Hot take: Taking every single client call immediately wrecked my focus

I used to answer client calls the second they rang, thinking it showed I was reliable. But after a month of constant interruptions, I realized my deep work time was sliced into 20 minute chunks and my stress went through the roof. Now I batch calls to two afternoons a week, and some clients love it while a few complain I'm 'hard to reach'. Has anyone else tried setting strict call windows, and did you lose clients over it?

3 comments

3 Comments

owens.laura6d ago

Clients who whine about that weren't respecting your time anyway.

colegarcia6d ago

Man, tell me about it. I once had a client show up late and then complain I wasn't being flexible, like my calendar is just a suggestion box. I know I'm not the most organized guy, but I'm pretty sure showing up on time is a basic rule we all learned in kindergarten. Ever had one of those clients who thinks their schedule is the only one that matters?

michael_williams6d ago

@owens.laura nailed it, I switched to two call blocks and the complainers were the ones wasting my time anyway.