Feelancers need to weigh the pros and cons of being out of town…it seems that opportunities and client requests abound the minute you click non-refundable ticket or when your phone is off.
I considered flying in and out the same day for a work-related event in New York. But how could I not see a show? Or two? So I decided to go for a few days, including a day and a half of the work week.
(Pippin is extraordinary, one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen quite a few. IMO, better than the original in many ways. (Though I doubt anyone could surpass Ben Vereen.) One number got a standing ovation…in the middle of the show. And I predict a Tony for Best Choreography–literally jaw droppingly good. Maybe costumes, too. As a Nathan Lane fan, The Nance made the top of the list over Tom Hanks, Bette Midler and other current Broadway stars.)
Because of a full itinerary and exhaustion after so much walking, we didn’t stay as connected to email and FB as usual. I have my phone set up with different notifications for different email addresses, so I know which tones require faster responses. Hmm. A little like Pavlov’s dogs. Even for one day, it felt both freeing and weird to not hear those tones and grab the phone whenever a work-related email came in.
But is it a good idea to spend even one day away from your phone? For example, a client who was supposed to send a script the week before sent it late afternoon that one, jam-packed weekday I didn’t check email every hour or so. Of course. They sent a follow-up email when I happened to be on the plane home (which had been delayed, so I didn’t see it right away). They also called in the cab from the airport, but I returned that within 16 minutes. I responded in less than 24 hours from the first email, but because of the now-shorter turnaround time owing to the late script, they were a little concerned that I hadn’t gotten back to them ASAP. And a friend in transit got three calls and two emails about scheduling an on camera audition.
The next time I travel, I’ll either check in more frequently or see if my email has an out of office auto-responder.
