[jkeel]

I have 4 children and they are all young (under 10). While after having kids my motivation and drive to do more increased, it actually took a few years for me to figure out what worked for me. I had to give up a couple of my most favorite past times (writing music, playing in bands, and video games).

I found I had to just pick one major task to do in my spare time so I chose focusing on personal projects. I usually woke up earlier than everyone else and went to bed later than everyone else to make it work. I would commit to at least 1 full hour to working on a project per night (which wouldn't always work out). The key for getting a project done was laying out the tasks and always moving forward so that every hour was spent getting closer to completion.

It was a long road but I now enjoy working for myself as an independent consultant, I have a side project I work with a friend on, and I have my own product I'm working on as well.

I would say that it's a little easier when the children get older but not too much as they start becoming more active in activities like girl/boy scouts, sports, etc.