Diary of a Small Business Owner, Jackie Nees Virtual Assistant Edition: Not Your Mama’s 9 to 5

Read Jackie's diary entry from last week HERE.

Last Saturday I was sitting at my favorite coffee shop with a bagel and a hot cup of java happily working on a fun client project I was trying to finish up.  I was “in the zone” and getting a ton accomplished when my phone rang.  It was my mom calling to find out what I was up to.  When I told her I was working at the coffeehouse she sighed in her disappointed motherly way and said, “Is that your new home away from home now on Saturdays?” (referring to the fact that I had done the same thing the previous Saturday).  When I jokingly replied, “I think so” her response was, “you know, you should really take weekends off.”

Now, part of me tends to agree with her.  I mean, everyone needs downtime and work cannot be your entire reason for existing.  However, she also doesn’t understand that part of the beauty of being an entrepreneur is not having to work traditional hours.  For example, she wasn’t taking into consideration the fact that, two days before I took a weekday morning off to have breakfast and go shopping with her when I could have been at my computer and part of the reason I was working on Saturday was to make up for some of that time.

I don’t work 9-5 Monday through Friday with Saturdays and Sundays off.  I typically start my day around 10 a.m. unless I have an important call or a pressing deadline.  Then I work through the morning, have lunch and maybe work a little more in the afternoon.  I try to be done or at a stopping point when my daughter gets off the bus at 3:30 and I switch over to “Mom Mode” for the rest of the day.  I will often go back to work when she goes to bed or spend some time on the weekend catching up or getting a jump on the upcoming week.

Next week my daughter will be on Spring Break and although it will throw a little bit of a wrench into my routine I am planning ahead for it so it won’t be an inconvenience to have her home, just the opposite.  I plan to enjoy the time with her.  Not to say I won’t be working at all, but I’m trying to wrap up some bigger projects this week so I have a little less to do next week.  I will also work intermittently when she’s busy watching a movie, visiting her grandma or after she goes to bed.

One of the primary reasons I started my business was to have flexibility to be there for my family and enjoy my life without being chained to my desk.  So when my mom tells me I should be taking weekends off what she doesn’t realize is that sometimes my Wednesday is my Saturday or sometimes my Tuesday afternoon is my Sunday morning.  The balance I carve into my schedule may not be your traditional work week but that’s part of the fun of working for yourself.  There is nobody to tell you when to come in, when to go home and how many hours you’re required to work each week.  I decide what my week looks like.  It’s a life I love and I’m looking forward to spending more Saturday mornings with my laptop, bagel and coffee.