I'm Doing The Best I Can

I often find myself having to apologise to clients for delivering work slightly later than I planned. I feel really guilty about it. But I want to give you some insight into a typical day.

As at 9am yesterday, my Thursday was completely clear.  Then a client I was supposed to do a telecon with asked if we could re-arrange for Thursday, so that went in at 2:30.  Yesterday evening, my business partner copied me into an email suggesting a telecon with our of our retainer clients, which I'm guessing she needs me in and which sounds urgent.  So that's floating for today.  This morning, as I'm dunking soldiers in my eggs, I read emails from 2 clients wanting to have a "quick call" to discuss something urgent.  I have two more emails from clients wanting a quick response on something.  I have a telecon that was booked for yesterday afternoon but postponed because of the absence of Skype facilities at their end that is floating for some time this morning, I know not when.  It's urgent because I've just had to advise them that they can't have the brand identity that they had already adopted for their start-up.

My wife just left for the day, not to return until about 11pm and asked me not to go out until a delivery she needs urgently had arrived. She doesn't know when that will be. So that means an errand I was to run this afternoon may have to wait for another day.  Oh, and I sent Child 2 to school today dressed as Paddington Bear for World Book Day (in fairness, the costume was entirely my wife's work but I had to take the pictures).

I'm not complaining.  I love my work. If I won the lottery on Saturday, you all know I'd be back at work on the Monday.  When I came up with the idea for our retainer system, a schedule like this is precisely what I was hoping for.  So I'm delighted it's been the success that it has.  I could never work a conventional 9-to-5.

But I just wanted to explain why it is that you might just have to poke my memory into action about a conversation we had three weeks ago or why I might have to apologise because the privacy policy I had promised you for last Friday is four days late.

I'm doing the best I can.  Isn't that as much as we can ever expect of anybody?