A recent convo with a friend has me thinking. I mentioned that I always make a point of being at my laptop by 9am at the absolute latest so I can get a jump on the day and be available when clients need me (also so I can wrap things up around the time my friends finish work so I can socialize with them).
He raised a valid point, though: "Isn't one of the benefits of freelancing that you don't have to be chained to your desk like a 9-5er? Can't you work whenever you want as long as you meet deadlines?"
"But," I sputtered, "My clients expect a timely response! And people already this image of freelancers rolling out of bed at noon and working in their PJs. I'm determined to defy that stereotype!"
"Yeah, but can't those freelancers still be successful? I'm sure there are people like that who make a very decent living."
Huh. Am I missing the point of freelancing? I don't respond to late-night requests (even if I happen to be on Gmail, I don't want to set a bad precedent), and I'll admit that I sometimes take an afternoon gym break or run an errand if all my assignments are on track. (And OK, after my last breakup I played hooky and went to the movies for a day, but I would have been totally inefficient at my computer anyway.)
But if it's during the business day, then I make sure that clients' needs are met first. Even that time a few weeks ago, when my Mom had emergency eye surgery and I dropped everything to meet her at the hospital and bring her back to my apartment so I could watch her (she's fine now, thank goodness!), I raced back home to take care of an invoice issue. See, I worry that if I took the "free" in freelance too literally, my clients wouldn't take me seriously and my income (not to mention my productivity) would drop like the stock market did in 2008.
Am I being paranoid? How much freedom should freelancers allow themselves? Should we embrace the embrace the opportunity to work when we feel like it? Or stick to a regimented schedule? Any thoughts?
Flickr photo courtesy of Jeezny