Coding with Constant Interruptions: A Parent's Survival Guide

• Parenting with Systems, Developer Productivity • 7 min read
#productivity #parenting #workflow #systems #time-management

It’s 11:47 PM. You finally have both hands free and a quiet house. You open your laptop, fire up VSCode, and stare at the code you were working on… yesterday? Last week? The comments you left for yourself now read like cryptic notes from a stranger: "TODO: fix."

"Fix"? Fix what?!

By the time you remember what you were doing, you have maybe eight minutes before exhaustion wins. You manage to write three lines of code, realize you broke something, and hear crying from the nursery.

Sound familiar?

Why Standard Productivity Advice Fails Parents

Most developer productivity advice assumes you have uninterrupted blocks of time. "Just use the Pomodoro Technique!" they say. "Time-box your deep work!"

Right. Let me just explain to my toddler that Mommy is in a focused work session and cannot be interrupted for the next 25 minutes. I’m sure he'll understand.

The reality is that parent developers need completely different strategies. We don’t need advice on how to focus for hours—we need to know how to make meaningful progress before the kiddo has finished testing all the crayons in this box and needs a new box. (We've discussed the fact that all the colors are the same between the two boxes, and while I'm pretty sure he understands, he still insists on testing both sets.)

The Mindset Shift: From Blocks to Fragments

Traditional developer thinking: "I need at least 2-3 hours to get into flow state and accomplish anything meaningful."

Parent developer reality: "I can write a function while my kid watches one seven-minute Helper Cars episode, debug during 40-minute naptime, and deploy after bedtime."

Small, frequent progress beats waiting for perfect conditions.

I’ve shipped entire new projects in 15-minute increments. Not because it’s ideal—because it’s what you've got when you’re moonlighting at coding as a full-time parent.

Strategies That Actually Work

1. Leave Breadcrumbs for Future You

Never close your laptop without leaving yourself a note about what you were doing and what comes next. Your future self—whether that’s in 20 minutes or 3 days—will thank you.

What I do:

  • Always commit with descriptive messages, even for work-in-progress
  • Leave TODO comments with specific next steps
  • Keep a simple text file open with "where I left off" notes

Example workflow:

// TODO: Next - add validation for email field in UserForm.tsx
// Problem: handleSubmit isn't calling the API correctly
// Test with: npm test -- UserForm

2. Optimize for Quick Restarts

The biggest productivity killer isn’t the interruption itself—it’s the time it takes to get back into context. Design your workflow for fast context switching.

Environment shifts that help:

  • Keep your development server running (even when stepping away)
  • Use terminal tabs/windows that stay open with the right directories
  • Have your browser tabs pre-loaded with the right localhost ports
  • Keep your code editor open with the relevant files

Basically do the opposite of what I'm always telling my toddler: don't clean up after yourself.

3. Embrace "Good Enough" Commits

Perfect is the enemy of shipped when you’re a parent developer. I’ve learned to commit early and often, even if the code isn’t perfect.

My philosophy: working software that ships is infinitely better than perfect code that never gets finished.

Some of my largest projects were built in tiny commits with messages like:

  • "Basic login working, needs cleanup"
  • "Ugly but functional user dashboard"
  • "Fixed the bug, will refactor later"

4. Batch Similar Tasks

When you only have small windows of time, context switching between different types of work is expensive. Try to batch similar activities:

  • Writing day: Focus on documentation, comments, planning
  • Coding day: Pure implementation, bug fixes
  • Testing day: QA, debugging, deployment

This isn’t always possible, but when you can batch, it helps maintain momentum.

5. Build for Resumability

Design your projects so they’re easy to pick up after days or weeks away:

  • Clear documentation: Write README files like you’re explaining to a stranger
  • Consistent structure: Use the same patterns or frameworks across projects
  • Good logging: When things break, you need to quickly understand why
  • Automated tests: Confidence that you didn’t break anything while away

6. Let AI Handle Context Switching

This is where 2025 parent developers have a massive advantage. AI coding assistants excel at the exact problems we face: understanding unfamiliar code quickly, filling in context, and maintaining momentum in short bursts.

The parent developer AI workflow:

  1. Open project after days away
  2. Ask AI: "What is this codebase and what was the last significant change?"
  3. Get oriented in 30 seconds instead of 10 minutes
  4. Make meaningful progress in your remaining time

AI strategies that work:

  • Quick context recovery: When you can’t remember what you were doing, ask your AI assistant to analyze recent commits or current files
  • Boilerplate generation: Don’t spend precious minutes on repetitive code—AI handles forms, API calls, test stubs instantly
  • Smart documentation: AI can generate comments, README updates, or todo lists from existing code

The Two-Minute Rule for Developers

Borrowed from productivity expert David Allen but adapted for coding: If a coding task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately.

This includes:

  • Fixing obvious typos
  • Adding missing semicolons
  • Updating a quick comment
  • Installing a package you know you need
  • Pushing your latest commits

These micro-improvements add up and prevent the "death by a thousand small tasks" problem.

Managing the Emotional Side

Let’s be honest: coding with constant interruptions can be frustrating. You’re in the middle of solving a complex problem when your kid wakes up early. Again.

Here are some mental frameworks I find helpful.

Remember Your Why

You’re not just building software—you’re modeling curiosity, problem-solving, and creation for your kids. When my son and I build games together, he knows we're making something, not just consuming content.

Celebrate Small Wins

Finished a function? That’s a win. Fixed a bug? Victory. Deployed a feature? You’re basically a superhero.

When your coding sessions are measured in minutes, not hours, you need to recalibrate what counts as progress.

Accept the Rhythm

Some days you’ll get 30 minutes of coding done. Other days you’ll get three minutes. Both are valid. Parenting has seasons, and so does your coding productivity.

Tools That Actually Help

While I’ll cover specific technical tools in upcoming posts, here are the categories that matter most for parent developers:

Auto-save everything: Configure your tools to save constantly. You never know when you’ll need to close the laptop quickly.

Cloud sync apps: Work seamlessly across devices. Sometimes you’ll code on your laptop, sometimes on a desktop, sometimes (let’s be honest) on your phone.

AI coding assistants: Your secret weapon for context switching and momentum. Whether it's Cline, GitHub Copilot, Codex, or Claude, these tools excel at helping you pick up where you left off.

The Parent Developer Advantage

It might seem like a constant struggle to be productive, but don't discount the skills you’re building every day! These are sustainable habits that will serve you for decades.

You’re gaining these superpowers:

  • Extreme efficiency: You learn to cut through the noise and focus on what matters
  • Better prioritization: When time is scarce, you get ruthless about important vs. urgent
  • Stress testing: If your code works while kids are climbing on you, it’ll work anywhere

What’s Next

This post is the foundation, but the real magic happens in the implementation. In my next posts, I’ll dive into:

  • Specific bash aliases and terminal shortcuts that save parent developers hours every week
  • CLI tools and workflows designed for 15-minute coding windows
  • Emergency scripts for when parent life throws you curveballs

The goal isn’t to become a more productive developer despite being a parent—it’s to become a different kind of developer, one whose workflow is shaped by the beautiful chaos of family life.

The Truth About Parent Developer Productivity

Working within constraints forces clarity and intentionality.

Yes, it’s challenging. Yes, it’s different from how you coded before kids. But it’s not lesser—it’s just adapted to the most important job you’ll ever have.

Your kids won’t remember that you shipped a month later than planned. But they will remember that you showed them what it looks like to be curious, to build things, and to never stop learning.