Regarding Holiday Weekends

Holiday weekends are always a tough thing for freelancer writers.  These include the standard holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day; uncommon holiday weekends where a holiday falls on a Friday through Monday, creating a three-day weekend for business people; and also uncommonly celebrated holiday weekends that include holidays not observed by all companies, such as President's Day.  I'd also include that pesky Friday after Thanksgiving, which many business people get or take off.

Holiday weekends are difficult for freelancers because typically our family, friends, and people we would consider colleagues have paid days off for these holidays.  They get to enjoy a three-day weekend (or four-day weekend, for Thanksgiving) without actually taking time off.  And they typically expect us to have the day off too, inviting us to barbeques, dinner parties, weekend getaways, and the like.  Because why wouldn't we have the day off?  We're in charge of our own schedules.

Obviously this is on my mind because this is a holiday weekend, and my husband has Monday off.  On top of that, my mom is visiting, but not until Monday afternoon.  It's all complicated by the fact that I have several deadlines midday Tuesday, so I have to plan ahead in order to meet those.  And since I wasn't able to get the work done during the week, it means I'll be working on the holiday weekend.

After 17 years as a freelance writer, I've worked a lot of nights and weekends.  In fact, as you probably remember from my other posts, working late is my preference.  That doesn't mean, however, that I'm available all the time.  Just like any other worker, I require time off during the week to spend time with my family and enjoy personal hobbies.

I don't blame any of my clients for my current predicament of having to work this weekend.  I knew about several of the deadlines a couple weeks ago, and since I had planned to get the work done this past week, hadn't noticed that they were due right after Labor Day weekend.  I do, however, think many freelancing job platforms bear responsibility at least in part for the "always on" notion of freelancer schedules, as they allow clients to assign work with a deadline expressed in hours (24 hours, 36 hours, etc.) without regard to weekends or holidays.  For instance, one client assigned me four blog posts yesterday, with two of them due in 48 hours - which, even if I had waited as long as possible to accept them (and assuming I did not forget) would have made them due on Tuesday, immediately following a holiday weekend.

Please, if you appreciate and respect your freelancers, try to be aware of their schedule when requesting work.  Not all freelancers avoid working on the weekends - in fact, some work weekends out of necessity - so if they've shared their work schedule with you, try to keep that in mind when assigning work.  Best practice is to always request new work at least a week out, so that your freelancer can complete it with whatever time works best for them throughout the week, not to mention juggle it with any work they have for other clients.

A Note on My Schedule

I've mentioned a few times lately things about the odd schedules that I keep.  It impacts my work schedule, so I think it bears explaining here.

I'm a bona fide night owl.  And as a self-employed person, I've taken full advantage of the ability to set my own schedule over the years.  I tend to "warm up" in the afternoon and work late at night, when I'm most productive and focused.  Evenings are spent with the people in my life who are not night owls or don't have the luxury of setting their own schedules.

What does this mean for you?

If you are a client or prospective client of mine, you might wonder what my schedule means for you.  As a freelancer I work independently, so for the most part it doesn't mean anything at all.  Think of it like me just having afternoon office hours, but instead of having meetings or focused work time in the mornings, I'm doing that part late at night.

It may take a little adjustment on your part, though.  For me, I tend to count it all as today until I've slept.  Which means that when I'm working late, say, Thursday night, it might technically be Friday, but to me, it's still just the end of Thursday.

Because of this, it's important to be super clear about deadlines.  If you need something on Wednesday, don't tell me to have it to you by Wednesday, as there's a good chance I'll be finishing it up after close of business on Wednesday.  Instead, tell me when exactly you need it on Wednesday.  If you need it by 8am Wednesday, for example, tell me that, so that I can adjust that deadline in my head to be Tuesday night instead - ensuring you have it by the time you need it Wednesday morning.

I know it probably seems a little weird, but after years of trying off and on to adjust my schedule to be more "normal," I've realized this is just the way I'm wired.  Fortunately, after nearly 17 years of freelancing, I also know it works quite well this way.  Most clients never even notice the odd hours I keep, unless of course I send them something at 2am!