When you work from home, you are able to set your own hours and work at whatever time of day suits you. Of course, there are certain things that you must do during “normal business hours” between nine and five, Monday through Friday. Things like going to the bank and the post office, and making phone calls to other businesses that operate only during those hours are just a few of the things that you may have to make time for during the day if you normally do most of your work at night.
Choosing your own hours of operation is beneficial for you and your family for obvious reasons. It may also benefit your customers and clients. Whether you normally communicate by phone or by email, people may be happy to communicate with you outside of normal business hours. For example, the handful of clients that I serve through my law practice are very pleased that I am available to speak with them during evening and weekend hours. Most of them work during normal business hours and they do not want to be calling me from their workplace and discussing sensitive, private issues on the phone. If they email me, I generally check email once during the day when my son is napping, so I can reply to urgent matters or quick questions at that time. I do most of my work after my son goes to bed at night, replying to emails and phone calls first and then doing any legal research or freelance writing projects that I have on my plate.
The ability to set my own hours is without a doubt my favorite part about working from home because it is the only reason that I am able to earn income while staying home to raise my son. My clients seem to be happy about the hours that I have set, and I am able to find enough time to get my work done without cutting into the time that I spend in my primary role as stay-at-home mom. In what ways has the ability to set your own work schedule set you free to do the things that are important to you? I would love to hear about it.
Photo by gracey on morguefile.com.