I finally stopped taking calls before 9 AM after 3 years of chaos

I used to answer my phone the second it rang, even at 7 AM with a client from a different time zone. That led to me being all frazzled and behind before breakfast, like last Tuesday when I took a call in my pajamas and forgot to log a task. Now I let everything go to voicemail until 9, and I spend that first hour just planning my day and drinking coffee. Has anyone else had to set hard boundaries like this to protect their mornings?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray3142d ago

Honestly used to think that was overkill but now I get it.

blair_torres702d agoTop Commenter

@the_robin nah I'm with gray314 on this one, mornings are brutal.

the_robin2d ago

gray314 said "honestly used to think that was overkill but now I get it" and I have to disagree completely. Look, I get that mornings are rough but setting a hard 9 AM rule feels like you are gifting control to your voicemail machine. What happens when a client calls at 8:30 with an emergency and you just let it ring? You spend an hour sipping coffee while they are already stressed out and now they are calling someone else who picks up. I have seen it happen so many times where that early bird gets the worm and you are left eating dust by 10 AM. Maybe I am old school but I think being flexible with your time shows you care about your clients and their chaos.