Do You Work On The Weekends?
I have a confession to make: I work on the weekends. It’s actually pretty rare that a weekend goes by that I don’t work at least a couple of hours. For many freelancers, working on the weekends is a no-no (although I think more of us would say that we shouldn’t work on the weekends than would say that we actually don’t work on the weekends). For several years, I’ve tried to figure out how to keep my weekends clear, but recently, I’ve been embracing it.
I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing wrong with doing some work every weekend. There are plenty of if’s, then’s and but’s that go with this decision, of course. I know I need a healthy work-life balance as much as the next freelancer. I certainly wouldn’t recommend my approach to every other freelancer out there. But if you find yourself doing a little work on the weekends and not minding it, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
When It’s Okay to Work On the Weekends
One of the reasons I haven’t set the weekend off-limits for work is because I don’t usually work a full forty-hour workweek during the other five days of the week. Most of the time, I’m taking a class that will eat up at least a couple of hours during the week, not to mention making use of the fact that I have a flexible schedule to get out and do things during the workweek. That makes at least a little work on the weekends necessary just to meet my goals.
I’m not talking about putting in an eight-hour workday every Saturday and Sunday — I certainly believe that I need plenty of time away from my computer. But I choose to space my days off out through the workweek, rather than trying to convince myself that I should even check my email to make sure that none of my clients have had an emergency. I’m swapping out a couple of hours of Saturday morning cartoons for a little writing.
When It Isn’t Okay to Work On the Weekends
Just because I’m at work on the weekends, I don’t let my clients know that they can try to reach me then. Most of the people I work with don’t realize that I do any work on the weekends, and that’s the way I want to keep it. I don’t even send out emails most weekends — I queue them up and wait to actually send them until Monday morning. I think that one of the biggest problems with working around the clock is when your clients expect you to do exactly that. Something like putting in a few extra hours over the weekend or working later into the evening has to be a decision you make for yourself, rather than letting a client dictate your hours.
Just as importantly, you have to be personally comfortable with whatever schedule you work on. If you want to spend your Saturday and Sunday away from the computer, you should. And even if you’d rather spend every waking hour working on freelance projects, you should probably make a point of spending some of your weekends outside, anyway. But there are many freelancers who need that break in between weeks and that’s perfectly fine.
Your Opinion
I’ve gotten curious, just from thinking about my own schedule. What about you? Do you consider the weekend fair game? Why or why not? Did you have to do anything in particular to set boundaries around what you will and won’t do on the weekend?
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I work on the weekends because I have to. Although I DO get work on the weekdays, most of the time my clients call on a Friday with work due Monday morning. It’s a very unpredictable business, advertising storyboard artists are usually the last to know about the work coming.
As a freelance designer I can relate.
I find myself working weekends often, because I also tend to spread my working week a little (10am – 6) rather than the strict “9 to ..well ever the boss goes home”.
You make a good point about queing emails for Monday morning, think I’ll give it a go.
Cheers
J
Personally, I try to stick to personal work-related projects on the weekend. It gives me time to work on side projects that I enjoy, but don’t have time for during the week. It’s still working on the weekend, but at least it’s more enjoyable work and work that if necessary, I can skip or cut back on.
I try to avoid emailing and such on the weekends, even though I know my clients do work on the weekends, I try to give them that breathing space unless I must contact them. In turn, it gives me a bit of a break too.
Great post-and I think you’re right-more freelancers like the idea of taking weekends off than actually do take weekends off.
I tend to do some work on the weekends, but I try to make it on more fun, personal projects — posting to my blog, working on my own website, or just working on non-client projects. I generally don’t respond to client emails unless it’s an emergency.
This is exactly the same position that I am in – weekdays can be so crazy and stressful that during the day at times I switch off and lose productivity which I will make up for on the weekend. I don’t have to, but on the weekend I generally feel more relaxed. I don’t have emails and phone calls piling in, and I can actually focus on the job. I only work though if I have alot on at the time and I have a few spare hours. However I don’t plan the weekend around work, if I don’t have the time then too bad.
Also I ensure my clients understand that my work hours are 9-5 mon-fri and if they call or email outside of that, I get back to them in my working hours.
I like to work sometimes on Saturdays for few hours but never Sundays.
In some cases is not client related work but more web related activities (my blog, studying jquery etc)
Almost never.
We are actually cancelling our home internet (again) because I’ve made it such a point not to even touch a computer when I’m at home unless it’s for a joint recreational purpose between my wife and I and/or friends (looking up movies, youtube videos, etc…).
We work really hard during the week and we enjoy our weekends.
Most importantly, I make it clear to all my Web Design clients that I am incommunicado on the weekends. This is a hard line I take to make sure my quality of life doesn’t diminish and my marriage doesn’t suffer just to make a few extra bucks.
Same as some of the others, I try to do personal projects or just a different project than what I worked on during the week. I leave my work IM and Skype off, and don’t respond to client emails until Monday. Unfortunately the last 6 months, I’ve worked just about every weekend, it becomes a habit.
If a (US) client for some reason requests weekend/off-hour work I charge a premium rate.
To keep my sanity I try to do at least one major fun activity every weekend, even during the current push. Even if it’s just for half a day.
sorry to bothe u , but i m learning english and would u pls tell what’s the phrase for “tasks not done in time” and piled up ?
many thanks
I very rarely work on the weekends and steer well clear of my computer on my precious Saturdays and Sundays. It is so easy to have a quick check of your email and then to get sucked into something work related.
There are those clients who don’t seem to have weekend boundaries but I have to say those are few and far between.
I work every day, including weekends, usually 6-8 hours every day (or more). The only reason I continue this lifestyle now is because I know if I put in the hard work and extra hours now, it’ll start to pay off much sooner and within a few months I can start to cut back on working so much.
It’s a tradeoff, you really do need to dedicate your entire life to projects you’re working on. But once they start to launch off and you can see some serious potential behind them you get a sense of serious accomplishment.
Unfortunately, yes sometimes.
I find myself working on the weekends more often then the weekdays.
I’m a full-time student that usually is booked for the weekdays, so the weekend are usually the only times I can focus 100% on clientwork.
Nonetheless, I do take an effort to give myself a break during the weekend. Usually about an hour break to get my juices flowing, but most of my breaks that last a day or two are during the weekday.
As long as you can find a good time to take a break, whether it is the weekend or the weekday, you’re pretty much set because breaks are important to keep yourself afloat.
I used to do it a lot and throughout the whole weekend, but since my daughter was born, it kind of became impossible to work at home on the weekends.
But, occasionally, there’s these two situations that makes me get to work (only on Saturday).
1. I’m really behind my schedule. An by “really” I mean a “Oh My God! I’m gonna get killed if I don’t get this done!”
2. It’s vital Internal Project.
I just try not to let work time interfere with the family’s schedule. I’ve got the advantage to be an early bird and usually I get 2-3 hours to work before anyone wakes up. It helps a lot!!
I freelance on the side so the weekends are my only option really…If/When I go to freelancing full time I’ll probably work 6 hours a day 6 days a week, but only available to clients on weekdays, and of course more if needed for deadlines. BIG proponent of getting out of the office tho. The world is much better designed than anything I can make. Why not experience it for inspiration. Got to. Hike with a sketchbook and/or a camera(then sketch from the pictures later) awesome.
I also work on weekend as I schedule non-work tasks and even breaks during the week.
Thursday, like you, I sometimes work weekends, too. I don’t like to take on work with the idea that “hey, if I can’t finish, I’ll just spend all day Sunday catching up,” but I’ll work a few weekend hours if I need to. The nice thing about working on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon is that I don’t get nearly the volume of emails or tweets I do on a weekday, so it’s easier to focus.
Yes! Weekends to me are a huge money maker. In fact, I’ve considered changing my business to revolve around working long weekends and taking off the rest of the week.
I select weekends about a month in advance I’m willing to do rush work, let my clients know, and usually double my rates. Sometime between 2-5pm on Friday I get a few phone calls that amount to 20-30 hours of work.
And because I’ve just worked my butt off all weekend, clients are generally forgiving when I take a few days off during the week.
Working from home, I’m flexible in my working hours during the weekday / evenings, and I’m up front with clients, telling that they should expect a reply from me during the week only.
I try to fill weekends with stuff that gets me out and about and gives me creative breathing space and time with my partner. So my weekends are very rarely related to client projects.
I do have clients who work weekends and I find their weekend text messages and emails (usually one liners such as ‘quick question’ or ‘here’s a thought’) very intrusive and tactless. I have to say, come Monday morning, their projects may move down the list. So far none of the messages received on a weekend have been critical or even important. I would love to hit a mute button, but being connected for the rest of life’s stuff means there is an open channel at the moment.
I tend to work on weekends, but that’s because I don’t work a 9-to-5 job – one of my differentiators is that I work late into the night and sometimes weekends, so it makes it easier for my clients who may work for someone else during the week – plus they know I’m usually available for premium-priced last-minute projects. I’ve a few overseas clients (I’m in the UK), so I’m available at convenient times for these clients too.
I don’t work mornings – I’ve always been a bit of a nightwalker, so migrate naturally to late nights. Where this potentially caused problems with a 9-to-5 corporate job, it’s actually a benefit for my own business because few other companies offer such convenient hours.
I think things have changed as far as working hours are concerned, and it’s important to be flexible – so expect to work occasional weekends when the work is there,especially in the current economy. Remember always to take time out through….
I only work weekends when I’m hired to finish a rush project, but in those cases I let the client knows it’s going to be _very_ expensive (at which point the project often turns out to not be such a rush after all). When I do work a weekend, I dial it back a bit the following week to compensate.
For me, the whole point of working freelance is to take some control of my schedule. I love the freedom to structure my time to suite my needs in addition to meeting deadlines. If I am busy, more often than not I have less flexibility in my schedule but it is for work that I have chosen to take on so I am okay with it. I have recently started a part time freelance gig that has me reporting into their offices for a few hours every day. It is a great gig for a lot of reasons but I don’t like that there is someplace I have to be every day.
I use weekends to do whatever I feel like (except sleep in… impossible when you have kids), but if there’s a project with a tight deadline, then yes, I work on the weekends (never on Sunday–it’s essential to at least have one day of rest, right?).
I work around the clock and my clients know it. To me the 5 day 9-5 schedule is for jobs you do because you have to work to survive. I love what I do so I don’t mind doing it anytime. Working without a set schedule lets me open up any day I need to help a friend, take a day off, run errands that are better done during the week – while everyone else is working.
If I finish a project at 2am, that’s when I send the e-mail PDF. I think my clients appreciate that I’m dedicated to help meet their deadlines no matter what. (There are limits, of course but I’m a night owl anyway.) And there are times when clients are in a pinch and the reason they call a FL is because the work needs to be done over the weekend and their staff has already put in a full work week. Then, I’m a hero.
There are benefits to working off-hours – no one calls me or expects a call. The e-mails slow down. And generally I feel more relaxed because there is no pressure to engage in any business-related stuff since most offices are closed. It lets me focus on design. And it feels great.
I still have time for social activities and family (sometimes during the week days) and still do not work a full 40 hours so I don’t feel overworked. In fact, these days I would love to feel overworked!
Great post!
Great topic for discussion!
I’ve found that since I’ve been freelancing I do tend to do at least some work on the weekends. I’ve been known to pull a whole 8 hour day If I have a project that needs to be completed, but I guess we’ve all been there. I do (almost) double my rate if a client comes to me on Friday afternoon and says ‘we need this for monday morning’ though.
I also find that I end up working at the weekends when I really don’t need to if I’m at home. I have the mindset of ‘why not do some work and earn some money’, rather than sit around and do nothing.
I’ve found the best way to prevent this is to actually get out and do stuff at the weekend during the day. I play a fair amount of Squash, so I tend to head down the club Saturday or Sunday for most of the day, so that keeps me away from the computer.
I started freelancing not to long ago and one of my first goals has been not to to client related work on weekends. Realtity looks a bit different though.
I can relate to what you say about not having a 40-something hours week. I recently moved nad now can take a walk into our city in three minutes, to go shopping or into a café and enjoy a warm sunny day.
Work-life balance is crucial to everyone to stay physically and mentally healthy. But I found out that it doesn’t mean you have to balance both out in the common way. I may sleep one or two hours longer than usually on a weekday if I feel the need to. I make take a Friday or Monday off and go on a long weekend to visit friends. I may go shopping if I’m in the modd and / or cook a meal in the kitchen during other peoples working hours.
If oyu have the freedom to do so, take it and find out how you can use it to your advantage, meaning to feel good about yourself. As long as you get your work done, your clients satisfied and your bills paid you’re can anything you want with your time on every single day of the year.
i don’t work on weekends its a sin! i need to spend more time with my family and also i like to go skimboarding on sundays it keeps my head clear out of work! stress free!
I try my best never to work on weekends, but as other folks have pointed out, sometimes deadlines and late client changes make it necessary. I also agree that sending out emails over a weekend (or late at night) is a great way to let clients know that they can expect to have work done at any time, so I restrain myself.
Ultimately, I work hard so I can play hard. If I am gone for a few days on a trip (which we like to do often, say, once a month) then I may need a Saturday afternoon to catch up. It all equals out!
Well i thought we are freelancer and we are free to do anything and at anytime…its upto you whether to treat some of the time in weekdays as weekend or treat weekends as weekdays..Being a freelancer means one has all the flexibility..You can’t miss the clients who are on emergency and want work to be done before monday morning….that way you will lose the client…Only way to relax is take break between work and whenever you feel their is less work treat it as weekend…That way your loyal clients remain loyal to u and you
Well, being a full-time student and part-time freelancer doesn’t leave me much choice.
I do work on Saturday, but like you, my clients don’t know that I do. Sunday’s are off-limits for me as it’s a day I have set aside for religious and family events. I like the idea of not sending out emails until Monday. I have never thought of that before and think I will start implementing that.
I also find my self working on weekends. I have this mentality that I NEED to work on weekends, so I can justify to myself that it will make up for those slow times where there isn’t enough work to keep me busy for at least 40 hours a week. Not to mention those times during weekdays when it’s a perfect time to get out and run errands not everyone has the good fortune of doing.
I work on the weekends (sometimes) because I am also a stay at home mom. I freelance so I can have the schedule flexibility to do things with my son during the week. That being said I rarely put in an 8 hours day on any given day and don’t have any set days off, I take them as I need them. Again, the whole reason I have chosen to freelance.
However, I do not disclose my schedule (or lack thereof) to my clients. To them I appear to work a “normal” work week and they know that they always get their project on time, every time. They don’t know that my Tuesday morning meeting is really play gym with my son. And unless I’m working on a rush project I do not take phone calls or return client emails on the weekend. For me a couple hours on Saturday and/or Sunday is my uninterrupted design time when I do work on the weekends. And because it’s only a couple of hours I have the rest of the day to play!
I work when my kids are not around. Period. 99% of the time that means 9a-3p. Sometimes that means 9p at night too. Weekends hardly ever.
I try not to but it is pretty hard sometimes. I work a regular job as a graphic designer 40 hours a week and freelance web and graphics on the side. Of course I use some time on the weekends to catch up to what still needs to get done. My freelance work comes after my plans so as to still enjoy my weekend time if possible.
I do pretty much the same thing – I work weekends, public holidays, etc. I like working without the distractions from phonecalls etc. Conversely I like taking breaks during the weekdays as it’s quieter as most people are in the office (obviously I don’t take a Wednesday off if I’m in the middle of a project though!).
I don’t try to hide the fact I work on weekends from clients. But I don’t encourage them to contact me on Saturday or Sunday either. Usually if something needs to be approved or discussed, I will suggest that we get back to it on Monday.
I’ve also taken to not replying work emails on the weekend until very late on Sunday (or in the wee hours of Monday morning). I think it makes everyone feel better to keep work to work days.
What’s a weekend?
But seriously I usually take a day during the week as a day off. This way I can get things done (shorter lines) or do things that are normally too busy to do on a weekend. So I get to have fun without all the crowds.
I work on the weekends, since at times, I have to work on-site for companies as contract front-end developer and that does not give me time to work on the freelance projects in hand.
I’m a full-time feature writer who works Mon-Fri but I get assignments on the weekends occasionally. I have deadlines on Monday and Wednesday and am responsible for proof-reading my copies as well. So between deadlines, assignments and proof-reading, you can imagine that I do a heck of a lot during the week.
To meet my Monday deadline, I almost always have to work on weekends. But I don’t see this as a problem (yet) because I don’t have any children at the moment and I wake up the same time as I do every morning to go to work. So I often work during those first few hours of the weekend and save the rest for the fun things.
I used to resent having to finish articles on the weekend but I have come to terms with it. Working on the weekend, believe it or not, keeps me sane. I write my copies bit by bit during the weekend so that come Monday, I can submit them without worrying if I had rushed through the job. I am not a perfectionist but it is important for me to know that I have done my absolute best for each story.
So working on a project bit by bit, whether on a week day or weekend works for me.
If I am anticipating a working weekend, I make sure I do some fun activities during the weekdays so that I don’t feel robbed of “me time”. Who says you need the weekend to do fun things?
I started out working weekends, thinking that after a few months (or a year) I’d be in a better position to be able to take more time off because of business growth and etc. That didn’t happen despite a lot of hard work. All I got was more work and more stuff to do on the weekends.
So finally I started forcing myself to stop working on weekends and, similarly, force myself to stop working by 6pm each night (starting work around 7 each morning). Now I only work weekends if there is a personal/non-client project I need (or want) to do, a true emergency (a website is down for example) or if I am way behind on a project (which provides a good incentive to plan the project schedule better!).
Of course I work during the weekends, but I try to limit myself to working ALL weekend. It’s hard to tear yourself away from the computer when you have a deadline looming, but I have to keep reminding myself of the work/life balance. I work to live!
I definitely agree. There comes a time when a freelancer has to make a choice on whether to work on weekends or not and set it in stone. I believe this helps in terms of longevity of his/her freelancing practice. Currently, I do it on a weekend-by-weekend basis as I still am on the fence when it comes to my personal time management. But I prefer to use sites like Skillocracy.com, which has a number of projects for freelancers, to make my lifestyle easier as well as well paid for
. It’s a no-hassle get-down-to-business kind of business model that I enjoy working in.
Sometimes, I don’t even realize what day of the week it is, I look up and it’s Sunday at 8PM and I’m shocked that I just worked all weekend. I love it.
I no longer differentiate between the week and the weekend. This is not to say that I don’t spend plenty of time with my loved ones. The “Weekend” for me can be taking my daughter to lunch on a Tuesday, or hiking with my son Thursday afternoon when he gets out of school.
It seems silly to allocate just these 2 days (sat and sun), to “do nothing”, relax or spend time with the ones we care about. I try to look at each day and take advantage of whatever opportunities present themselves. If certain opportunities that we wish for do NOT present themselves, well then we can just create the day how we want it!
Oh, the answer to the question is YES, I work weekends… when it is needed
I am struggling w/this exact question lately so your post is quite timely. I think as entrepreneurs it is too easy for us to justify slowly giving up our life. We need to remind ourselves now and then why we chose this venture. For me it was for freedom, for opportunity, for a challenge. Being a Type A and over achiever at everything I do, becoming a workaholic seems to be in my DNA.
So yes, I agree it’s okay to work on the weekends. However, I don’t think making it a habit is a good or healthy thing. I have done it for the last 10+ years. I am going to *TRY* to make steps toward NOT. By no means do I think I can delete it all together. Will probably start w/a Friday night and one weekend day work FREE! That means no checking email on computer, no email, no writing. Hmmm… does it mean no Tweeting too??
Seems like most of you are fortunate enough to have some control of your schedules. Although I do have SOME freedom to step out and run errands, gym, etc. it does seem as if most of my work arrives after 5PM or on weekends. It’s hard to say no nowadays with the U.S. economy being in such bad shape.
My husband owns a restaurant, so working on weekends was one of the reasons I started freelancing. I take Mondays off, so weekends are just like any other day of business to me.
N.
I work every weekend…because I enjoy the work. I also stop working in the middle of the day on Wednesday if the weather is nice…just because I can.
I agree – not letting MOST clients know I’m available on weekends is key, although letting a few of my big ones know I’m around has brought me work that otherwise may have gone to someone else.
I am in and out, on and off my computer throughout the weekdays and weekends. I love the flexibility and it gives the illusion of always being available without actually being tethered.
Sometimes yes, sometimes not.
It depends on the importance and urgency of the work and if I go to be or not occupied during the weekend.
Sometimes, cuz you never know when a new job will popup.
24/7 baby – if the money is there – I’m there.
Nice answer!
I do work on weekend, I work till late, just for simple reason. I love my work!
Sometimes.
It depends on the project, it depends on the client, it depends on the weather outside.
For instance it happened to me this winter to work on snowy or rainy Sundays and then take a beautiful sunny Wednesday off to go snowboarding: it’s part of the freedom you can afford freelancing! And I love it
If it is absolutely crucial, then I would work on a weekend but as much as possible, I don’t. My weekends are reserved for time with my family and significant other. I don’t answer client emails on weekends as well. However, I am always on the lookout for new gigs 24/7.
I love what I do so much (which is why I don’t use the word “work” here) that I actually couldn’t imagine not working on Saturday and Sunday.
I do manage to have a reasonable family life as well though – I’m not a complete workaholic… (or is that what all workaholics say?)
I think working on weekends can be inevitable these days, but I strongly agree that it should be at the designer’s discretion, not the client’s. We want to be able to relax too and don’t want the client to expect us to be home and at the computer all the time. I personally set my hours for Monday to Friday and do work on weekends when necessary.
The other good thing about freelancing is that you can choose whether or not to take that late Friday project that’s due Monday. A lot of designers would charge a rush fee if they choose to do this, but I take it on a case by case basis.
I work pretty musch every weekend, I don’t know whether I am charging enough having read some of you take them off! I work full time 9-5 for a company as web developer, then put in at least 4 hours in the evening on freelance projects, plus at least 10 hours over the weekend, I have been up until 1am every night the last 2 weeks cramming in work for projects. I don’t mind working the weekends, what pisses me off is client emergencies in the evenings and their heavy reliance on the “typical” working week, they seem to leave issues on the back burner because they are at work and can’t address it then, so they call in the evening when I am in full flow on projects.
I almost do exactly as the article and most people.
I strictly tell my clients I do not work after 6pm and on weekends. But secretly I do work and get loads more work out of the way in shorter space of time. During a weekday you get interrupted by meetings and phone calls, on weekends, you have no interruption and just get the work done.
I only do about 2 hours on a Sunday and spend rest of the weekend on my personal work and family. But those two hours equal to 4 hours of weekday hours, allowing me to be more flexible during the week.
If I do work weekends on client request, I charge more or a rush-fee.
I always work on weekends, can focus on my projects without interruptions
It’s saturday, and I work too…sometimes because I have much job to handle, but sometimes because I had a non productive week, so I prefer working on w-ends sometimes. It’s also less stress, as you know that the phone won’t ring. I think i am more productrive on week ends..strange
just like when sometimes working at night….all is quiet, no phone, I work better
My husband doesn’t have a traditional Monday to Friday work schedule so many times I do find myself working on the weekends. With working from home, it is difficult to ever truly be away from work unless I leave the house and leave my phone at home.
I have had my husband hide my laptop from me in the past to prevent working just to work on the weekends. But at times, working on the weekends is necessary to get all of the projects finished.
I am guilty too of doing this. Part of being a freelancer means I have a lot more personal time or, in some cases, very hectic working days. The good thing is that many times I can respect my weekends and not schedule any work, but other times I have to work to make up for more relaxation during normal workdays when I am traveling or just not willing to work.
The only time I didn’t work weekends was when I was full time employed. Now that I am fully freelance I work all the time (and I mean all the time).
Normal working week would see me working from 10am right through till about 4am and thats pretty much every day…..
That being said when times are where quiet I would work 12am – 4pm
I am guilty too of doing this… even not being just a freelancer. This is exactly the time i have to work on personal projects, self study and so on. The only way to keep myself updated.
I’m still a student so to earn some extra money I do work on weekends
Hey! Thanks for a good post.
I am a full time freelancer and do sometimes work on the weekends. I try to keep weekends for “personal” projects like my own website and just to read up on things and such. But quite a few times Ive had to do work for clients during weekends to make the coming week a bit easier. As long as one is able to balance the whole work vs spare time I see no problem with working weekends. In my opinion though, it can be a bit dangerous working too much nights and weekends as you then after a while could feel that youre working 24/7. Being a freelancer in a creative profession, charging the batteries can mean everything. So I am more and more trying to work some longer days when needed during the week and having weekends completely off to get prepared for a new hectic week.
I am sure though that this will be different from person to person
We often opt to actually work at the weekend and instead take the Monday and Tuesday off. It means we get to dodge the crowds when we visit places etc…
The only downside is that clients would expect us to be working weekdays so depending on our workload we sometimes inadvertently find ourselves missing out on a weekend altogether.
I will work on the weekends pretty frequently. But I only do personal projects, that are really pushing the limits of my own skill level and creativity so it’s not so much work as much as it is a passion. I won’t work on any client work on these days if I do chose to work and I am not available for them.
I freelanced for years and would work the majority of weekends.
I like working in the office, and not having any more remote access than email.
Then when I go home, I am actually home. That is a huge positive difference, actually being able to be “off work” when you are at home.
I often work on weekends. I never accept any phone calls, emails or meetings on the weekends so I get a lot of work done! It’s probably my most productive time of the week.
I use the ‘delay delivery’ feature in Outlook to automatically send out email responses on Monday mornings.
Nope. Weekends are for family and outdoors.
I work on weekends since I am in the beginning of my business activity, and I try to arrange some times for family and friends.
Good luck !
I have to say that I do in fact work on the weekends. It is usually just a few hours, likely on Sunday evening.
This time is usually spent catching up on emails, sending quotes, or working on side projects for myself. I also use that time to track potential clients and do some follow-ups from the week.
I don’t make it a major habit, and I never do it if something is planned or anything else is going on that I would rather do!
I work on my portfolio and other office work related to improving my business. Also summer is short so I better get out on the weekends and enjoy the nice weather.
I work a few hours on the weekends, usually Sunday afternoon and early evening. Gives me a chance to wrap up loose ends and organize. I’ll write my Monday morning emails and save them in my drafts folder. However, I am not available to clients on weekends.
Though I don’t make a habit of it I do work on weekends. Like yourself, M-F does not usually bring me a full 40 hours of work. So, on weekends, while my daughter is at dance, or we are at the inlaws, or any other time I can relax and work (no that’s not a typo) I find myself nesteled in my big comfy chair writing up an article for a client, or reviewing another clients marketing materials. =)
Thursday, it’s a challenge not to work on weekends if you are a freelancer because there are times when you have a deadline to meet on a Monday morning.
However, being a freelancer gives you the freedom to accept or reject a project that would require you to work on a weekend to meet that crucial Monday morning deadline.
I have a full time sysadmin job and do my freelancing projects just to add some variety to my life. So late nights and weekends is nothing unusual for me. Although I’m trying to get out of this freelancing business; between the Amount of time it takes away from the family and the amount of money left after Uncle Sam takes his cut… I think if I was doing it full time the story would’ve been different.
I work on the weekend because I moonlight around my 9-5 job at the moment. So for me it is a must right now, but hopefully that will change very soon!
Samn.. i find my self working on weekends.. neeed to take a break
Hi there,
hope my English will be good enough – haven’t had the oportunity to talk or write in English for 1 year now…
I work at nights and weekends, but I don’t let my clients know that. I am available all day (smartphone…) and my clients can reach me, but I am doing most of the stuff in the evenings and nights as I am much more creative then. I queue up my mails then and send them out first thing in the morning.
At the moment business is hard and I am sitting around doing (nearly) nothing all day… People here in Germany think, photo retouching, photography and webdesign (and -development) are things I can do within minutes and don’t want to pay more than a few bugs… I am getting crazy with the German attitude to creative work…
Thank you very much for your blog! I am reading it for a few weeks now and I like it – not only because it is in English!
Have a nice day! Kate
I also work on weekends but I don’t advertise that I do. In fact, my website lists my office hours as Monday through Friday.
I did make the mistake of sending emails to clients on weekends and I had to let them know that I’m going back to not working on weekends.
That said, I do try and take some time off, if not on a weekend, then during the week if I have a point in my work that is feasible. I recently realized I had overworked myself and was starting to feel a bit of the burnout. It hadn’t occurred to me that could happen in a field I love.
After giving myself some extra playtime, I was ready to hit my projects again. And from here on, I’m making sure I do allow myself time to do what I want to do now and then. Then “when” doesn’t matter to me so long as it does happen.
Hi,
I do work on the weekends but I do not dedicate my weekends to work.
I try to accomplish a few things I missed on the week like long status report emails, write a post on my blog or just sit next to the computer and write a design document without being bothered by the phone or any other distraction.
I think it’ll be fair to say that during the 24 hours of the weekend I work about 5-6 hours, I do try to dedicate myself to working these hours during the weekend because then I don’t spend all of the weekend worrying about the stuff I didn’t accomplish during the week because I was busy.
Looks like I have to work today (Sunday) but at least I’ll have loud music on, be high as a bird, and in my pajamas
I say work when you want, the stereotypical work week is gone, and if its not gone for you yet it will soon enough. (think 5-10 years)
Sometimes I get this great idea about what I am working on and I want to develop that idea, should I wait till Monday at 9am? Yeah right, you just go with the flow of the idea.
Each Idea then evolves into the next at a much faster pace and I don’t prevent my own innovation.
Keep in mind I do take some weekends off.
Posting this on Christmas Eve so that kind of gives a little insight to the work paterns I have. Weekend work is a must to fit in with family commitments etc. Often its the only time I get with a bit of peace and quiet!
Also the blogs I tend to keep up to date with go a little quieter so Im not constantly breaking off to read up on new developments etc
Weekends are usually time for relaxation but as a free lancer, I must admit, weekends are just like the other days for me. I just can’t resist not logging in to my computer.
I use the weekends to chill and spend quality time with my family. Of course there are weekends when clients need cirtical changes made or we launch a new project and prep it for the weekend but generally no work on the weekends
Not saying I don’t login to email or get on the PC just limit it to 30 mins vs. consuming my entire day in word. The family def. appreciates it 