Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Elusive Day Off

When you freelance full time, an entire day off is a pretty rare occurrence. I've been thinking all week that I really want one day off this weekend. That means not working all day- not working small amounts here and there or working away from the computer instead of on it. I want an actual day in which no work is done.

I thought that Saturday would be a good day to take off. Most of my work for the week is done, and the things I have to do over the weekend are mostly tying up loose ends and emailing colleagues about work that was done. So, there's about an hour of work right there. Then I remembered a page that I haven't finished yet that should be finished before the end of the week. So there's another hour that needs to be done. And once that is done, I should await feedback to make sure that the client is happy. So, I could work two or three hours and have the rest of the day free, or have free time all day knowing that I have hours of work hanging over my head for that night.

Ok, so Saturday is out. Maybe Sunday I could have an actual day off. I could finish everything on Saturday that should be completed this week. Then I could make sure to check mail late at night so that I don't wonder the next day whether I've missed some important communication. Of course, then on Sunday there may be clients trying to contact me. And what if my careful scheduling left something out that I should have done?

Ok, so I could check my email late at night, then check it in the morning to make sure no one is trying to contact me. Then, I could check it every couple of hours in case there was anything I missed so that anything lacking could be completed before the end of the day. Maybe I should set aside some time on Sunday to complete anything that might come up for me to do. And then, in between email checks and that set-aside working time, I would have my completely free day.

It sounds so relaxing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This blog makes you sound like a workaholic. Taking a day off can recharge your battery so maybe you should tune out to all those things you think you need to do. As I've said before in my writing blog. As writers we need to experience life to write about it. Relax.
But, hey, don't stop writing your blog I enjoy it too much and I guess you can't stop the other writing either or you won't get paid. Catch 22!

L. Shepherd said...

What's wrong with being a workaholic? I come from a long line of workaholics. Relaxing is for the dead. Or the undead. Zombies look pretty relaxed.

Zoe C. Courtman said...

It's nice to see a fellow copywriter who understands the freelance shackles! Right now, I'm working to complete a press kit today and put off another web writing project so I can have tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday OFF and focus only on my fiction project. But how come I feel like some other freelance tidbit is gonna rear its pointy little schedule-busting head??

Leigh D'Ansey said...

I feel as if I've written myself out lately. It's very bad, but my brain feels blank. Reading your blog made some of the blank spaces in my brain smile - that's good news - thanks!