How many people have said to you "your schedule is flexible" because "you don't

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   TheRightWordposted 13 years ago

   How many people have said to you "your schedule is flexible" because "you don't work"?
   
   How often do people think you are readily available to drop everything to watch their kids, work on their project, etc because you are a full time freelance writer? How do you respond to them? How do you keep your writing time sacrosanct?

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2. 67

   Teresa Schultzposted 13 years ago

   This happens to Tony and I all the time - freelancers working from home living in  the same house as my parents and my two sons.  Although it gets to us, we often just drop what we're doing and do whatever it is that is expected of us - as not doing it, (and immediately), ends up being worse when we are trying to keep the peace, and ends up as more of an interruption than if we just did it right away.
   
   Also, we try to get most of our work done at night, when everybody else is sleeping.
   
   Our situation is not ideal, but we try to cope with it as best we can when we cannot afford to move elsewhere anytime too soon. Moving elsewhere will not eliminate all interruptions, but will at least somewhat reduce them.
   
   If interruptions are via email, only reply to them later when you have the chance. If interruptions are by phone, either ignore the phone or be firm saying you're in the middle of something, and will call them back later.

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3. 65

   Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

   I had another version of that said to me once.  My three kids were young, so I was taking freelance assignments that I could do from home and then deliver.  I was also working for a couple of newspapers regularly, and doing some public relations work for awhile.  Granted, it was part-time; but I was busy even when I didn't have to leave my kids with their father for short period of time every few days.  I had one of the first Radio Shack laptops and would send work over the phone line (or else drop off some work at one paper or another at - like - 5:30 a.m.)
   
   Well, when I left my marriage and there was "a big custody stink", the court/lawyers went around asking people who knew me one question or another about what I did. When the report was prepared, and the lawyer handed me a copy of it (in court!), the report said, "....hasn't worked at all since she got married".   (!!!!!)  (Of course, I had my newspaper clips, copies of other work, and paycheck stubs to prove that wasn't true; but I found it sickening.)
   
   In a related note, with the newspaper stuff I was covering news.  I also did a couple of very serious "specials" (one was about teen suicide).  A friend asked me, "Are you still writing you LITTLE stories?"   Again:  !!!!!! 
   
   Apparently, writing is either "not working at all", or else it's "LITTLE stories" (even when they're run as a series about teen suicide, for example).   One more time:   !!!!!  (and those exclamation points aren't happy ones, by the way)

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4. 64

   WebsiteConfettiposted 13 years ago

   I work part-time and freelance part time with a home business and writing.  Most of my week is spent on the later. People assume that when I am not at my part-time job that I must be free and say to me, oh you're so lucky you only work 2 days a week. That's nonsense. Working for yourself is hard work. I usually joke off people's rude comments, saying something like I have a hard boss (me) who wont let me have time off.

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5. 60

   Jeff Gambleposted 13 years ago

   This happens to me quite often. As soon as you mention that you work from home, or that you do freelance work - of any kind - the assumption is made that you can just drop everything. My wife even does it! While freelancers may not work 9-5 every day, it doesn't mean we have total flexibility. We are often up against deadlines, or working hard to find that next good paying project. I don't know about everyone else, but my average work day starts very early in the morning and typically ends when I decide it's finally time for bed. Sometimes, when people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I'm a trophy husband!

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