What’s on the iPod: Quiet Little Voices by We Were Promised Jetpacks
I’ve not mentioned it, but I’ve been on vacation since December 6th. Right now, we’re on our way back from Florida. December was a good choice for time away — nothing’s happening, and client projects were finished at the beginning of the month.
Just two clients know I’m traveling, and it’s only because they may have requests while I’m out of the home office.
Truth is, it doesn’t matter.
But sometimes clients get the impression that you’re not really working when you’re on the road with your laptop/tablet. So we keep it quiet unless we really don’t want to work while we’re vacationing.
It’s understandable. I remember a harsh reaction from a client who’d left me waiting for a month and a half on a project, then called on a Friday afternoon wanting to have it done right away. He’d said “We’ll talk on Wednesday.” I said, “I’m not going to be in the office that day.”
His response: “Didn’t you just have a vacation?”
That’s the reaction we writers try to avoid. Yes, he was a colossal jerk for many reasons — one, assuming a vacation (he was right), thinking it was his business at all what I did, and treating me like an employee.
It’s why a writer I know who works from another country makes like she’s working domestically. It’s a complication to no one but those who perceive it to be.
Today I’m writing from a hotel in Florida. Tomorrow, I might be writing from a friend’s house in North Carolina. As long as the project is completed accurately and on time, it doesn’t matter.
There are a few habits I’ve tried to adopt so that when I do go out of town, clients don’t panic or get another writer:
Keep regular habits. At home, I check email a few times a day — morning, mid-morning, noon, and mid-afternoon an hour before quitting. I do the same thing on the road on my phone. If something comes in, there’s little lag time between the note and the response.
Plan for requests. My schedule includes an hour or two every day that’s reserved for work. If it’s an urgent request, that’s another matter, but right now I have mornings set aside for some work, if needed. If more time is needed, I get the deadline extended or I bow out of activities going on around me.
Let them know of delays. I might not tell clients I’m traveling (unless I know them well enough), but I will say “I can get to that tomorrow morning.” That way they’re not sitting by the computer hitting Send/Receive.
Keep the quality up. No way I’m rushing through a project to get to the beach. If I can’t get it done in the time I have, I’ll bow out of fun around me, or I’ll tell the client I need another day. When I sit down, my focus is 100% on their project. It has to be. The reputation can’t be compromised for a day in the sun.
Writers, have you worked remotely?
How do you handle working from the road?
I've had a couple of clients like that, too, Lori. There are a couple times a year when I announce a vacation, because I know I won't be online. The rest of the time, I simply avoid booking any work in the calendar. 🙂
Ha! Whenever I do get away it's around Thanksgiving or Christmas, so no one ever needs to reach me.
But – brace yourselves – I now have a "mobile device." My sister upgraded her iPhone and I inherited her iPhone4. Sure, it's a but dated, but it's light years ahead of the old camera-less flip phone people mocked me for having. But I have yet to figure out how to check email on it. I did it once, but haven't been able to since. (I did figure out how to tweet from it!)
I have learning curve, and apps to find.
This is a great topic.
For quite a few years when I began freelancing, all of my vacations were working vacations. That meant I took a laptop (later on, a tablet) and did client work from the hotel room for a good part of the day.
Of course, some clients didn't realize that. I could imagine a few former clients making a comment like this.
A few years ago, I realized I needed to treat myself better. Now I make it a point to avoid scheduling work during my vacations so that I truly get a break. (Many clients are willing to negotiate a deadline, if you just ask.)
Recently, I realized I need to treat at least one weekend day the same way–avoid scheduling work and be unavailable to clients.
We all need our breaks, and setting boundaries helps us to get them.
Of course, if you have an extra long trip (several weeks or more), you still might find yourself working remotely.
Hey Lori! Sorry to have been such a stranger of late. Combination of being busy, and, yes, a long vacation was part of the mix.
When we moved to Canada for a year, I actually only told my core clients about it. Thanks to the magic of VOIP, I was able to keep my AZ phone number; thus, even new business wasn't aware I was 3100 miles away unless the topic came up. ("Can you come to our office next Monday?" "Uhhh, not really.")
About 6 weeks before my most recent trip, I let everyone know that I was going to be unreachable for 10 days, and offered to get urgent items wrapped up before I left. You're right, of course, that you need to keep quality the priority 🙂
Sharon, good strategy. Most of my vacations are non-working ones. This one came upon me rather quickly (a week), and I was in the middle of a few things.
Paula, welcome to the mobile world! I'm sure an iPhone 4 will work fine to get you used to mobile tech. I'm not familiar with iPhones, but I suspect it's just fine.
Laura, glad to hear you're treating yourself better. My weekends are hands-off zones for client work. Only once this year did I work a weekend, and it was because a favorite client needed the work right away.
Jake, it worked — I never knew you were in Canada for a year! Was that recently? You and I both know it shouldn't matter where the typing and creating occur, but some of the more traditional clients may think it's a road block. Weird.
We lived in New Brunswick for 11 months in 2009; my wife had an expat positiion with her company, and I did what I could to operate business as usual. The one business advantage was being in the Atlantic time zone–1 hour ahead of East Coast and 3 or 4 ahead of AZ so it was easy to get items in client hands before they got to their desks in the morning.
On a personal note, it was also a tremendous base for traveling: In addition to seeing many places around the province, we went to Montreal, Quebec City, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Newfoundland. And a great experience for the kids, attending a public middle school in a foreign country. Living there for a year rather than just a few days/weeks of vacation, I definitely learned Canada is far more different from the U.S. than most of us realize.
Jake, that IS an advantage. It's why I'm hoping to get a German passport (long story, but I may be eligible). I could then work from Ireland and have things done in no time (well, by the time everyone here would wake up). It's a dream. 🙂
I bet the kids loved it. Why wouldn't they? What a great opportunity!