People might wonder what the most difficult sort of work is for the professional freelancer: classified work? Large business? Small business? Not going to lie: often the most challenging work for me to do is the stuff that’s on my desk when it’s a nice day outside. Think I’m kidding? Read on.

Working from home, on my own, has a lot of perks:

• Choosing the background music–or none.
• Doing laundry while working.
• Wearing what I want.
• Making my own hours.

This last one is the kicker. I am a daytime worker, primarily, from long habit. My most productive time is between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Given the speed at which I work, I can usually finish what I’m doing and call it a day by 3:30 or 4 p.m., and there’s no one watching to make certain I’m at my desk. I’ve grown quite allergic to the idea of regular “office hours,” and the times when I get called by clients are few and far between…and can often be handled by mobile phone from wherever I am. So if I have the opportunity, yes, I’m outside taking a walk in the fresh air.

Still, there are those days when the workload is high and, alas, the weather outside is fantastic: mid-80s, low humidity, a few clouds, light breeze…I wasn’t much better when I worked full time or was in school. “Spring fever,” the teachers call it, and it amounts to Bart preferring to be outside doing what he wants rather than sitting at his desk, looking at the bright blue sky from the wrong side of the window.

Again, there’s no one standing guard over me to make sure I get the work done. All that’s present is me and my integrity and my realization that I don’t like to work at night or to put off work that needs doing. So as I type this, the weather is delightful outside, and after blogging I have to get back to finishing the paid task I was doing. The temptation to run away and work later is there, but so is the realization that one way or another, the work needs to be done, preferably when I’m best able to do it.

Sigh. It is really nice out…