Each week I have to put in twenty-four hours of work in exchange for room and board. It's generally broken into four hours a day six days a week, but as long as I get my twenty-four hours done, I can do them whenever I like.
This is really handy when one gets weather like we've had the past three days. On Thursday morning I did a load of laundry and then hung it out to dry. Shortly after it started to rain and it continued to rain until early this morning. Now, mid afternoon on Sunday, the sun has finally decided to come out.
I put my hours in on Friday organizing and painting, but yesterday it was just too dreary to do any work. So I edited my novel instead. I work this afternoon, but I'm not in the mood. So I will add the hours I didn't do yesterday into next week when it's supposed to be sunny and I can spend longer working on my tan.
Even in my nine-to-five jobs, I always played with the hours, working ten-to-six or even seven-to-three. When I ran my own business, I thought that I'd have the freedom to work when I wanted, but that wasn't the case. Often I would have choose times that best fit my clients' schedules, or get up early for networking meetings.
This current work situation is the best for me, I think. I have a broad guideline, but within that guideline, I can do what I want, when I want. And because the homeowner trusts me to get it done, I don't have to account for every minute of the work I do. She's happy with the results and that is all that matters in the long run.
Someday Lessons:
- If you trust others, giving the broad guidelines rather than hard rules often produces better results.
- Freedom is the ability to do what you want when you want while still being responsible and respectful to others.