My Office Hours

I have been asked several times lately about my work hours and particular work habits since I work from home. I have also heard the comment, "oh, so you really are working...???". Unfortunately {in my sinful pride}, that comment offends me because I know the ridiculously long hours and incredible amounts of energy I pour into the success of our lil' business.

No matter what business you own: cattle, farming, retail, landscape, real estate, design, art, anything else imaginable, your business becomes a lifestyle. You don't have set hours because it infiltrates your life. You live your work and your work is something that matters...something bigger than yourself...it can even be your ministry....

When I began working from home, I was afraid I would become so distracted by my freedom that I would not work enough. And that was indeed my struggle at first. If I needed groceries, I would go get them at any point of the day. I volunteered for an organization that required a lot of my time and thought it was ok because I worked from home and could find time later to do my work. If people asked, I said yes. I soon saw how inefficient I was.

I needed parameters.

So I began to schedule my office hours and my work day better. I volunteered less during the day. I would work when Justin was not home. I would go to my office when he left in the morning and stop working when he got home. I worked Saturdays and Sundays since he wasn't home.

The problem is that Justin can work those hours. I can't. I need rest, friendships, a creative outlet. I need to find inspiration. I need to renew my mind. I need to turn my "work-mode" off.

I needed stronger parameters.

With much thought and prayer and advice from older, much wiser folks, I began to balance my priorities.

As described above, if I don't balance my priorities I become a work-aholic and that's no longer a ministry. My top 5 priorities are: 1. Faith 2. Family 3. Friendships 4. Career 5. Health. All of these mix and mingle and overlap, but balance is the key. When #4 Career outweighs #5 Health, I don't have as much energy and my work suffers. If #1 Faith gets neglected, I'm totally lost and live on my own selfish ambitions.

When I'm asked how much I work a week, I tell people that my business is a lifestyle. I'm constantly reading, pondering, and dreaming of design and marketing, but my office hours are set and I seek to find balance in the other hours of my day. These are the MOST important hours of my day.

I open my office door no sooner than 9am every morning. Before that I make time to:

feed my incredibly hard working stud of a husband (don't tell him I said that).
hit the gym.
fill my soul with the Word.
"make a joyful noise" on my child-hood piano.
write hand written notes of encouragement or thanks.
preserve my thoughts in a journal or on this blog

and I {try extremely hard} to close my office door by 6pm every evening or sooner. I say no to Saturdays and Sundays and late night client emails or calls or texts. I say yes to lunch breaks and mid afternoon naps when needed. In my "out-of-office" hours, I fill my time with:

feeding my husband and spending solid, quality time with him.
finding inspiration for design.
having coffee or lunch with a friend.
taking Lulu for a walk.
mentoring or being mentored.
filling my mind with powerful words from books on small business or faith.

When solid parameters are set and I find balance in my priorities, I'm so much more powerful and effective. My time is not my own. I am full aware of this. Praise the Lord my time is not my own or else I would waste it carelessly on myself.