You Work for Yourself. So Why do You Hate Your Boss?

When I quit my corporate job years ago and headed home, I couldn’t wait to be my own boss. Little did I know that I would turn out to be a worse boss than the idiot I used to work for.  I was tougher on myself than I’d ever been on any of my staff.  Even my boss had been more flexible with me than I was with myself.

One day I realized that my drive to succeed was creating one unhappy employee: me.  That’s the day I made a few changes.  Consider these tips for making it easier to work for you, the boss.

Take time for lunch. Whether you take 15 or 30 minutes, leave your home office and eat lunch. Time away from your computer and your home office can be a welcome break.

Set a specific quitting time every day and try to stick to it. During my “boss from hell” days, quitting time was 6 pm every day (including weekends!) and then I went back to my home office after dinner to work a few more hours. Now (most of the time) quitting time is late afternoon and I don’t go back into my home office until the next morning.

Take off one afternoon a week. Go to a movie, spend time with your spouse or make plans with a friend.  If possible, shut the door to your home office and don’t go back until the next morning.

Give yourself extra padding for deadlines.  Projects usually take twice as long as you think they will. Add as much time as you can to any deadline, without annoying your client.  When you finish earlier than expected, your client will be grateful, thrilled and may even do the happy dance.

Stop answering your phone after normal business hours. If you babysit your phone (many of us do), it’s hard to ignore an incoming call from a client after hours. Unless you know your client can’t wait until the next day to talk with you, take the call.  Otherwise you’ll train your clients to call you 24/7 and you can say goodbye to your personal life.

My changes have paid off. I’m more productive, more excited about working every day, and best of all, I like my boss.