Business hours

[DarrenC]

My business is based at home - I start work at 9am and finish at 11pm / midnight, 7 days a week I've been told I'm a workaholic - are these hours unhealthy? What hours do you work, and what do you do to keep away from the PC and checking emails?

Darren

[Jayne]

Hi,

My shop is open from 6am - 3pm and i'm on here most of the time in between...lots today, was my day off :lol:

I've done bugger all today :lol: and I thought you were washing up

Jayne

[DarrenC]

:lol: whoops.. off I go :D

[Coding Monkey]

I don't think it's fair to say you work every hour of those hours, as you're here talking. It's probably more a case of how you're inside at the computer or something, where distractions await at every website.

When I do any form of advertising, I'm in the same boat. Just basically stuck waiting to anwer the phone, as I need to be in front of a computer. I did buy a PDA/Phone so I can get e-mails on the go, so my office is becoming pretty mobile. Laptop, phone, wallet. All I need to work anywhere.

But I often feel the same as you with working hours, but on reflection it isn't straight working like that. I have literally worked 22 hour days on really good programming projects, but generally I wouldn't do above 16. Plus the damn BBC website, if I monitored it, probablys accounts for an hour of that time.

[mumper]

Hi Darren,

I'm pretty much the same as you when it comes to spending long periods in front of the computer. I try to take a 30 minute break at least every couple of hours (not always easy I admit).

As for set office hours, I try to stick to these as much as I can(again not always easy to do) As much as I enjoy my work I don't let it take up every waking hour - life is too short for that.

I don't think the hours you do are unhealthy as such, especially if you are a new business - that's to be expected. Sometimes though you need to switch off and recharge your batteries - it helps to keep you motivated and interested in what you do.

Good luck.

[DarrenC]

I don't think it's fair to say you work every hour of those hours, as you're here talking

When I am on this forum I am working. I join a forum take good advice and ideas, and in return pass on my own knowledge and ideas - it's promoting your business and services.

Darren

[fastfences]

When I am on this forum I am working. I join a forum take good advice and ideas, and in return pass on my own knowledge and ideas - it's promoting your business and services.
Darren

Agreed in principle. Although it's not the same intensity as dealing with problems etc. Unless of course there's a controversial thread you're trying to keep tabs on!

cheers, Nigel

[steve atkinson]

i used to own a block paving company that employed 6 people
i worked from 6am to 2am eveyday for 9 months and it nearly killed me
yes i had money yes i had work
i had no time for myself or my family i missed my son
try to keep a healthy balance regular breaks
go out in evening to keep you away from computer it will still be there in morning
if you have a good business then it will build its self on the service you provide you only have to nudge it in the right directions
sometimes judgements are clouded with the intensity of constant working hours
bit of work bit of relaxation and a bit of rest
even if you only try it for a couple of days you might be suprised
steve

[Asteeleleith]

Luckily for me i am with a doctor so she is never realy around half the time in anycase.

A few weeks ago i begrudged a week in in london to visit family, so bought a laptop so i could continue to work.
I try to schedule things so i am around when my partner is. But often i am on the computer sorting out one thing or another.

i think at the end of the day work is a drug. Those who retire suffenly they day, soon pass away. Perhaps we are all destined to work to the grave? I certainly think i am.
Although i try to sort things so i retire early, i wonder, would i ever really retire? I don;t think so. I mean would that not just be boring?

Al

[virtuallysorted]

Ok so I'm horribly biaised on this!!! :lol: But have you thought of using a call answering service? That way a live person answers the calls during business hours leaving you free to do washing up, mass programming stints, or schmoozing and boozing...whatever floats your boat! 8)

Luckily because I've set this up as a service for my company to provide, I can take advantage and be flexible with my own hours - I work offsite 9am-12:45pm & onsite from 1pm-6pm probably doing about 10-20 hours "overtime" a week.

[annethedonn]

Our office hours are Mon-Fri 8am-7pm and Sat. 10-2pm. HOwever, saying that, we're at your disposal 24/7. All of us work from home so work the hours we choose.

[DarrenC]

Ok so I'm horribly biaised on this!!! :lol: But have you thought of using a call answering service?

Tut tut :lol:

I have thought about it - but when I look at my outgoings and incomings theres no room for movement right now. January is my businest month of the year, so all of my profit goes straight back into the business to advertise during this month.

Agreed in principle. Although it's not the same intensity as dealing with problems etc. Unless of course there's a controversial thread you're trying to keep tabs on!

True Nigel - what I try to do is split my day up into sections, i.e. book keeping, web design, running my own forum, and marketing (including forum discussions) and in between dealing with clients and holidaymakers.

How do you all split your workload up - hours of the day or on a certain day you'll deal with a specific task?

[Coding Monkey]

In short: I generally do everything client based before 5. I don't like ringing anyone after 5, although they're welcome to call me anytime. Ring potential clients, call existing customers, manage the projects, take notes on all that's going on, give feedback on the work and sort out the programming.

I prefer to do all the programming work after normal hours, but it's often best to do it during working hours so I can call the client about any issues instead of having to wait until the next day.

[bizguy]

Working from home really does create confusion as to the number of hours you spend working. I’m basically in the same predicament as I work from home too and we both share the same fears and apprehensions. I guess it is safe to say that, contrary to popular belief, it is harder to maintain a good work/life balance when you work at home.

But the key, as I have been told, is discipline and a single minded purpose to follow schedules. Try to set an eight to ten hour day and then after that force yourself to stop working. You need to rest too, you know! A good way to stop yourself from checking e-mails is to set up one PC that has no internet connection, and is just dedicated to other functions. These are advice that I also got from another person and which I will follow as part of my new year’s resolutions.