This is a pre-scheduled post. I am currently taking advantage of my flexible work schedule by taking a mid-week cruise to Key West and the Bahamas!

Freelancer #1 wakes up at 7am, check her personal email, goes to the gym, showers, brews coffee, puts on business casual attire, and sets up shop in her home office. Throughout the day, she takes several breaks to eat a snack, use the bathroom, fill up on coffee, eat lunch, and check personal email and social media accounts. At 5pm, she wraps up her work for the day, turns off her computer, and disconnects from anything work related until the next day.

Freelancer #2 wakes up at 9:30am (after snoozing a few times), brews coffee, and climbs back into bed, still in pajamas, to read up on blogs. Around 10am, she begins to hammer out work for clients then takes a 2 hour break at 2pm to grocery shop, eat lunch, and put a meal into the Crockpot for dinner. She actively works until 7pm and then sends several emails and quick tweets as she works out at the gym.

Freelancer 1 and 2 do the same amount of work per week. They both always look presentable when meeting with a client and are equally respected by their clients. So is one freelancer better than the other? Linda Cole, who advises women to “never, ever wear [their] slippers!” would probably say the Freelancer #2 is doing it the “wrong” way.

Which brings us to the eternal question for freelancers: stick to a traditional 9-5 schedule with rules that reflect the “mainstream” workplace or take advantage of your flexibility and buck the system?

I have some confessions: sometimes I work from my bed with my glorious heating pad under my feet. Sometimes I work from my kitchen table with my slippers on. Sometimes Friends or rap music is playing in the background. Sometimes I want to try out a recipe I saw in my Google Reader right away, even if it’s 10am. Sometimes I go to a coworking space wearing business casual attire. Sometimes I put in too few hours. Sometimes I put in a shockingly large number of hours.

Part of me thinks I should be Freelancer #1. That there is a reason people set those strict standards for themselves. Or that I should be “normal” in case I end up back in a traditional office setting one day soon.

But the warm, cozy part of me that’s pumping out client work like a boss? At least for now, she disagrees.

What do you think? Should freelancers stick to “normal” work settings or take advantage of their flexibility?

Photo credit

Share/Bookmark