The Schedule of a Freelance Web Developer
It’s closing in on 6 months that I’ve been doing only freelance development– while I moonlighted and worked in an office for years, I love being my own boss, and part of that has been setting my own schedule. It seems like there are never enough hours in the day, but here is the pattern that I’ve found that seems to work, at least for the time being:
10am – Wake up, check and respond to email, deal with any urgent issues
10:30am – Breakfast time– grab a bite and dive in. Morning time is multi-tasking time– I can do bug fixes, put together bids for projects, etc. Anything that can be done in under an hour, this is the time for it. Also, this is when I handle most of my phone and instant-message client communications with clients here in the states.
1pm – 7pm - This is my ‘me and my wife’ time– generally, Becky and I will voyage into town, go to the gym (we play racquetball every day, and we love it!), maybe watch a movie, have a nice lunch, and enjoy life. It’s nice to be able to run errands and go to the gym while most people are at work– a real time-saver!
7pm – 3am – This is my focus and get things done time. I’ll make a couple pots of coffee and get to work– This allows me to have fewer interruptions (I turn off my email alerts and chat and get down to business) and also allows me to communicate with my clients in Australia and, towards the end of the night, the UK.
So if you get an email from me in the middle of the night– don’t be alarmed, that’s just how I work!
