People that work for themselves know their time is valuable. If they've a head for business, they know precisely what an hour of their time is worth, and their monthly revenue objectives. Really good businesspeople even know how much developmental or non-revenue-generating work they can take on each month or quarter before the law of diminishing returns takes over and risk sets in. The line between "income now" and "potential income later" can be a narrow one. So what type of client opportunity should you think twice about?

The Carrot and the Stick

It can be a tough lesson, especially in the early days of business, to learn the difference between clients that just want a job done, and clients interested in your expertise. Maybe you can nudge a few in the former category into the latter category, but at what cost? Will you have to reduce your rate or submit a reduced estimate to get the client to approve the new scope? Change your terms? Knock off a few features (perhaps prudent now, but may lead to remorse later)?

Sometimes you can reap rewards from giving - investing - concierge-level service and bestowing add-ons to clients, the type that favor such consultants with repeat business or a referral. Other times your hard work and diminished profits become a pawn in the game. Any derivative of "If you can give us xxx at a discount this time, I'll have a case for sending you more work" should prompt you to stand, shake hands, and excuse yourself from the meeting, pronto.

"Just Get It Done" Clients

This tire-kicker type is often price-sensitive - possibly for the sole purpose of wielding control. He may or may not have been burned by a freelancer previously (real or imagined injustice). He has trouble seeing beyond the top layer of a problem and, frankly, has little interest in your cautions about the framework underlying the project or ancillary issues. He usually wants things done his way: quickly, cheaply, and with little disruption to his personal schedule. This type of client likes boxes checked rather than real solutions.

Pay special attention to any of these behaviors:

• Difficulty meeting by phone to go over your questions
• Incomplete or nonexistent project brief
• Email replies that lack substance (did he even read your questions?)
• Ridiculous timelines (surely they knew they were set to launch a new product before now?)
• The "Hot Handoff", i.e., "We had someone helping us but we fired them because..."
• Initial inquiries that begin with "How much would it cost us to...?"

If you have some extra time on your hands or think you can piece together enough information from this guy to do a quality job that A) won't become a time suck and B) won't bite you later, then these clients could boost bottom-line monthly revenues. You just suffer a little metaphorical blood loss in the process.

Next time we'll look at dreamy "What Do You Think?" type clients, the ones that, regardless of their size and income statement, look for fresh ideas and value-learned opinions, even from little old you.

Meanwhile, keep your antennae up and listen to your instincts.

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As students, we could pull all-nighters, cram hours before exams and prepare for weeks for one term paper. As humans and adults, we know whether we are morning people or night owls, if we can awaken without an alarm clock or if we are simply gluttons for sleep. In other words, for the most part, we know our internal body clocks...whether we choose to listen to them is another story entirely!

As workshifters, knowing your body and mental clocks is more than just human habit - it's a necessity to maintaining work flow and ensuring productivity. Over time, as we age into adulthood, we all know on some level (be it conscious or not) when we think best, when we write best, when we perform in meetings best, etc. This self-knowledge becomes more than interesting trivia when we become the managers of our tasks and we are our own employee. In fact, one of my greatest challenges as I transitioned into a workshifting lifestyle, was prioritizing my time. Initially, I thought it would be easy! I had worked 8-18 hour days for the previous 11 years and always performed at the top of my game, so my productivity would surely be limitless once the limits of the office cubicle walls were removed! Right?

WRONG. Managing client demands and deadlines were not the problem. But, managing my personal productivity and maximum performance would be. No longer confined by clock-watching, office hour tunnel vision quickly cleared, and my time was my own and certainly wide open. I could respond to email with the Today Show keeping me company and my laptop propped up on my knees; I could work from the moment I awoke to the minute my head hit the pillow at night, taking as many breaks or running as many errands in-between as I needed to. Wow! What a life!

...An unproductive, undisciplined life, that is. I had always prided myself on discipline and never missing a deadline. But now that my schedule was flexible, so, too, it seemed were my efforts and results being affected. I simply could not afford for my work to suffer nor my project deadlines to slip; so I realized that I had some reflecting to do:

• Did I really concentrate best with the company of Oprah or was my mind trying to do double duty and absorbing nothing nor producing anything...? When I put soft music on instead, how is it that I lost track of time and wrote some of my best proposals?
  
  
• My brain always freshest and sharpest in the morning, should I waste that precious window of clarity to respond to banal email or could I use that time more wisely to strategize, research new concepts, sales techniques and perform new project brainstorming? The email could, and always would, come later.
  
  
• Would sleeping in just one extra hour assist me to stretch that morning clarity into the late afternoon, thereby not only extending my output but also providing me a whole new work window within which to operate?
  
  
• And, was working 16 hour days really the best thing...? Sure, I could, but why would I? As workshifters, often times we are our own Finance, Marketing and Operations departments in addition to trying to get actual work done. So there is never enough time...Closing my office door after a certain hour or moving my office to a different room in the house farther away would signal a mental light switch to go off, so my brain could rest and rejuvenate. Sometimes, we need to disconnect to connect....

I still do not have the exact recipe for the ideal workshifting schedule, but I do know that it's more about my unique and personal mental rhythms than it is about a clock or a deadline. When you are on your own schedule, responsible for your own hours and output, success is solely determined by how effectively you work. So go out there and get your PhD in YOU, listening to your body and mind for its most alert moments, and watching out for the productivity which will surely follow.

When are YOU at your most productive? What unique scheduling tricks have you put into place to reap the greatest benefit from your workshifting schedule?

Photo Credit: comedynose

We've all heard of the Type A and Type B Personality Theory and, in all likelihood, identify with one of the two. If you have not, you will find a wonderful definitional summary here. Type As are stereotypically described as high-strung go-getters for whom success is the only option; Type Bs, on the other hand, are laid-back, relaxed and tending to always go-with-flow. Believe it or not, there is also a Type AB for those individuals who fall somewhere in-between the continuum.

Well, how about adding a different alphabet to the Personality Theory? I've coined the profile Type 'P' for all of us PLANNERS.

Our mantra is a clichéd one, but one by which we live wholeheartedly: If you fail to plan, you better plan on failing.

Are You a Type P?

Although Type Ps are not exclusively Project Managers, most PMs are Type Ps. Whether the personality type leads an individual into the field or individuals with the personality type have a natural affinity toward the field is anyone's guess. What is certain, however, is that in order to be an effective PM, you need to be a skilled planner. As a recent convert to the workshifting lifestyle, I can now say - with a high level of certainty - that to be an effective workshifter, you must also be a skilled and diligent planner.

Whether project managing, or workshifting, upon being assigned a new project or client or both(!), you jump in and begin assessing needs, defining scope, engaging stakeholders and kicking off the project or assignment. These activities should all be precursors to creating your ultimate roadmap: the project plan (It's no mistake that, in the world of project management, this central document is called a plan). You work long hours perfecting the deliverables, deadlines and milestones which comprise this plan in order to share it with your client or project team and begin the fast and furious process of initiating, executing, controlling and closing the project in record time and on budget! Then, you get to begin all over again with a new project!

Although our more laid-back counterparts may consider this level of planning to be superfluous and overly analytical, if you are managing multiple clients, multiple projects, or multiple client projects- there is no room for error nor confusion. And in an ideal workshifting world, you want to juggle several engagements, never compromising the integrity of your work and the satisfaction of your end client.

So, why do project managers, workshifters and the like learn to enjoy planning so much?

1. It is fun and gratifying to map out the landscape of a new project, itemizing the deliverables and ensuring they are clearly defined and placed so that no item is overlooked or under-addressed. A plan is a visual charter, whether in our heads, on paper or coded into software, which showcases the ultimate goal and the steps needed to achieve it.
   
   
2. Perhaps plans also create an illusion of control - particularly when timelines are imposed, we want to believe we are in control of all of the inputs in order to achieve the desired output. And, the tighter the timeline, the more crucial the plan is to keep us on track.
   
   
3. Planning creates its own momentum, permitting the planner to take the time to think through each item while also fast-tracking through the list.
   
   
4. When the items that can feasibly be planned are and remain on track - we leave ourselves highly desirable time to address any unforeseen issues that may arise (which always do). Similarly, if the major milestones are laid out clearly - but a change in the plan needs to occur, we can most easily identify where that shift needs to occur, what else will be affected by the shift and determine if parallel planning can help mitigate the effect of said shift.
   
   
5. Plans will not lie - they illustrate the fallacies that may exist in our heads between actual, realistic timeframes and goals and idealistic ones which may render your intended outcome improbable.

Plans are connective tools, bridging the ideas of individuals with desired outcomes. Without plans, there are sure to be missing links between identified goals and actual results. Therefore, it's best not to risk that gap with a client and subject yourself to miscommunication and unsatisfactory results! So, whether you are a Type P or not - do not jeopardize the success of your project or your relationship with a customer. Slow down and take time to formulate a plan; it will pay dividends toward generating the success you desire.

What's in your planning toolbox? How has effective planning or the lack thereof affected your workshifting lifestyle?

Author's Note: there are a plethora of planning tools available, from Microsoft Project and Excel as well as some ingenious and free mind mapping programs. Try them; you may never fail to plan again!

Photo Credit:Justin See

In my last post, I started a conversation about the importance of self-management when it comes to workshifting. The first quality to successful self-management is of course, knowing yourself.

The second quality to successful workshifting has to do with the work itself. There are many different ways to earn a living. Finding the way that's right for you is key. Here's are a few questions you can ask yourself to help refine the kind of work you enjoy:

1. Think about a time when you've felt you were at your most productive. Then list what was taking place at that time - what were you working on, what was the office environment like, who were your co-workers, etc.
   
   
2. By contrast, do the same thing but identify the time when you've felt you were your least productive. And what those elements were surrounding you at the time.
   
   
3. Now think of work on this continuum, with most productive on one end and least productive on the other.
   
   
4. Lastly, take a moment to assess where you are right now on this continuum.

As you make career decisions, it only makes sense to move toward your most productive. Our careers aren't single decisions. Most of us spend our entire lives changing and modifying our jobs to achieve that most productive state.

The idea being, as we become more productive, we like our work more and the success associated with enjoying our work will come along with it.

Let's add a layer to this conversation by saying you're thinking about asking your boss for a workshifting arrangement. This can help you put some focus around the discussion. Outline where you are right now on the continuum and provide detail how a workshifting arrangement will move you toward a move productive place.

Another aspect to doing productive work is having the right environment. Yes - workshifting is all about being able to work anywhere...but that doesn't mean we don't have our own personal tips and resources to help us maximize efficiency.

Using those same questions above, be sure you include on your most productive and least productive lists items such as equipment that helped you be productive or restricted you. This could be lighting, chairs, computers, desk space, whatever...

Being a successful workshifter is about being able to be productive. Knowing the exact recipe for making that happen will help you maintain a high level of productivity no matter where you are.

The third quality on the list? Well as much as we know ourselves and our work, not everything can go as planned...look for problem solving next.

Photo Credit: pastaboy sleeps

By the time I was 6 months old, I'd traveled by train, plane, ship, and automobile. A few years later, my brother and I each had a "toy bag" for travel into which we could put any combination of books and toys. The only caveat: we had to be able to haul, drag, or carry the bag ourselves on car trips and through airports. So we constantly shoved items in and pulled items back out, experimenting between must have and too heavy. Is it any wonder, then, that by college I shunned library carrels and did all my studying ensconced in a big chair in the very open lobby of the law school?

While I was born into workshifting, sometimes it's a learned behavior. I have a friend who works for a large multinational corporation. Even after many of her colleagues gave up their offices, she thought it was important to go into hers. When, occasionally, she worked from home, she was restless, unproductive, and wondering whether she'd made the right choice.

That was so last year. Now she's working out of coffee shops, running loads of laundry while on conference calls, and scheduling her day so that she can squeeze in a workout with her coach. In other words, she's blossomed into a true workshifter.

What about you? Is workshifting nature or nurture?


Photo Credit: ikeX

"If only I had that netbook/iPhone/Blackberry/miFi/VoIP/Macbook/digicam/other-cool-gadget, then I would be able to work from anywhere."

I used to believe that I was comfortable working from anywhere, because I grew up in an era where the tools to do so were readily available to me. But then, I started noticing that there were people around me, who had access to the same tools, but that were not using them to achieve location independence.  This led me to a realization. Tools don't make a workshifter.  Giving a man a hammer and a saw does not make him a carpenter. Similarly, giving him a smartphone and a laptop does not make him a workshifter.

Workshifters are a special breed.  While many romanticize the idea of telecommuting and location independence, a small minority actually take advantage of the opportunity.  Perhaps this is because not everyone has that luxury.  Maybe some people would like to workshift, but don't have the tools.

I don't buy it.  Look back through history and you will find workshifters in every era.  Do you think Plato wrote the Republic from the office?  Da Vinci may have painted the Mona Lisa in a studio, but his sketchbook was filled with sights from all over.  Workshifting.com's own AJ Leon talked about how Winston Churchill was the greatest workshifter of all time.

None of these men had access to the internet, Blackberries or Basecamp.  The workshifter's greatest tools are his own personal traits.  Here are just a few of the traits that a workshifter needs to be successful:

1) Flexible
Workshifting means being able to work anywhere under any circumstances.  If you need rigid routines and structure to accomplish work, then you need to work on your flexibility before you can consider the workshifting lifestyle.

2) Ability to deal with uncertainty
The challenges of working from outside an office usually aren't obvious until they arise.  Dead batteries, spotty internet connections, sudden mobs of teenagers invading the Starbucks you're working from, bumping into old or new friends.  Any of these can happen at a moment's notice while workshifting, so workshifters need to be able to deal.

3) Being on the cutting edge
Plato may not have been a big technologist, but I bet he knew exactly which inks and papers travelled best.  A minimum amount of tech savvy is required for being a workshifter, because you need to be able to solve tech problems when they arise, and also because being at the cutting edge gives you an advantage, and lets you stay competitive.

4) Being comfortable with solitude
The typical workshifter doesn't enjoy the camaraderie of a packed office. Instead, he works alone. Even when he is surrounded by others in a cafe, or other public place, the people around him are usually strangers, and while being surrounded by them might be comforting to some, the work of a workshifter is generally solitary. This means fewer people to bounce things off of. Less moral support on a particularly difficult day. A true workshifter needs to be comfortable in his solitude

5) Self-motivated
Workshifters are self-starters by nature, or they learn to become self-starters.  If you depend on the 9-5 clock to get work done, you'll be in for a nasty drop in productivity once the clock no longer holds any real power.

6) Creative
Workshifters are generally creative people, because they often work in creative industries, but the creativity goes beyond the subject of their work.  They also need to be creative in problem-solving, find creative ways to motivate themselves, and generally just need constant creative stimulation to keep them fueled.

Anyone who has worked in an office has seen the legions of workers with their laptops and Blackberries, all of whom come in at 8, and leave at 6, and who essentially use these devices as ways to not pay attention during meetings.  Give someone who's not a workshifter by nature the tools to workshift, and s/he will use them from the office.

There's nothing wrong with this, in and of itself. But it's important to realize that those tools, while they may help in the workshifting process are not essential to it. Having the tools, does not a workshifter make!

What are your thoughts?


Photo Credit: Orionlee

Today Jacquelyn Brown stops by to ask for your assistance with a research project exploring personality type, telecommuting and the potential connection between them.  Jacquelyn has been workshifting for the past 7 years and is currently working on her PhD at the University of San Diego with a research focus specifically on telecommuting.

As a telecommuter for the last seven years , I have been intrigued by this alternative work arrangement and have chosen to explore the concept of telecommuting for my doctoral dissertation at the University of San Diego.
 
Telecommuting continues to grow as technology improves, organizations look to save on overhead costs, employees seek stronger work-life balances, shifting economic priorities, and we look to help the environment by putting fewer cars on the roads.  To ensure that organizations continue to support and encourage telecommuting, we need a better understanding of telecommuting challenges.
 
There are so many avenues to explore when it comes to telecommuting.  One area that is underdeveloped and could be insightful for employers, employees and managers, focuses on the relationships between telecommuting and personality type.  We already know that there are learned skills that can benefit a telecommuter (time management, self-discipline...), but what about how one's innate personality type relates to telecommuting?  This complex issue could provide insight into challenges faced by telecommuters based on their personality type.
 
Telecommuters face numerous challenges, such as feelings of isolation, lack of promotional opportunities, lack of structure in their workday and relationships with managers, co-workers and family.  What is not currently understood is why not all telecommuters experience these challenges, and for those that do, why they experience them to varying degrees.  I am suggesting that this difference may be related to a telecommuter's MBTI personality type.  While it shouldn't be assumed that certain types would be better telecommuters than others, it would be interesting to investigate how the various MBTI personality types could adapt to make their telecommuting situations more successful.
 
The focus of my research is to uncover telecommuters' experiences with telecommuting challenges and explore if there is a relationship between those challenges and such factors as one's Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality type and telecommuting characteristics and demographics.
 
The MBTI is a personality assessment that takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.  After taking the MBTI participants will be provided with a detailed analysis of your type.  In addition, I have created a telecommuting survey consisting of only 16 questions that is broken up into three brief sections, Telecommuting Overview, Telecommuting Challenges and Demographics.
 
If you participate in this research, I will provide you with the following:

• Your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) profile (a $12 value)
• The MBTI make-up of the survey participants
• The telecommuting characteristics and demographics of the survey participants, and how they compare to the larger population of telecommuters
• The challenges faced by the survey participant
• The telecommuting challenges for different personality types
  

If you work for an organization that you do not own and telecommute from home using a phone and computer at least once a week, I welcome your insight into your experiences as a telecommuter.  If not, thank you for your time.
 
I will be conducting research for the next 60 days.  Please email me at telecommutestudy@gmail.com to indicate you would like to participate in this research. After you register, I will send you links to both the MBTI and telecommuting surveys with further instructions.  Your feedback on both surveys will be kept confidential.  

Thank you for being a part of this exciting research project!