One of the great advantages of working for yourself is that you can work at any time of the day. You don't have to show up at the office at 9:00 in the morning. Instead, you can roll out of bed whenever you like. You then quickly watch the last episode of a Netflix series and get to work.
It sounds ideal, but in reality it is not a good habit to start your day like this. Setting 'office hours' may seem like an obstacle, but it ensures that you run your own business much better and easier.
1. With office hours you make your availability known. Imagine that you want to start the day with that delicious coffee from your favorite coffee shop. You get dressed, cycle there and to your great surprise they are closed. No note on the door, they are just closed in the middle of the day when that is normally not the case. Opening hours are sporadic. Now that you know this, would you go back for coffee there? Just maybe. Isn't it frustrating that they're closed every time? Certainly!
If you work at odd hours and send emails at 2:00 am, you make your clients think you are always available. Without establishing office hours, clients won't know how long to wait to hear from you or when it is convenient to call. This could result in calls from customers on Sunday morning when you are still in bed or they expect you to answer emails on Friday evening while you are having drinks with friends. So not such a good idea.
Of course, it's fine if you work on your freelance assignments in the evenings or on weekends, as long as you set fixed office hours for your clients and remain consistent. Staying consistent is very important. If a client has problems with her website, and she knows you will be available within two hours, she also knows how long she has to wait before you read her message. So if it's the other way around, the client is having problems with her website but she has no idea when you're working, she'll do everything she can to get in touch with you. Which results in phone calls and WhatsApps that may not be convenient for you at that moment.
So let customers know when you are available and when you are not.
2. Office Hours Let You Know When to Work If you're out to dinner with a friend and you catch yourself ignoring the person you're with because you're checking your emails, you need to stop. If you catch yourself browsing sites like Instagram and Facebook instead of carrying out the assignment for your client, you should stop too. So don't take three-hour naps when you actually have to be at work and forget about your email when you're out with friends.
As an independent entrepreneur, you are almost always thinking about your own business. You always think about what you should do for your business at that moment. A graphic designer is thinking about that one logo and a marketer is thinking about a new campaign. Be strict with yourself about the hours you do and do not work. This ensures that you can also lead a life outside of work.
If you come up with a brilliant idea outside of working hours, make a note of it and come back to it later.
3. Office hours make you much more productive When there is no end time to your working day, it is very easy to check your Facebook and Instagram account or watch a Netflix series or get distracted in some other way. It then becomes increasingly difficult to continue the project.
If you make a tight time schedule you have more focus and you get a lot more work done. The deadline or the end of your working day keeps you motivated to ultimately achieve much more.
Do you know that you are much more productive at certain times of the day? Plan your day that way. Do you have a lot of energy in the morning and are you a real morning person? Then plan your project for the morning, then plan some tasks for the afternoon that require less focus.
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