Time in the balance – how freelancers can create a sustainable work schedule

 

[lit lighter*]

Entrepreneurs, especially freelancers, lack an external framework to limit hours. Employers have legal limits in determining the number of hours they can make their employees work with most companies restricting the amount of overtime any employee can take on. Store owners may work long hours but most non-chains are not open 24 hours a day or even 7 days a week. Germany probably has the most extreme restrictions with the vast majority of stores closed in the early evening and generally on Sunday. Freelancers, solely responsible for their own success and generally highly motivated to work, often equate downtime with reduced income, ignoring the short- and long-term effects of overwork. However, by creating some consistent limits on daily and weekly work hours and proper management of workloads, freelancers can sustain a high level of productivity and enjoy life.

[character lifting weights]

First, it is necessary to define work. Judaism, due its Shabbat laws, has quite a volume of writings on this subject but instead I will use a Jewish joke to provide a workable definition. The story goes that two priests were discussing whether sex was work or pleasure and decided to consult their rabbi colleague, who had much more practical experience in the matter. Upon hearing the question, he immediately and unhesitatingly stated that sex was pleasure. When pressed for an explanation, he simply noted that if sex were work, his wife would have the maid do it for her. Consistent with that definition, work is any task that a person would have no issue having somebody else do in his/her stead while pleasure is a task that a person saves for him/herself. For example, while I do not translate on Saturday, I do write posts because I enjoy, even relish, the process of writing. Thus, on Shabbat, I do what pleases me, which happens to include writing posts. Therefore, for the purpose of this article, work is any task that you would not choose to do on a day off.

[up and down graph]

While at the surface it would be logical to think that more hours lead to more income, at a certain stage, the returns not only diminish but also decline. The first sign of overwork is reduced productivity and increased errors. Over time, it requires longer time to produce the same quantity of work, accompanied by every increasing number of errors. Reasons for this decline include reduced patience and increased mental fatigue.  Fortunately, a nice evening out generally recharges the battery. If a person ignores this overload for too long, burnout begins to develop, often expressed in less enthusiasm to start the day or a reluctance to take on challenges. When the brain goes on strike, it becomes necessary to take a few days off. Complete denial of overwork can lead to mental and/or physical collapse. The cost is heavy as many writing in Mental Health Week posts noted. The financial loss from the complete inability to function is much heavier than any associated with a short break from work, not to mention the harm caused to the relations with family and friends. In short, overwork is a preventable issue that is ignored at one’s peril.

[international clocks]

The first element of proper work management is the length of the work day. It is clear that the vast majority of entrepreneurs do not work from 9-5 or even 8-6. There are simply too many tasks to accomplish on most days. Freelancers working with customers with multiple time zones find themselves connected almost 24 hours a day. In practice, aside from being physically impossible over an extended time, such dedication to work turns a person into a robot, with no time or energy for family and friends. In order to balance the need for mental and physical health with the requirements of running of business, it is first necessary to identify and set hours for full business activity and those for monitoring communication. Specifically, as each person has individual peak times for thinking, such as early morning or late night, it is advisable to perform high concentration tasks during the most productive hours as much as circumstances allow. The freelancer should handle the lighter tasks in the tail periods. The actual length of the working day clearly varies by person as age and experience create different endurance capacity. I personally take a nap every day, allowing me to extend my work day to better cope with the time zone issues. As for responding to emails, it is perfectly legitimate not to respond to correspondence in the late evening as most people do not expect an immediate answer during those hours, with some exceptions. By limiting active working hours and allowing oneself not to respond, the freelancer gains several hours of downtime each day, a key for long-term health.

[Cat sitting in a bowl]

It should be clear that working seven days a week is not sustainable over a year. The problem is that special cases requiring us to work an entire week without a day off become the rule, not the exception. The only way for an independent entrepreneur to take a day off is to schedule it. The actual day of the week is not important but at least 24 hours without work is vital for sustainable work. For example, my wife and I have decided that we do not work from Friday night to Saturday night except in extreme circumstances. Our reason for keeping the Jewish Sabbath is not religious but instead practical as nobody in Israel or abroad expects us to work on Saturday, meaning we do not generally receive requests, thus facilitating our decision. I also do not work on Sunday nights as I watch US football and baseball but, again, it is easy to take Sunday night off as the whole world is recovering from the weekend. In practice, all that a freelancer needs to do to have regular days off is make a firm decision, which is admittedly easier said than done. However, insistence on at least one day of rest pays long-term dividends.

[stress attacks]

The last scheduling choice is the actual workload. Freelance business tends to be feast or famine, i.e., too much or too little. While the latter may not be healthy for the bank account, the former has the potential to harm the person. It is difficult, if not impossible, to define “too much work” as individual capacities and technological skill vary from person to person as does the effect of stress. Some people only perform at the best when they face a tight schedule. However, everyone does have a point beyond which the pressure created by the workload begins to create harmful physical and mental health. The key is to identify that point and be ready to schedule work in a manner that does avoid that point, even at the price of losing a project. I suffered from years from irregular heartbeat, which was aggravated by stress. One benefit was that it taught me to listen for the signs of stress and schedule work in such a manner that I feel confident in my ability to meet the deadline without killing myself. If a potential project creates uncomfortable stress, I state a deadline that fits my needs even at the risk of losing the project as my health is more important any specific project. Daily work scheduling is not a science but instead the art of managing the possible.

The results of overwork are financially, physically and emotionally disastrous. Entrepreneurs, especially, freelancers, should schedule the work day, work week and work load in such a manner that the they can sustain the pace and enjoy the money they earn. After all, money is a means for a goal, not the goal itself.

* Captions allow the blind to fully access the Internet.

All pictures from Pixabay.

Les Misérables of the 21st century

Human life has always involved a certain degree of suffering.  There are even those who would claim it brings you closer to God. Clearly, it is certainly heart wrenching to see destitute people on the street or pictures of starving people in Africa. Yet, our level of actual commissary varies, depending on the circumstances.  Growing up in the United States whose underlying ethos is Protestant self-responsibility, there is always a feeling, not always justified, that alcoholics or drug addicts, not to mention people those with mental illnesses, can and should turn their lives around.  In other words, we share a mixed feeling of sympathy and distain.  By contrast, those individuals whose fate has been determined by factors outside their control elicit much more sympathy. It is easier to give a donation to causes helping hurricane victims and abused dogs.

I am fortunate and clearly appreciate that I work from home.  My getting to work involves five steps from bedroom, with only an occasional traffic jam caused by two cats running in front of me. The college where I work is a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk away. However, for the vast majority of working Americans, Europeans and Asians, getting to work involves hours of travels and constant traffic jams. For example, in Los Angeles, a half hour drive is considered close with many commuters stuck on the road for almost two hours each way. Cities with good public transportation systems provide slightly more friendly environments but all cities and their peripheral road networks suffer from heavy traffic jams.

The costs of this long commute go beyond gas and wasted time. The drivers themselves suffer whether or not they are aware of it. People day in and day out get up knowing that, if everything goes right, they may only have an hour moving at a snail’s pace. Even worse, after a long day’s work, it takes great effort to maintain the patience and attention required to get home safely. All this stressful time in the car, even if slightly mitigated by music or good company, leaves people exhausted. Overtime, most commuters become numb, fortunately, but the stress remains with its accompanying fatigue. Just like a homeless that have lived many years in the street, commuters don’t know any other way of life.

Clearly, they did not create the situation nor do they have any significant ability to improve the situation. Still, as a non-commuter that occasionally has to join the crawling masses, I am moved to pity when I realize that people do this every day. Like Jean Valjean persecuted to the end of his life, working people in the West will suffer until they retire. It may be not at the level of the starving in Africa but they are still les Misérables of our time.

Fear of flying

Having just returned from a family visit abroad, I had plenty of time, some 24 hours door to door, to reflect on the modern flying experience. While at one time, apparently, travel was exiting and almost magical, it has become unpleasant, even borderline insufferable.

The anxiety begins even before the trip.  Despite the plethora of options available to order airplane tickets, the sheer number of options in terms of airlines, types of connections, layover times and prices can be very daunting.  I have to admit that while for simple trips I use Expedia, for most trips I call the airline directly so I can compare the difference in price for specific days. It is far more time efficient. Unfortunately, the mere possession of the reservation guarantees no peace of mind. My flight paranoid has been justified on numerous occasions.  I have had flights delayed, cancelled and “disappeared” (never existed according to the airline, from Miami, of course). I have had to sit hours at the airport, been sent home from the airport and, just recently, even had to take a cab to another airport in order to make the connection.

The airport itself has become an obstacle course. Some airlines have self-checking in stands that easily confuse the easily confused. After checking in, US rules require a security process that is not far from a strip search and create long lines as each traveler gets his/her five minutes of unwanted attention. After that obstacle, in many airports, travelers of all ages can begin the long distance sprint.  Many airports, including San Francisco and Frankfurt, have kilometers of halls to pass to reach the golden gate of departure.  I have done it with an irregular heartbeat, a humbling experience.  I can imagine how older and less fit travelers feel.

The reward for having successfully reached the plane is sit in cramped seats like sardines in a can with generally efficient but not exactly friendly stewardesses and stewards, overworked themselves to be fair. Airplane food is rather infamous, justifiably. As for scheduling, officially, a half an hour late is on-time.  Try telling that to your boss. Some airports then play lottery with our luggage. Smart travelers try to avoid checking in luggage not just because of the cost.

Thus, traveling by plane involves stress to the third power.  Once upon a time, people were scared of flying because they were worried that the plane would crash.  The vast majority of Western flyers (not including Russian ones, I imagine) are now more concerned about what kind of physical and mental shape they will arrive at the destination.  That is the current meaning of the title of Erica Jong’s book.

War culture

Part of the Israeli experience, unfortunately, is the going through these overly frequent periods of mass military operations as a civilian.  The British of World War II and the North Vietnamese of the 1970’s are quite familiar with the sensations of random violence from the air.  It creates, no pun intended, a heavy atmosphere for even the most banal activity, regardless if your town is subject to or spared from the missiles.  For purposes of context, I live in Karmiel in the northern part of Israel. In my 25 years here, I have experienced on a first hand basis missiles during the two Iraq wars and the Second Lebanese War, including helping young daughter get through this.  I admit that my somewhat limited exposures does not compare with those living in Sderot  in southern Israel or Kiriat Shmone in northern Israel, but does provide some intimate knowledge of the joy of rockets in air.  Also, as in all crises, reactions are individual, varying from person to person.

The randomness and helplessness of being a civilian creates several common phenomena.  First, using official and unofficial information, people creates their “rules of safe behavior”.  On one extreme, this can mean never leaving the safe room.  On the other extreme, some individuals assume that life and death are just a matter of luck and go everywhere since it makes no difference.  My attitude under fire was that, based on my analysis of the cases of actual death by missile, my home is my castle, i.e. stay inside as much as possible to be safe. I believe that I am correct, at least statistically.

For those that leave the apparent safety of their house, the next issue is what to do if you are “caught” by an alert while driving or doing shopping.  Yes, people do need to eat even during a war.  In the former, there are several attitudes.  I admit that I used to keep on driving, counting on the laws of probability to keep me safe.  In other words, I have much less chance of dying from a missile than I have from a car accident.   The home front department advises otherwise: pull over, get out of your car, and hit the dirt or, if possible, get near a wall, covering your head with your arms.  I don’t feel scared enough to do that, but it does make sense.  If out in the city running errands, some people first check where the nearest safe room or stair case is, similar to parents with small children checking where the bathroom is. The opposite reaction is quite “human”: turn on the Smartphone video and film the whole event.  Logically, it is probably the most dangerous way to react, but instinctively it takes over if a person believes in immortality and is not actually frightened by the rocket.

The last issue I will address is dealing with the tensions.  People release their tension through one or more of the following physical manners: mashing teeth (dentists are quite busy after the war), eating more or less than usual, talking about their fears or insisting that the endless tension has no effect on them, constantly or never watching the news, or playing video games, to name a few.  I know that this stress does leave a scar on a person’s psyche, but so do one’s parents and childhood years in general for that matter.

So, war is hell, but a personal hell for civilians.  It is also part of an Israeli’s identity, distinguishing him or her from most other people.  From time to time, people will list the “wars” they gone through.  Sadly, my list is getting longer and will probably expand in the future.  As that optimistic Israeli goes, we also get through that.