence or with taking action toward the changes you know you want—but you’re not quite sure how to get there—this can be a really good place to start.

2. Chase the good dopamine bubbles

This is something I learned from T.J. Power. Basically, our brain craves being rewarded for hard work. And when we do something like scroll on TikTok, we get just a quick dopamine hit and then a crash. It’s a spike in dopamine because it feels good in the moment. But the second we turn off the phone, that dopamine instantly drops, and we just feel awful. We don’t want to get up, and we feel kind of blah all day. Only because the dopamine we got wasn’t the kind that lasts.

In contrast, doing something that requires effort is rewarding for our brains. It helps create little dopamine ‘bubbles’ that, over time, boost our overall happiness and motivation in life.

For example, one thing I’m doing that’s boosting my dopamine in a really good way is taking a Skillshare class. Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this part of the article!

I took Ali Abdaal’s Productivity Masterclass, and it really opened my eyes to how motivation works—or, honestly, how it doesn’t work—when we’re trying to be productive. He points out that we can’t just rely on motivation; we have to get started before motivation even kicks in.

This is actually how I’ve been able to grow my YouTube channel. Over the past few years, I’ve spent a lot of time improving my content, staying consistent every week, and learning these little productivity tricks that actually make a difference.

Since taking the class, I’ve even improved how I use Notion—the app I use to plan my content and pretty much everything else in my life. I go on there, create my board, and make my to-do lists. This has helped me be more productive and get more done without feeling like I’m going to crash.

So, if you’re a creative, a content creator, an entrepreneur, or even just someone who wants to learn or improve a skill, you’d love Skillshare. It’s the largest online learning community, with classes on everything from art and photography to graphic design, habits, and so much more.

And the first 500 people to use this link will get a one-month free trial. I’m telling you, it’s so worth it!

3. The social contract

This is also something I learned in Ali’s class, and it’s really given me some actionable steps I can take to really improve my life and my work. 

For example, I used to be so inconsistent on YouTube. Even though it was something I really wanted to do, for some reason, it was hard to stick with it. But when I committed to posting a video every Saturday, I basically created a social contract with my channel subscribers.

That means I feel accountable to post every Saturday—I know people are expecting it. And if I don’t, I get messages from people saying they missed it, which is really lovely. It actually makes me want to post consistently because I want to be the kind of person who shows up and does what she says she’s going to do.

So, if you’re struggling with productivity or sticking to something, having someone hold you accountable—creating that kind of social contract—can be a really helpful tool. It might just help you follow through and actually do the things you say you’re going to do.

4. Use pockets of time

This is a habit I started after becoming a parent. Before that, I had a lot of time to do whatever I wanted. But once I had kids, my time for actually doing things for myself became really limited.

I noticed that whenever I had a few minutes of downtime—waiting for something, sitting in the car, or whatever—my go-to activity was just picking up my phone and scrolling. It was a mindless activity. I didn’t really have to think about it, and that’s why my screen time was so high back then.

But I also realised that if I wanted to grow my business, my YouTube channel, or do the things that matter to me, I needed to use those little pockets of time better. Instead of scrolling aimlessly, maybe I could open my notes app and draft a script or outline for my next video. Or I could do something on Instagram, like edit a video.

These small moments happen in places like the doctor’s office, in the car before the school run, or other little buffers of time when I’m not really doing anything. I used to always turn to scrolling. Now I try to bring a book with me or have something productive to do on my phone instead of mindlessly scrolling on Instagram or TikTok.

Recently, I’ve even been thinking about getting a Kindle. Sometimes I spend almost an hour in my toddler’s room at bedtime waiting for her to fall asleep. I don’t want to doomscroll, but it’s dark, so I can’t really read a regular book. A Kindle might solve that. I’ve never used one before, so let me know your thoughts if you have one already.

Those little pockets of time can be super helpful for getting things done during moments of downtime. It just takes a bit of planning ahead.

5. Less consuming, more creating

This one was hard for me. I think a lot of us spend so much time online these days. I noticed a direct correlation between the time I spend scrolling on my phone—usually on Instagram—and feeling the urge to shop.

It’s not always intentional, and it’s not always things I really need or even want. But just scrolling, seeing all those things, creates this desire in the brain to buy stuff.

That’s also why, in the past, I used to be a bit of a shopaholic. I’d buy a lot of things, often not intentionally—getting the same item in three different colours, for example, even if it wasn’t that special. I would end up not wearing all of them, so the purchase hadn’t been great for my budget.

So, I’ve been trying to put more of my energy into creating rather than just mindlessly consuming content. Maybe working on a hobby, or creating content for my Instagram or YouTube channel—just shifting the focus from buying, scrolling, and consuming to something a bit more productive for me.

Honestly, it just makes my life better, rather than zapping my budget and making me feel guilty afterwards.

I started doing things like keeping a wish list and being intentional about what I actually want. It’s not that I don’t shop anymore, but the things I do buy are items I really want in my life. I tend to sit on them for a while, think it through, and make sure it’s a considered purchase, rather than impulsively shopping, shoving things in my wardrobe, and then never wearing them again.

6. The 15-minute rule

I think I first heard about it on a podcast with T.J. Power and it’s something that honestly blew my mind. Power also wrote the book The Dose Effect, in which he talks a lot about the different chemicals in our brain—dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, all of that.

When we start an action—especially something we don’t enjoy that takes a lot of effort, like working out, cleaning the house, or even decluttering—it can take our brain 10 to 15 minutes to start releasing dopamine ‘bubbles’. These are the little motivation bursts that keep us going. And that’s when our brain begins to get into a flow state.

Starting to clean can be really hard sometimes; we often put it off for ages. But once we begin and get into it, it becomes much easier to carry on. We don’t have to think about it too much—maybe we’ve got some music playing in the background—and it’s just easier to keep going because our brain has started releasing those dopamine bubbles. We feel more motivated and able to continue the task.

So now I try to think, okay, I don’t need to wait for motivation to kick in. I just need to start the action and do the thing I know I need to do. The motivation will come once I’m going through the motions.

Even with working out, I notice that when I just start—doing the warm-up and a little bit here and there—I’m not really into it at first. But after a few minutes, I suddenly start enjoying it, and I want to keep going. Finishing the workout doesn’t feel like such a chore once I’ve actually started. I don’t always feel like working out, but once I start, it’s so much easier. 

So this 15-minute rule really makes sense to me.

7. Productive procrastination

Again, this is something I learned from Ali Abdaal. I’ve learned so much from him, and he also has his Feel-Good Productivity book that’s been super helpful.

Basically, I used to procrastinate on things I didn’t really feel like doing. But Ali talks about something called ‘productive procrastination’, where we’re procrastinating, but we still have a project we’re working on in mind. I think it’s especially useful when we’re doing something creative.

For example, when I’m filming my YouTube videos, sometimes I struggle with what I want to say or share. It actually helps if I go and read books on similar topics—like Atomic Habits or Feel-Good Productivity—or watch YouTube videos that are related, or even sometimes unrelated, but that inspire me in a different way. Maybe they spark ideas for my storytelling.

And maybe you’re ‘productive procrastinating’ right now by reading this, and hopefully you’re learning something too. The things we do to procrastinate can sometimes actually help us in life. I know I’ve watched countless YouTube videos on storytelling, filmmaking, and creating content—which can feel like procrastination—but they’ve really helped me in my work.

I’d love to hear from you: what habits help you be more productive? Your comments are always so helpful.