Finding time to study while raising children is far more difficult than it sounds.
For many years, my life revolved almost entirely around motherhood and running a household. I went through two pregnancies, raised two children, cooked meals, cleaned the house, and managed the endless cycle of everyday family life.
The days were full, but they passed quickly.
Then, more than a decade later, I began thinking seriously about returning to study. I started researching PhD programs abroad and wondering whether it was still possible to pursue a long-forgotten academic goal.
Looking back, there is one habit that made all the difference:
The quiet habit of getting up before dawn.
Not because I had discovered some productivity trend or miracle routine. In fact, I had never even heard the phrase “Miracle Morning” when I first started.
Even before having children, I loved the quiet hours before sunrise. During the early years of marriage, I often woke up while the house was still quiet, made coffee, and read for an hour before the day began.
That habit disappeared once children arrived. Like many parents, I was simply too tired.
Years later, when my younger child was around two and a half and started nursery, I gradually began reclaiming that time.
Early Mornings Are About Quality, Not Quantity
People sometimes imagine that waking at 4 a.m. gives you an enormous amount of extra time.
In reality, I get at most two quiet hours before the day begins. By six o’clock, breakfast needs to be prepared and the day starts moving.
But those two hours feel different from any other part of the day.
Mothers know how quickly those school hours disappear. There is always something waiting to be done — an email to answer, a load of laundry, an errand, an appointment, or one of a hundred small tasks that somehow fill the day.
During the day, concentration is constantly
interrupted.
In the early morning, there is nothing.
Just silence.
And in that silence, problems that seemed impossible the day before often begin to untangle themselves.
Ideas become clearer. Writing becomes easier. Difficult decisions feel more manageable.
Much of my PhD application, including my research proposal, was built during those quiet hours.
The Routine That Works for Me
When I started my doctoral studies, I developed a simple rule.
The most demanding work happens in the morning.
The lighter work happens during the day.
After four o’clock, I switch fully back into mum mode.
The early hours are reserved for reading, writing, thinking, and anything that requires creativity or deep concentration.
Daytime study is usually limited to administrative tasks, note-taking, organising references, or lighter reading.
It is not a perfect system, but it works.
Consistency Matters More Than Perfection
One lesson I have learned is that progress does not require perfect conditions.
You do not need entire days of uninterrupted study.
You simply need to keep going.
Even a small amount of consistent effort helps maintain momentum.
For mums, studying rarely happens because there is spare time. It happens because time is carved out of an already busy day.
Waking up at 4 a.m. is still difficult. Some mornings I am tired. Some mornings I sleep through the alarm. Some weeks go better than others.
But even now, those quiet hours remain the foundation of my academic work. Without them, I am not sure I would have made it this far.
There is something reassuring about watching the sky slowly brighten while working towards a goal that once felt impossible.
I’ll share more about that journey in another post — including the study routine that helped me pursue a PhD while raising two children on my own.
