39. Building Dreams on Little Sleep

Can you really build big dreams when you’re running on five hours of broken sleep? Spoiler alert: Yes - and it’s beautiful.

This episode is your cozy, caffeinated pep talk for those tired nights and chaotic mornings. We’re not glorifying burnout - we’re celebrating the beautiful, messy, persistent work of building dreams in the middle of real life. If you’re a tired parent trying to grow something meaningful, this one’s for you.

Key Questions the Episode Answers:

• How do you redefine productivity when you’re exhausted?
• What does real progress look like when you have tiny humans depending on you?
• Why is rest essential to building your dreams?
• How can you prioritize without burning out?
• Why do small wins matter more than we think?
• How do you stay encouraged during slow, tired seasons?

Cheers! Thank you for joining us for another episode. Have a chaotic moment, question, or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message or leave a review! If you loved this episode, share it with a friend who thrives in beautiful chaos too.

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• Sip and Share: Click here to submit

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Transcript

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Today's episode is for anyone who's ever whispered to themselves. I'll work on it after bedtime only to realize after bedtime means after 47 rounds of needing water hugs and more book, if you're running on five hours of sleep, maybe less and still daring to build something meaningful. This one's for you. So sip on that extra strong coffee today'cause we're gonna need it. Let's dive in. Welcome to Caffeinated Chaos, where business deals happen between diaper changes and friendships are fueled by caffeine. I'm Whitney GaN, your host, and I'm here to talk all things business parenthood, and of course keeping up with the BFFs, whether you're juggling the boardroom, the playroom, or just here for some coffee fuel chaos. We've got you covered. Get ready for real talk, laughs and a whole lot of heart as we dive into the beautiful mess that is entrepreneurship, parenthood, and everything in between. So let's embrace the chaos together. Caffeinated, of course. Hello, friends. So here's the thing, I'm not here to push that toxic sleep when you're dead. Narrative not about that life. Don't, don't do that. I'm not about glorifying burnout or pretending that we can do it all. That's not real life, especially not real life when there are little humans relying on you for literally everything. I'm here to honor this very real, very human season where dreams. Don't just get paused, but they do get built in the margins, basically, the in-betweens, maybe it's in between diaper changes. Nap time at 10:00 PM when the world is finally quiet and you're so tired, you can barely spell your own name. So let me paint you a picture real quick. Okay. It's 11:37 PM The baby's finally down. The taller has asked for water, a different stuffed animal, two blankets, and all. Within the last hour, we finally get them all down. I sit at my laptop, I'm finally ready to do the thing that's been living in my head all day, and I just stare. I just stare at it. Blink. Think about cheese sticks for no reason. Type a few words, delete them. Yawn. I mean, friends, this is the reality of dreaming tired. It's not glamorous, it's not Instagram worthy, but it is sacred. It's sacred because it's the proof that you believe in something, even when your body is screaming for rest. And let's be honest, those dreams, they're usually powered by the trifecta. Ready? Cold coffee, questionable snacks, and pure stubborn determination. Forget the 5:00 AM Miracle Mornings at Self-Help Books rave about our five ams look like peeling a sticker off the baby's bottom while checking your email with one eye open and somehow, somehow. We still get up and keep building. So how do you build your dreams when your brain is feeling like mashed potatoes? How do you keep moving forward when you're just so bone deep, tired? Here are a few things that kept me afloat that might be able to help you. One. Redefine what counts as a productive day. This one I really had to do. Your dream building doesn't have to look like eight hours of uninterrupted focus. It can look like 15 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It can look like recording a podcast intro while the baby naps. I'm recording this episode while both kids are still asleep. My husband has already left for work and this is the one time I get quiet. And will it last? No. I probably have about 10 more minutes, but that's the point. It can look like brainstorming business ideas while you're stuck in the pickup line or the checkout line. Progress is progress even if it's messy, imperfect, and squeezed between life's chaotic moments. Two, when. Your time is limited. You have to let go of perfectionism. You don't need to do everything. You just need to do the next right thing. What's the one thing that you could do today that would move the needle and know? Reorganizing your whole office doesn't count unless your office is literally on fire. Okay? Think about it. What is the one thing. That you could do today that would move the needle. Three. Here's your permission. Slip if you need it. Okay. You are allowed to take a nap. You are allowed to close the laptop and go to bed. Did you hear me? Dreams aren't built in burnout mode. They're built in resilience and resilience requires rest. Okay, four. Finish that Instagram post. Celebrate sent that invoice. Celebrate. Do you get where I'm going with this? Brainstorm ideas while washing bottles. Celebrate these tiny wins. Add up and laying the foundation that you're going to build on tomorrow. So celebrate your micro win. It's, I think sometimes, especially in parenthood, we fall into this trap where we think, if I can't give 100%, it's not worth doing. But you know what? Some seasons aren't about giving 100%. Some seasons are about giving what you have, even if it's 20%, even if it's 5%, because here's the secret, consistency matters more than intensity. Your dreams aren't asking you for perfection. They're just asking you to show up. Is that sleepy? Is that messy? Is that imperfect? Who knows? As long as you still show up. If you are listening to this right now, maybe while bouncing a baby on your hip, or stirring mac and cheese at the stove, I get it. I want you to hear me loud and clear. You are not behind. You are not failing. You are not less than because you are tired. You are building something sacred in the cracks of your exhaustion. You are weaving dreams into your days when your hands are full and your energy is low, and someday sooner than you think you are gonna look back and realize you were never standing still and you were always growing. Even when you were tired, even when you were sleep deprived. Even with dried apple sauce on your shirt, you my friend, are doing the dang thing and you are doing it beautifully. Alright, friends, if today's episode spoke to your very sleepy soul, I'd be honored if you screenshot it tagged me over on Instagram. At Caffe Chaos Podcast and tell me what dream are you building, even if it's on five hours of sleep. Also, if you have a chaotic, hilarious, or just plain real parenting moment, you wanna share, submit it on our sip and share segment. It might actually just make it onto the show. And yes, don't worry. You can stay totally anonymous. No judgment, just community. The link is in the bio. No one will know who's gonna know. We're in this together, friend, dreaming, tired, building beautifully, and living just a little caffeinated. Until next time, keep showing up. Keep chasing what matters, and remember, even tiny steps move you forward. All right, now friends, I will see you in the next episode. Bye now.