When I got pregnant for the second time, in 2022, and subsequently went fractional at work, a lot of people assumed this was because I wanted to ease up on my work load and make more room for my growing family.
While that might be the case for why some people go fractional, that couldn’t be further from the truth for me; I went fractional to do more work, not less. Let me explain.
In Mom Math, 2 + 2 Does Not Always Equal Four
I know I still have 24 hours in the day as a parent. But for some reason that math doesn’t add up the same way it used to. I can wake up at 6 a.m. and still not have time for my first cup of coffee until 8:30 or 9 a.m. I can put the kids down for bed at 8 and not sit down in front of my computer or TV until 9:30 p.m.
As a parent, my time is shorter, and burstier. (Not to mention full of interruptions!) In between inconsistent bedtime routines and always-on weekends, being a parent means it’s impossible to find long blocks of time to get work done off hours. On a good day, I’m lucky to get a solid 30 minutes to myself when I’m home with both kids.
Traditional full-time work often goes hand-in-hand with rigid schedules with intermittent meetings from 10 a.m. - 4:30 or 5 p.m. It can be hard to find uninterrupted blocks of time during the 9-5 workday for a “deep work” focus period. Pre-parenthood, I could work around this by logging extra hours at night or on weekends, but with kids, that quickly becomes untenable.
About one year into balancing a full-time job and parenting, I realized that I needed more control over my schedule to maintain (if not exceed) my previous pre-parent productivity.
Fractional work lets me juggle multiple roles and fit work into the natural rhythm of my life. It’s not about being present every moment; it’s about intentional time-blocking: the 5-8 p.m. window is strictly kid and house time. Then, if needed, I’ll check back in afterward to prepare for the next day.
This level of control is what makes fractional work especially appealing to parents. I suspect it’s also why parents in traditional full-time roles are more likely to request hybrid or remote schedules. For many, even a few precious hours working from home while the kids are at school can be the difference between peace and productivity.
Context Shift Like a Parent
But there’s another reason why parents are particularly well-suited for fractional work: We can context shift like no other.
Have you ever watched a parent of multiple kids have a conversation with a friend at the playground? It goes a little something like this:
“Yeah so I don’t know, we haven’t quite figured out our summer camp schedules yet, what are you–JIMMY DON’T TOUCH THAT WE JUST WASHED YOUR HANDS!”
“We haven’t figured out our schedules either, but we do want to get away at the end of August.”
“Oh yes! We’ve got our first wedding in ages at the end of–NO! TOO FAR, HONEY!–at the end of July, we are thinking of pairing it with a trip upstate.”
“That reminds me!–Sweetie? No snacks right now.–Speaking up trips upstate, I ran into Alexandra last weekend–Why? Because we just had crackers!–and she’s game to talk with you about that job you mention–DON’T go in the bag. Lunch is in 15 minutes–Anyway, do you want me to introduce you two?”
“That would be great!”
And would you look at that, in the context of four grafs of dialogue, you can cover summer plans, weddings, jobs, and a requisite dose of public safety for the kids.
Say what you will about the always-distracted parent, but I’m convinced this multitasking mindset sharpens our minds for complex projects. In fractional work, context-shifting is essential—and parenting trains you well. A fractional parent can handle texts from one client while on a Zoom with another, quickly drill into meeting details without the fluff, and pick up on multi-threaded nuances with ease.
Thanks to fractional work, today, I am able to juggle multiple jobs, and work in odd bursts of time, to coordinate all of that work, alongside the lives of my kids. Does this mean I’m fully present all the time for my kids? No, of course not. But since I’m so used to dividing my work projects up into fractions, I time box my tasks around the house in a similar way.
Let's be honest: If you're a parent, you're already use to looking at your life in fractions. Why not try fully fractional work on for size to see how it feels?
