Not working at the mo' but during the last contract I would be up by 6.30am and booting up my laptop by 7.30am for a leisurely stroll through my e-mails and start document work at around 8am. Getting up early was quite easy as the job lasted during the spring and summer months mainly. I found it hard to get started before 8.30 to 9am during Oct-Dec though.
Whether at home or on site, I would start around the same time. I never got into bad habits like rolling out of bed at 9am. There's too much chance that the mobile would ring and it's really hard to sound businesslike and alert to your client when you are rubbing sleep from your eyes and still lolling around in your dressing gown. It shows in your voice (I think!) Plus you feel very uneasy and guilty which takes the pleasure out of working out of your home office. What if he asks for a document to be e-mailed in the next minute to him or even during the call itself to continue the discussion about what's been sent through? Difficult to do this if you haven't booted the laptop up yet and are forced to admit as much on the phone. It's only a matter of time before the client realises that tasks requested from a home office are taking a lot longer than the same from the site location. That spells inefficiency and most will assume you are not really working effectively from home, if at all. I made sure I never got caught out this way.
I always dress and act at home just as I would on site but the without the commuting hassle. There's always a chance that you could be called in on-site at very short notice with the client only factoring in the time taken to travel. Therefore, you need to account for any unnecessary panic alert time spent showering, dressing, applying make up, drying hair etc. that could add another hour onto the time before you finally get there. Ideally, you need to be able to pack up your laptop and grab your coat and that's it. Luckily that didn't happen but I was always prepared, just in case.
Whether at home or on site, I would start around the same time. I never got into bad habits like rolling out of bed at 9am. There's too much chance that the mobile would ring and it's really hard to sound businesslike and alert to your client when you are rubbing sleep from your eyes and still lolling around in your dressing gown. It shows in your voice (I think!) Plus you feel very uneasy and guilty which takes the pleasure out of working out of your home office. What if he asks for a document to be e-mailed in the next minute to him or even during the call itself to continue the discussion about what's been sent through? Difficult to do this if you haven't booted the laptop up yet and are forced to admit as much on the phone. It's only a matter of time before the client realises that tasks requested from a home office are taking a lot longer than the same from the site location. That spells inefficiency and most will assume you are not really working effectively from home, if at all. I made sure I never got caught out this way.
I always dress and act at home just as I would on site but the without the commuting hassle. There's always a chance that you could be called in on-site at very short notice with the client only factoring in the time taken to travel. Therefore, you need to account for any unnecessary panic alert time spent showering, dressing, applying make up, drying hair etc. that could add another hour onto the time before you finally get there. Ideally, you need to be able to pack up your laptop and grab your coat and that's it. Luckily that didn't happen but I was always prepared, just in case.
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