How do you plan your day, week?
What’s your work/life balance?
Presentation:
Interviewer’s Curiosity.
Siarhei: Would you like to skip it?
Know your routine
Daniel: No. It really depends on the projects
I'm having.
Usually I like to start couple of projects
at once. And hopefully finish them
at the same time. So I have the same
kind of routine for a while.
So, let's now, for the past,
I think, 6 months. I've been working
on the same 3 to 4 projects.
And so my routine was pretty much the same.
Because you also know what you are working
on. What your capacity is.
You learn your clients.
For some clients you need to schedule everything
in advance. Some clients like to
pop out off the blue.
You know how you like to work.
And you find how to balance it
correctly.
What's my work/life balance?
That, again really depends on the projects,
you know. As a freelance designer,
it really depends.
Like you have times, where you are
just working non-stop
from the minute you wake up,
till the minute you go to sleep.
And it's really packed, and it's really
stressful.
Daniel: And it's really busy, but I'm grateful
for those signstimes, because
you do have your calm times.
Because, you calmer times,
where you have less work to be done.
Or once everything is moved onto
development. And your job now is to just
wait for things to get done.
And then tested.
So I balance those two by just
working either way I need,
or in the way I should if there's a pressure.
And enjoying the more time off
I have in between.
I don't take it too seriously.
design
blazingly fast
I really get into it and get involved.
than just a designer.
Take sufficient time off, avoid burn out!
Siarhei: You mean, e.g. for you it's hard to plan a weekend in advance, that you'll go out with friends. And it greatly depends on...?
Daniel: Oh, no. My weekend... I'm very structured in terms of - I know my work days, I know I work, for me it's Sunday till Thursday. So I'm working those days.
Daniel: And then the weekend - I'm off. Like I shut my brain off. That's my time to relax, to enjoy my friends, my family, my loved ones. If there's an emergency, then I'll take care of it. But if there isn't an emergency I'll not usually work the weekends, that's the time I set, I set for myself to do what I love. That's all my job, to relax mostly. Because, it's just you'll get burnt out very, very quickly. If you don't take sufficient time off.
Siarhei: Yeah, ok, so. You definitely pretty strict, like these 2 days I'm definitely off, If it's not urgent. I need to relax, right?
Daniel: Yeah, pretty much.
Siarhei: Ok, e.g. if during the week something goes unplanned. E.g. do you prefer to work extra today, and lately to ask for some compensation?
Daniel: What do you mean?
Siarhei: I'm not sure, I'm just thinking from a perspective of 9 to 5 worker. I mean like say, it's 6 pm. It's the end of your workday. Because anyway you need to go to gym, maybe to go shopping, whatever. And you have e.g. some emergency. And maybe it can affect customer, like, even tomorrow. And you can say, like, it's end of the day. I'm not available.
Don't burn bridges
Daniel: I see. I mean 9 to 5 is different. Because you work for someone, and then you have all of those internal politics.
Daniel: I'd say don't, don't just burn bridges.
If it's urgent then help out if you can.
If you actually can't, and you have
things you need to do.
And you have to take out your kids
from a kindergarden,
or you have like a wedding,
or you need to help your loved one
with shopping. Then it's fair,
technically you're working 9 to 5.
So you can - help out,
if not - apologize. You can offer
alternative, like I can work extra
tomorrow to help out if that's needed.
Or maybe later today. But I don't think
someone should be , having any kind of
[heart|hard] givings for it.
Just do what you can.
If you can help out, and you want to do.
If not, that's fair enough.
If you are paid extra hours,
when you work extra hours,
as you should be. That's even better.
If you are not getting paid extra hours,
and you get asked to help out.
And it happens frequently, that's not ok.
You should either get paid for those extra
hours, if it happens frequently.
Or don't do it, basically. Because
that's basically your employer
using you [and your own cruel|crew].
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