I do not work straight through from dawn until dusk in my home business. I see this as one of the marvelous perks of working one’s own business—setting hours that truly work for my energy level, focus and the rest of my life. I find that being able to break up the day with blocks of work interspersed with blocks of other things makes me the most productive and keeps my world feeling calm and under control.
Of course, breaking up the work day into separate blocks isn’t for everyone—but I find that getting a good 3 hours in first thing in the morning; then heading off to do some other work for the late morning; errands, lunch, meetings, etc. around midday; and then a good solid block of work later in the afternoon works well for me. I used to do more work again after dinner but have found that stretching the work out for that long just makes the day seems endless and aggravates my kids! On weekends, I can take an even more leisurely pace since I don’t really have phone calls to schedule and contend with.
In talking with some other home business owners, I’ve heard that some people do NOT like to break up the day and find that once interrupted, it is just too hard to get back in the rhythm and flow of work again. When those interruptions are unpredictable—like errands, appointments and family obligations—some people feel like once they get pulled away from their business, the productivity of work for the day is pretty much shot. Others find that they can only work when the kids are asleep or during “stolen” moments when nothing else needs to be done. For me, my home business is a priority so I block and schedule the time just as I would a more “traditional” job. I just don’t have to do all that time in one steady stream—I can break it up to keep my focus fresh and my life in order.
Also: Some Days, I Can’t Keep Up
When You Get Overwhelmed, It Might Be Time to Take a Break