Should You Keep Business Hours? (part 1)

One of the best parts about my job is that I have a flexible schedule. It doesn’t mean that I work less – for every hour I take off, I have to work an hour when I’d normally be enjoying some free time. I had to actually explain that to my boyfriend, who didn’t really see that misplacing hours of work means that they just move, not completely disappear. But I digress. The point is, flexibility as a freelancer is definitely a bonus.

Could some people take flexibility too far, though?

If you have a family (especially one with children), chances are that you stick to a somewhat normal working schedule. In other words, you write when they’re at school or perhaps in the evenings, but you generally sleep during the night and are awake to see your husband off to work in the morning. Take the kids out of the equation, and your schedule can bend over backward. For example, I’m writing this post at about 2:00 AM and setting it to go live in the morning. “Normal” people don’t work at 2:00 AM.

Image: sxc.hu

I’ve heard a number of compelling arguments about keeping typical business hours – essentially, getting the majority of your work done between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. It makes sense because…

• It’s easier to contact clients, who typically don’t have the flexibility of schedule you have.
• Internet service providers rarely schedule downtime during the day.
• You can more easily keep in touch with friends and family members because you keep a similar schedule.
• There’s more activity on job boards during normal waking hours.

I’m sure you can name a number of other reasons why freelancers should work during normal business hours.

Yet, here I am, doing my work well after midnight – and this isn’t unusual for me. It’s typical for me to work between the hours of 10:00 PM and 4:00 AM. Why would I do that, given the strong argument above?

• My body naturally likes this schedule better, meaning that I’m more productive when I do work rather than when I try to wake up early. No, it isn’t a matter of getting used to a schedule – after years of having to wake up in the morning and go to bed before midnight during high school and college, I was NEVER used to it.
• A number of my clients are actually based in Australia and other parts of the world, so no matter when I sleep or work, there will always be some clients on a different schedule than I am.
• My significant other works nights, and I like being on a schedule that is similar to his.
• After many of my friends go to bed, there are less distractions with AIM conversations and social networking. Yes, I could just avoid chatting or using Facebook…but I’m weak. There’s also nothing on TV to distract me.
• Working at night leaves my days open. No, I’m not going to get up at 9:00 AM to go grocery shopping, but I have found that if I run errands in the early afternoon, it’s less crowded everywhere, from on the roads to in line at the post office.

So, while I understand why some people feel differently (or have to operate differently because of family obligations), my opinion is that determining the hours you work is a personal choice, and one set of hours isn’t necessarily better than all others for every writer.