by Lonnette Harrell

Created on: December 18, 2008

So it's 3 p.m., and you've finally found the perfect ending, to that freelance article that you've been working on all morning. (Not too dramatic, not too boring.) You're trying to get the thoughts down on paper, before they escape you, and then it happens. The door bell rings, and it's your neighbor. She knows that you're home, because your car is parked prominently in the driveway. It seems that she will not take "no" for an answer. When ringing the doorbell repeatedly doesn't appear to work, she begins to pound on your front door. When that fails, she walks around your house to the home office, and taps on your window repeatedly, calling your name loudly. And just about that time...you forget that perfect ending. Frustration abounds, and you indulge in momentary thoughts of violence. (It's just another day in the life of a freelance writer, who works from home.)

One of the perils about working from home (as a freelance writer) is that no one seems to respect your boundaries. Of course, part of the reason may be, that you haven't set any. When you freelance from your house, it is important that you order your work time, just as you would, if you worked in an office away from home. You must respect your time, if you want others to.

Most people are pretty considerate when they call someone at the office. They assume that you have work to do, and that your boss may frown on lengthy personal conversations, during work hours. But at home, friends may want to chat, churches and civic groups may call asking you to volunteer, telemarketers find you easy prey to their ploys, teachers want to discuss Johnny's math assignment, and even your mother doesn't consider freelancing a "real" job. So it's up to you to build a fence around your creativity, and your work privacy. Let the calls go to the voicemail between certain work hours. Let's face it, if there's an emergency, they will most definitely call back. Callers are getting used to recorded messages, and will understand that you will get back to them at your earliest convenience. The days are surely gone. when we suffered ulcers over unanswered calls, wondering if there was an earthquake in California, where Sue lives, or if Billy had fallen off the monkey bars. So let the calls go to voicemail while you work, and if you must monitor them, set aside a certain time at the end of each hour, to listen to messages. But if you can wait, it's better to check your messages on a scheduled break, (or at your convenience) so

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