Ok. So it's a ridiculously nice day outside.
So what?
You've got work to do, right?
Days like today make me glad to get an early start. Working your own hours can be tricky - you don't want to work too little and you don't want to work too much. Not having the mandatory 9 to 5 can mean a boon to some and a curse to others.
Making your own hours means a certain amount of freedom. This can be good and bad. On a day like today in Chicago (seventy degrees and sunny) the last place you want to be is inside an office.
My office (these days) is a coffee shop. Next to the windows (if possible). So my solution to this dilemma is simple: I take breaks to step outside. Make a phone call. Stare at trees.
I begin work by 7 so that I can be done by 3. True, I don't NEED to work an eight hour day, but some days it is what I want to do. Now I can look forward to a nice bike ride at 3 p.m.
Some friends of mine (and family) like to poke fun at my freelance lifestyle. It is easy to assume that I spend most of the day in the bathtub or lounging on the beach. The truth is, some days are much harder than they used to be back in 9 to 5 land. If the work isn't there, it's a tough day of drumming up business. And if work comes in droves than it's the stress of making all of your deadlines.
On days like today it's good to know we are not alone out there, punching away at the keys and planning our escape.
So, my freelancing friends, get outside. You deserve it.
*Image credit Ivan Andreevich.
