work / life balance

I've just read this in a fascinating list of business failure post-mortems:

Make an environment where you will be productive. Working from home can be convenient, but often times will be much less productive than a separate space. Also its a good idea to have separate spaces so you’ll have some work/life balance.

I certainly don't have a separate space. And it's true, distractions can spoil productivity. But those distractions are things like Facebook (which I now try very hard to keep closed) and new emails popping into my inbox (which are always far more compelling that what I'm working on at the time).

Those are things which would still be a problem if I had a separate space. Not related to the fact that my home is my workspace and vice versa.

But the really fascinating thing is that the article made me think about productivity and I'd written this post before I really noticed the bit about work/life balance.

And now I have, I still don't think there's much to think about. Sometimes I work, sometimes I live and do whichever I feel is appropriate at the time, and that's not a problem at all.

Glass half-full thinking

Hurray! my local council have taken the trouble to write to me to tell me that I need do nothing to continue to enjoy the benefits of their service. Happy days.

Only a council could call collecting money from me a 'service'. Not just any old service, it's an 'increasingly efficient service'.

The letter is an amazing exercise in glass half full thinking. As well as 'increasingly efficient service', it includes phrases such as 'continue to receive the benefits', 'the good news is' and 'enjoy the full benefits'.

The full benefits that I will continue to enjoy by taking no action [through paying by direct debit] seem to be that if they take more than they should from my bank, I'm entitled to a full refund, and that if they want to take more than I expect from my bank account, they will write to tell me beforehand.

I would actually call these 'things that I would take for granted' or 'things that wouldn't even be in question if I were paying by other means' rather than 'benefits'.

I'm only kidding and I don't have a problem with paying my local tax, and DD makes things really easy.

My point is that there's probably a lesson to be learned here in making something bad sound like a favour...

creating more time

Finding enough time has become a real problem.

One remedy has come, as discoveries often do, by accident.

For a completely different reason, I found myself noting details of my tasks with times. The exercise has been a real eye opener.

Certain activities which I suspected were eating up my time disproportionately were actually taking even more time than I'd thought. Dropping that part of the business has removed an unprofitable activity as well as saving perhaps an hour every day.

There has been another benefit too. Noting what you're working on keeps you focussed. When you finish one task it makes you decide on the next job and start it, rather than turning to Facebook. when you're working on a task, knowing that it's being timed curbs the tendency to get up and make a cup of tea. This has also created a noticeable amount of time in the day.

Being able to see a list of completed tasks at the end of the day also makes for a satisfying day.

I can't recommend this simple exercise highly enough.

Day off!

Yesterday I took a whole day off. Anyone employed is probably thinking 'so what', but for the self-employed it is a big deal.

We have to consider whether to shut up shop or get cover. Weigh up the risk of missing something important while away. Plan the job of catching up on return. We also have to manage customers who won't go along with it ("your website says you're closed tomorrow but is there any chance....")

It triggers all sorts of emotions. Excitement in a 'naughty bunking off' kind of way. Worry about the risks and the catching up. Enjoyment of a change from the routine.

I do find that getting out of the routine and physically away from the work allows the mind to see the bigger picture and thoughts, ideas and plans all flow much more freely. This makes the cost of taking time off seem more like an investment.

Prioritising tasks

For the first time in a couple of days I'm on top of my orders and enquiries and on days like this I realise that the way I prioritise my work isn't ideal.

The sink full of washing up has been waiting for me to get on top of my orders, as have the accounts. I'm looking at them both and not wondering which needs doing most urgently, but which I'd least hate to be doing.

It seems that the way I prioritise my tasks is to decide which I like doing best. But hey, why not, it's my business!

I really don't want to do either, which is probably why writing this suddenly seemed very important.

#inmypants

Loved this tweet from a fellow home-worker today: "It's a big day, I'm getting a little dressed up." "Me too, I'm putting on pants."

In case you're in any doubt, that's not me in the photo. I do sometimes work without bothering to dress properly, for keeping cool or for comfort, but you wouldn't thank me for posting a photo, I'm sure.

I simply don't do face to face calls anyway, and I've learned to keep jeans and top near the door in case the postman or delivery men call.

No one knows (except you now) and no-one cares - I can't see the down side :)

Trying too hard?

In last week's Thinking Allowed on R4 (and followed up this week), Laurie Taylor covered the subject of working from home, or 'flexible working'.

The main focus of the discussion was whether people feel over-conscientious about sending and receiving emails and phone calls, just to prove that they're actually working.

I think this arises from some scepticism among colleagues about those who are not in the office (hence the title of this blog).

I find it easy to be distracted by social networking or (if I'm desperate for a displacement activity) some housework. I assume that the temptations are the same for others, but being self-employed means that I don't have a conscience about it. Time I spend working I'm earning, time I spend when I'm distracted I'm not earning, and the mix is entirely up to me.

I regard it as being the same as clocking on for an intense 8 hours and then being clocked off for the rest of the time. It's just that the time is more mixed-up.

It's a flexibility I like. A perk of being responsible for my own income.

PPL

I could hardly believe my ears when a caller from the PPL told me that I needed a public broadcasting licence.

If I'd known then what I know now, I would have simply hung up.

I'm not advocating evading a bill that's legally due, but I think any reasonable person would say that needing a public broadcasting licence to listen to the radio when working for yourself in your own home is ridiculous, even more so when it's radio 4 (speech radio).

Some Googling turned up some horror stories and advice that paying up right away is better than incurring costs and a black mark on your credit record. Thankfully, I've also heard via Twitter and FB of cases being resolved quite sensibly.

The potential bill wouldn't break the bank, but the thought of having to pay really spoiled my day. Can only wait now to see what comes in the post.

Today's lesson: admit nothing (even your identity) until you've established who you're talking to and what they want.

update 14/7/11: I've received invoices for £400, including surcharges for not paying sooner. Have written back disputing these on about 7 points, including the fact that my home is not a public place.

update 20/7/11: have a reply to my letter saying that they're going to listen back to my telephone conversation to check what was said. Curiously It may take up to 12 days for the phone call to be returned to PPL. From where?

update 22/7/11: my MP has agreed that their practices sound unethical and has offered to write to them. Waiting for their decision before I ask him to do that.

update 27/8/11: I now have a letter from a debt collection agency with no further communication from PPL. I've taken my MP up on his offer to write to them about their unethical practices. Am writing to the debt collection people and PPL to explain that I'm willing to go to court to get some points sorted out.

update 8/9/11: I've had a second letter from the debt collection people and have been able to establish an email conversation with them. PPL have been deafeningly quiet since the first telephone conversation. All psyched up for going to court and talking to the media.

update 15/9/11: Nothing more than acknowledgements, waiting to hear about legal action

update 7/11/11: Still nothing. No reply to the letter my MP sent or any of my letters. No copy of the recording they claim to have made of the phone conversation. It seems that they can't do anything other than send out invoices and standard letters. Prove me wrong, PPL, I want my opportunity to tell my story in court.

update 10/5/12: Still nothing. I believe that their threats are empty, that they don't have recordings, that the debt collection agency is no more than a different letterhead coming from the same organisation.

Note that I am on very safe ground, I don't broadcast publicly and it was ridiculous that they were pursuing me. If you do play music in the hearing of others then the story may be different for you.

Don't get me wrong, as a musician I'm all for artists and composers getting paid properly, but PPL's methods look like speculative invoicing and sharp business practice.

introduction

Hi, I'm Shiela. I love what I do and I also love working alone from home.

I disagree with received wisdom about separating work from home life, and enjoy a kind of 'raspberry fool' of the two just swirled together.

I thought that sharing my observations, thoughts and frustrations might be of interest or help to others in a similar situation.