Structuring your own days.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFICULT
Nobody sets the structure, and work expands without boundaries.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
Working hours, and stop at them.
WHY
Without an end, work occupies everything.
WHAT TO PROTECT
Time for finding work Time for administration Time off
WHY FINDING WORK DESERVES PROTECTED TIME
It is displaced by delivery, and its absence is felt weeks later.
WHAT TO SCHEDULE
A regular period, weekly, regardless of workload.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH ABOUT MULTIPLE CLIENTS
How much you can genuinely deliver at once.
WHY
Overcommitment produces late delivery for everyone.
WHAT TO TRACK
Commitments and their deadlines, in one place.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
What you are working on each day, decided in advance.
WHY
Reactive days are consumed by whoever contacted you.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT CLIENT AVAILABILITY EXPECTATIONS
Set them at the outset.
WHAT TO STATE
Your working hours and response times.
WHY
Clients otherwise assume constant availability.
WHAT TO AVOID
Answering at all hours Working every weekend Accepting every deadline offered
WHY DEADLINES SPECIFICALLY
Clients propose dates for their convenience and they are frequently negotiable.
WHAT TO DO
Ask what the deadline depends on.
WHAT TO RECORD
Time spent per project.
WHY EVEN ON FIXED PRICES
It is how you learn what work actually takes.
