Today was my first day off from freelancing. The time up to Christmas is busy enough trying to sort out the inevitable logistics that relate to the time of year that’s supposedly all Merry and bright. And then there is all the other actual work related bits and bobs.
It’s easy to get the stuff out of the way that is on your mind the most. But it’s also easy for those tasks to grow and take up too much time and thereby eating into the time of other tasks. As always when you finally have some time “off” there are a number of things that have piled up and need to get sorted. The trick however, is not to let them take over the working day but manage them appropriately together with the other tasks that need doing, ensuring that they all get done.
More than anything this period of working from home/random offices is going to be a test at managing my time. Just as my trips to Sweden don’t work unless I get some dedicated working time, the same way this time off won’t work unless I get my actual work done. And that means treating this as the job that it actually is and guarding my time. It’s about making the most of the flexibility where it makes sense, but also saying ‘no’ or offering other suggestions where things don’t make sense, ensuring that the flexibility around managing my own time isn’t used in the wrong way.
Over the years I’ve gradually become better at not always providing a reason for why I can’t do something. In my early working days I had a tendency to always give a reason and explain why when I said no to something. I did it in work related situations and I did it in my personal life. But I’ve learnt that providing a reason often opens up conversations that don’t need to happen. By providing a reason you sometime invite the other party to have an opinion on whether they think the reason you gave is a valid one. Conversations that happen as a result of that can makes it harder to stick to your ‘no’ and look after your own priorities. Instead a simple “I’m not available then” is often enough and combined with a suggestion of a work around or other time, often leads to a more constructive outcome. There are a number of situations where we don’t have to justify our reasons and my biggest challenge for the next month is without a doubt going to be saying “no” and sticking to it when I’m on paper have all the flexibility in the world right now. But as we know, paper and the real world is not always the same and this – byflock – is now my full time job.
Tomorrow – Day 353 | Staying true to your believes
Image source: www.flickr.com/photos/kt/512903259
