* Home-based workers need delineation between their personal and professional lives
There are many myths surrounding the home-based worker. Folks think we are forever in bunny slippers and pajamas watching soap operas in the afternoons. If they only knew the truth.
Home-based workers tend to work more hours because they can’t easily separate their work life from their home life. The office is a difficult lure to ignore and can often mean late nights “just checking e-mail” or “getting out those invoices.” We want to be available for our clients, colleagues and business partners 24/7. No matter what time an e-mail is sent or a call made, we want to be available for a rapid response.
In my case, I have a cell phone, BlackBerry and AOL Instant Messenger if a client needs immediate, any time, anywhere contact. But this poses a problem. For many of us, the reason we left the confines of a corporation was to enjoy a level of flexibility. We wanted to make our own schedules and not burn the candle at both ends.
So how do you set limits? How do you continue to build your client base if you “leave” the office at 5 p.m.? How do you get everything done if you actually stick to a normal work week of 40 to 50 hours?
Colleagues told me when I went out on my own that I should set office hours. I at first ignored that advice and would take appointments and conference calls at any time the client was available – even if it was at 9 p.m. I was hungry, and I thought this was the only way to build my business.
I also answered and sent e-mail over the weekend – conducting business as if it were part of the work week. My AOL Instant Messenger was always on and I was always “available.”
Soon I felt more tethered to my desk, my e-mail and my voice mail than when I was in the office. Add to this that the thought of taking time off made me break out in a sweat worrying I’d miss some prime business opportunities or disappoint a client. After all, I was a one-woman operation and I had to be all things to all people.
The only problem with this over-available approach was that I was quickly burning out and missing the point of striking out on my own. I was doing a disservice to myself and my clients. It was great to be accommodating and I know they appreciated that, but they didn’t appreciate my exhaustion and the sloppiness, such as duplicate billing, that started to crop up.
Ironically, a family crisis forced me to change my ways. I had to block off certain hours of the day to deal with my personal life and that meant saying no to some appointment times or asking to reschedule conference calls. There were even days at a time that I was unavailable tending to a family member in the hospital.
What I quickly found was that because these appointments and calls were carefully planned, I got more out of them. I graciously begged out of calls that were unnecessary, but was attentive on those that I accepted.
I also blocked off time to deal with needs such as invoicing, bringing in new business, marketing, etc. Each task had a time of day assigned to it. And at the end of the day, I’d turn off the computer and deal with other issues at hand.
Now that this family crisis is over, I’ve continued to set limits on my office time. My AOL Instant Messenger isn’t always on, my cell phone is not always within arm’s reach and my BlackBerry is no longer on “new message alert.”
Home-based workers need parameters, including times that they are available for calls or realistic deadlines for turnaround times on projects. They need delineation between their personal and professional lives.
And of course it is important to communicate this information to your clients, colleagues and business partners. The more you offer clear details about your office hours and availability, the less likely they are to ask for time outside of those brackets.
What about you? What do you do to keep the barriers up between home and work? Send me your ideas at sgittlen@charter.net
