Can Stay-at-Home Moms Really Freelance Write During Nap Time?

The Nap-Time Fantasy 

You sit down and gently rock your baby for their nap.

They don’t cry.

They don’t fuss.

They just look lovingly into your eyes as they slowly float off to sleep.

And it only takes five minutes.

You lay them down, tiptoe out of the room, and feel energized and ready to make real progress on your freelance writing career.

You sit at your desk with a HOT cup of coffee and write to your heart’s content. You finish everything.

Your baby wakes up exactly two hours later.

Oh.

And you make a ton of money.

If you’ve seen those Instagram versions of working SAHM life and rolled your eyes…

Same.

Because real life looks different.

Your baby might fall asleep in five minutes.

Or it might take forty-five minutes, and you stumble out of a dark nursery, listen to the sound machine for way too long, and then have to wake your own brain back up to function like a normal human.

And trying to write after that?

I’ll be honest. I’ve sat down and stared at the wall for twenty minutes because my brain just could not. The exhaustion is very real, y’all.

And hot coffee?

Does reheated count?

So listen. If you’ve ever wondered whether you can build a freelance writing career during nap time,

I really do get it.

I’m a SAHM, and when I started freelancing, I had a six-month-old and a two-year-old. It was loud and chaotic, and I questioned my life choices more than once.

Now they’re four and six. And I’m here to tell you, it’s absolutely possible.

But let’s talk about what nap time freelancing looks like in real life.

The Short Answer (Because Moms Don’t Have Time for Fluff)

Yes. You can freelance during nap time.

No. It’s not going to feel like a full-time job magically squeezed into one nap.

And honestly, that part messed with me at first.

Before I became a SAHM, I had routines and systems I followed every single day. I worked outside the house, which made it way easier to mentally leave work at work.

Now? The laundry is staring at me while I try to write.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened my laptop and thought,

“Should I be doing this… or should I be cleaning, cooking, switching laundry, or picking up the same toy for the fifteenth time?”

So no, it won’t look perfect.

But you can build a business in tiny pockets of time.

The Truth About How Long Nap Time Really Lasts

There are four types of naps:

• unpredictable naps

• contact naps

• the perfect nap (extremely rare and never on the days you really need it)

• suddenly they don’t-nap-anymore-naps

Here’s the gentle reality check.

Your business has to work no matter which one you get that day.

That’s why simple routines matter way more than long, dreamy stretches of quiet.

What’s Actually Realistic to do During Nap Time

Think of nap time as execution time.

Not thinking time.

Not planning time.

Not “let me rethink my entire business” time.

Just checking things off.

Things like:

• writing client work, as long as it’s clearly defined

• editing or polishing drafts

• pitching or following up

• outlining blog posts

• light admin like invoices, contracts, and sending files

You shouldn’t be sitting down every day trying to figure out what you’re supposed to work on.

You should already know before you ever open your laptop.

Because there’s a very real chance you’re going to be interrupted.

Nap time works best for focused, straightforward tasks so you can actually get something done before someone wakes up.

Save the thinking and planning for other parts of your day.

The Real Reason Most Moms Struggle With Nap Time Freelancing

If you’ve tried to make this work and it keeps feeling impossible:

It’s not because you aren’t good enough.

It’s not because you lack discipline.

It’s because being a stay-at-home mom is hard.

It’s amazing. I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

But it’s also loud, overstimulating, and mentally exhausting.

You clean one room and immediately find another one destroyed.

There are constant snacks and meals and cups of milk requests.

Sometimes you’re writing while a kid is literally lying across your back.

Been there.

So when you finally sit down, open your laptop, and think,

“What should I even be working on right now?”

and your brain goes completely blank…

That’s not failure.

That’s decision fatigue.

The Shift That Actually Makes Nap Time Freelancing Work

Here’s the deal.

You don’t need more time.

You need a simple, repeatable plan.

If you’re just getting started, simplify everything.

Only have:

• One clear service

Focusing on one type of writing keeps your brain from bouncing between different styles and projects.

• One clear way clients find you

One place to check for work, updates, and messages. Not five. 

• One clear weekly rhythm

A basic plan for what your week usually looks like.

When your brain doesn’t have to decide what to work on, you can finally use short windows productively.

And yes, you’ll probably still work outside of nap time sometimes.

That’s normal.

But when your tasks are clear, and your calendar makes sense, you can jump in and make real progress during the little pockets of time you have.

You Can Do This, but Only If You Stop Trying To Do It The Hard Way

Drop the nap time fantasy.

Nap time isn’t your business plan.

It’s your workspace.

Sometimes that workspace includes cold coffee, a baby who wakes up the second you start typing, and half-finished sentences because someone suddenly needs a snack right now.

And that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

You just need a simpler way to use the time you already have.

If you want a realistic way to get started without turning nap time into a second full-time job, that’s exactly what Pajama Writer is built for. Dez has simple tools that walk you through this, so you’re not piecing it all together on your own.

You don’t need more hours in the day.

You just need a better plan for the ones you already have.