Yes, it is possible to build a lucrative career in school hours. Here’s how

Many working parents dream of a day when they can log off at 3pm for afternoons with their children, safe in the knowledge they can tick “procure income” off their to-do list for that day. But how can you cut back your working hours without sacrificing your financial security?

We spoke to three working parents who have done just that to find out how they manage to work less without taking a backward step in their careers.

Working within school hours doesn’t need to mean sacrificing your career, according to experts.Credit: iStock

Consider consulting

Melbourne leadership and change coach Louise Gilbert says increasing numbers of professional parents, including herself, are turning to consulting, coaching and freelance work so they can work in a more flexible way around their kids’ schedules.

“When your kids enter primary school, I think the juggle becomes really real,” says Gilbert, author of Make Work Work For You and mum of Harrison, 8, and Elodie, 6.

“It’s often a time when you move into self-employment because you realise that time is limited and this is the only time your kids are going to be kids – it’s time to stop grinding so hard and be a bit more available.”

But that’s not to say working for someone else need be ruled out entirely.

“Too many organisations are missing the opportunity for flexibility,” Gilbert says. “Flexible working options significantly boost retention.”

“There are pockets [embracing] the four-day-week, but it needs to be more the norm rather than the exception – there are studies that show the proven business benefits.”

Demonstrate your value

If you want to keep your current job and negotiate a school-hours work week, Gilbert suggests you get clear on the value you bring to your role.

“It’s about focusing your mindset and demonstrating value based on impact and outcomes achieved rather than hours worked – don’t default to the assumption you need to take a role less senior [in order to work part-time hours],” she says.

“I think there is a bit of a stigma around part-time work that people who are in part-time roles aren’t as serious about their careers, which is just not true. We need leaders to role model flexible ways of working and start to experiment with things like job-sharing leadership opportunities.”

Reassessing your definition of success is an important step when finding balance between work and family.Credit: iStock

Understand your definition of success

Kate Toon, author of Six Figures In School Hours, says that embracing a school-hours digital marketing career required her to adjust her earning expectations.

“For me, the key was working out my minimum viable income, the least amount of money I needed to survive and have an OK life, instead of constantly being aspirational,” says Toon, who is mum to Orion, 15.

“Really cutting costs meant that I didn’t have to work quite as hard. But then, because I didn’t feel pressured to work hard, I was able to work harder. It’s a weird thing, but when you take the pressure off, it frees you a little bit.”

Dropping back to a school-hours job might not earn the same as a full-time corporate job, but Toon says there are more ways to measure success than just income.

“People leave a full-time job and say, ‘I want to make the income I made in my full-time job and that will be success’, but I’m like, ‘Is that success?’” she says.

“You’re no longer commuting, you’re no longer spending $20 on a sandwich at lunch, and you no longer have to work with ‘Maureen’. Why measure yourself against someone in a full-time job? Why make that your metric?”

Work around your body clock

Jessami Kingsley, 45, from the Bellarine Peninsula, regularly wakes at 5am most days to knock over a couple of work hours before the busy morning starts.

Kingsley started her business, Virtual Forte, which links professionally skilled mums with flexible virtual assistant roles, after leaving her project management role in 2020, looking for a fulfilling occupation without a four-hour commute.

Jessami Kingsley, founder of Virtual Forte.

“My most important thing is spending time with my family, and I do the bulk of my work before my kids are even up and the craziness starts,” says Kingsley, mum to Eden, 8, and Paddy, 5.

“I can work when I’m at my most productive, scheduling emails [for later in the day] – I get more done, and it’s more rewarding.”

Toon recommends the Pomodoro method of working, where you do four sessions of working in 25-minute bursts with five-minute breaks.

“Only put three things on your to-do list, including the time you’ll allow for each task. There’s this idea of Parkinson’s law that whatever time you give a task, it’ll take that long,” she says.

“Write your to-do list for tomorrow the night before so when you turn up at your desk, you just do the first thing on your list.”

Only work when you’re working

Above all, Toon says you don’t want to end up working every waking minute just to be able to do the school runs.

“It’s super important to know whether you’re ‘on’ or ‘off’ so you’re not trying to work while you’re with your kids – it means you’re hyper-focused,” she says.

“You’re more productive if you’re just focusing on one thing. And if you need to use the soccer practice time [to work], do the most low-brain unimportant tasks – reconcile your Xero accounts or do your social media. But ideally, if you’re at soccer practice, you sit and read a book and do nothing and save your work for your work time.”

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