Handling Phone Calls During Worktime
Writers are communicators by nature. So it can be hard to section yourself off from people and have some productive time. I often find myself taking calls during work hours, or getting distracted by “needing” to call someone back during work hours. My writing time is limited, and most likely yours is too. So going off on a “phone tangent” can be a problem for productivity.
Since we’re still experiencing the transition of having my husband working at home too, I’ve tried to keep things more flexible but the time has come to be firm with myself and others. I’ve resisted setting regular office hours, but I think the time may have come where I need to have a set schedule for my own piece of mind.
Once you set your schedule, you’ve also got to let people know that you’re working during certain hours. People who work at home commonly have problems with friends and family assuming that just because they are home they are free. I always feel a little bad when I have to remind someone that I have work to do and can’t drop everything at a moment’s notice.
How do you make it clear that you are working during certain times? Do you screen your calls? Do you let people know your working hours? How do you emphasize that your work is important without hurting feelings?
How did we ever get by without caller ID? I sometimes feel guilty for not answering the phone, but if I see that it’s a non-essential call during working hours, I let it ring.
Like, Laura I use caller ID. I rarely pick up the phone during the day and I seldom make outbound calls.
When I need to talk to someone during the day I usually preface the call with an email to set up a time to talk. Most calls are for ten minutes or less as I simply cannot give up my writing time.
This topic has been around the blogs lately, and I had no idea how many other writers hated taking calls–I always thought it was just me! I don’t take calls unless absolutely necessary; I far prefer email. I’ve also found that if you “train” your clients to email instead of call you, they’ll generally do that instead–and it’s much less intrusive.