Question for those who DO NOT work for the man
 

Since I have been on my own doing my own companies and not working for the man as it were. My schedule seems totally fucked up. I get up at 3 am, go to bed around 7 pm usually. I am sitting in front of the computer much more.

I joined a gym a couple of weeks ago, since I have put on about 15 pounds since the holidays.

I was just wondering, what ways do the rest of you get out to avoid just packing on the pounds since you have no one to answer too, so to speak.

Also do most of you also keep weird schedules or do you still keep normal hours, even though you can work whenever you want?

My girlfriend is on my ass to get my regular schedule back, so I am doing it, slowly, but getting there.

It's very hard to keep regular hours.

I am normally up and working around 6am, then have the kids and family to deal with for an hour or so, work until 5pm, 3 hours and they are in bed, then I usually start work again until 11pm - midnight or so, unless I have something better to do.

I used to work weekends too, but my wife put a stop to that (I still do a few hours but fit it in around family).

It's very difficult to lead a normal life when working from home or self employed.

There are lots of these threads, and it's a common problem. Doing exercise, going out frequently, trying to work to normal 9-5 hours are all things people usually recommend. I can never seem to stick to that advice.

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I'm paranoid that if I take a break, everything will start going haywire. Others have also told me this is normal and I will get used to that. Yes, setting your own hours is a lifestyle decision I guess. Just hard sometimes. I need to totally curb my smoking as well. I seem to smoke 3 times as much doing work from my comp. Thanks for the advice CS!

I used to do that as well till one day I quit smoking in front of the computer.
This has more benefits, I don't smoke as much and I take a break from the computer every hour to have my fix.

I need my work-out, so I not lose it...I mostly take a shake(20% protein, 80% carbs) in the morning, go work out in 2-3 hours, then eat breakfast and start working.

I also need to watch TV or something during the work. I either watch the sitcom channel or watch something on my computer.

now thats a good idea. i got the ecigs, but have slowly returned to regular ones, blah.

oh God, tell me about it. I always have the tv on, volume set to low or mute, depending on what I am watching. I am doing tunafish in water, granola bars and water or non carbonated sports drinks. I am walking briskly 2 miles a day and doing about an hour of free weights every other day. I want to be fit for the summer. Spring is almost upon us. Gives me a season to "get it together"

I find the worst of it is trying to curb the desire to keep supping beers down while doing mundane things like editing photos, setting up new sites, humouring myself replying to Sleazy's inane GFY banter etc. It's easy to suck down a 6 pack every night, and the rest. Strangely I haven't put on any weight in 10 years, I'm still less than 75Kg.

Keep fit, keep going out and meeting people, don't let yourself become a hermit :)

Impossible (for me) to keep regular hours. Which is good and bad.

However, I appreciate that freedom. Something you do not have in corporate America.

the girlfriend is good for me. before i moved in with her my schedule was fucked. usually going to bed at 8 am getting up at 1pm, etc. She works 9-5 and I eventually got into getting up early, going to bed when she does, etc. We even get on the bikes and get some excersize on a regular basis, something I probably wouldn't do if she didn't want to do it in the first place. I got to say I feel much better not sleeping such fucked hours and the excersize is nice too.

Those are the freedoms we get for working online! :)

For us it is hard to keep a regular schedule, we have tried but to do a solid 9 - 5 would never work.

We have an office which is seperate from the house but still on the property. I start at 6am, emails etc, breakfast then take kids to school, back by 8 work submitting, editing, updates then shoots. My wife does her privates and then shoots...we alternate picking kids up from school....sports....more sports....work in between...supper...more work...privates for the wife and eventually in bed between 11.30 and midnight. With a regular 9 - 5 we would not have the family time and would loose a lot of the benifits associated with that. We do work a split schedule over weekends, but do try and set time aside for everyone to be together.

But the key is disipline, you have to be disiplined to be able to leave and come back and carry on where you left off. It took a while for us to get there, but when you do it is well worth it.

When you work for yourself you must produce enough to earn the money. Not so sitting in a lot of the offices now days. So its more hours to make more money and that means more sitting on your ass and eating and not moving.

try going for a walk when you first get up

I've been working "on my own" for 10+ years. I came to the realization that FOR ME the best way is to have business hours. ie. Wake up at around 8-9am and work until like 3pm. Then have something to eat, go play a bit of badminton/squash in the winter or golf in the summer..then fuck around on the computer for the rest of the evening/night. :)

work out every morning...I'm on my way to the gym to run and do some pilates.

After spending about a year travelling back and fourth and spending half week in the office and half week at home - I guess the conclusion is that I get more done and live a better life when I work from the office.

Although I sure can imagine one day having an office at my place, it has to be a room that's strictly work and no interruptions allowed.

Don't smoke in your house and your daily intake of cigarettes can easily be cut in half.

I get up at 2pm and go to sleep at about 4-5am. Lets me work more on US time then my own country since my clients are mostly from the USA.
Weird hours though. I get up in the afternoon and go for a 4km walk. That's my daily dose of exercise. :)

Yes I am going to start trying that, I think. I don't smoke in the car, it is just getting the fortitude to start. Yes, it all comes down to discipline.

Oh God yes, without my baby, my hours would be even more fucked i think. And making sure that the nibbles i have around the computer are healthy nibbles is key.

I remember when i started doing adult, in 1998, a 6 pack of mountain dew, doritos and some good budz were all i needed. I would be up doing stuff 15 hours a day, yikes. I had iwon.com as my homepage, search engine, those were the days.

yeah, when my schedule gets back on track and i am waking up at a normal hour, getting running out of the way probably helps the metabolism the rest of the day.

would not trade it for the world! :thumbsup

this is everything a normal webmaster needs! :thumbsup:1orglaugh

lol, still got the budz, just replaced the others with filtered water and whole wheat crackers, blah.

When i started working from home, I packed on some pounds! I was working till 3 am and getting up around noon. My hubbie decided we had to get back on a "regular" schedule.

We now get up around 7-8 and TRY not to work all night. We also invested in making a chunk of our garage a home gym, so it is easier to find time to work out. After we started Body for Life, we had a routine to stick to.. so I took off all my new weight plus more!

Yes Anna, I would say that committing yourself to be healthy, is a lifestyle in itself as well.

In conclusion, the more you think you're not working for the man the more you're working for him...

if gf is bugging you about it.. you have less than a week to get in line :1orglaugh

Its hard to be honest. My gf is all over my ass about a "regular schedule" all the time, probably more annoying than trying to make a regular schedule itself :1orglaugh

the toughest part is trying to get to the gym. im exhausted at the end of the day, and i usually wake up and have to get right to work. i guess its one of those things when you work for yourself and have a busy scheldule :(

Not working for The Man is the hardest job I've ever had! Ugh! Sometimes I wish I could just work 9 - 5, leave, not worry about anything, and in two weeks get a check with my taxes taken out and just relax a little. I can't even take a vacation now without worrying about something. :(

But then again, when I worked for the man, all I wanted was out of that gig, too.

The Grass? It's Greener on The Other Side.

Always. :2 cents:

I'm at my desk working at 9 till 11.am then go out for 3 hours, have lunch, then work from 3 till 11 pm

I like having free mornings rather than evenings.

anything is better then waking up every fucking day at 7am, battle traffic until 9am, leave work at 5pm, battle traffic again until like 7pm, then go to sleep at 10pm and do that shit EVERY fucking day for the rest of your life....

very, very true. we that can do this, are blessed!