I don't have a job now, but when I did work a 40-hour-week job, I also had more demands at home. Thankfully, I was much younger, had more energy and strength, and could accomplish much more than I am able to do now.
When I worked, I did not make quilts. I made clothes and dolls. I sewed in the evenings when dinner and dishes were done. Then, as now, there was not much on t.v. worth watching and we did not own a home computer back then; I enjoy a good novel and have always found some time to read. When I retired from the work force and no longer needed a spiffy wardrobe for the office, I started making quilts.
The main difference between now & then is that now I often have time to do sewing stuff in the daytime as well as the evening and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning.