Public Holidays is something I look out for and only know the very obvious ones like Christmas Day.
This week we have Heritage Day on Thursday and being a public holiday has kind of wrecked my entire week. I was totally oblivious to this public holiday and has kind of thrown what was planned out the window because the week is literally one big write off for seeing new clients. Business is hard enough planning meetings and having a public holiday on a Thursday is kind of impossible.
Most people will take Friday off creating a long weekend and who can blame them. This literally means you have only Monday and Tuesday to get any kind of work done because come Wednesday most people have already switched off looking forwards to their 4 day break. This is frustrating on my part as the week is over before it has even started and seriously highlights how quickly time does fly.
I had one client this morning postpone our meeting to the week of the 5th October because this week is a short week meaning in other words he will not be around and most likely mid day Wednesday is already off. You do wonder how much time is wasted and even how some of these businesses even function. If you enjoy your work then time was never a problem and when working for yourself enjoying what you are doing then there is not enough time or it feels that way each week.
You definitely think differently when you work for your self and are self employed versus being a worker and someone else paying your wages. I used to think the same and also looked forward to having days off especially when they were in the middle of the week. When you are employed you always know when the public holidays are and when you are self employed you tend to find out only when others inform you. The difference is they are not important to you as the focus is on your own business and public holidays mess things up.
I do not regard myself as a workaholic as I like the time off just like the rest of us do, but compared to what I encounter maybe I expect too much from others in the work place. I used to always make time for someone who was going to possibly benefit the company and I just do not get these types of vibes from those I speak to who work in a corporate environment. Most people do not enjoy their jobs and it just serves a purpose so I get that part as well as they are just numbers.
I did a quick Google search and as far as public holidays we are basically done for the year with the only ones remaining being the 4th November which is local elections day and the 16th December being the Day of Reconciliation which by then we would have closed for the year. Our packaging business will close for three weeks this year and be open again in the second week of January yet we will carry emergency stock as back up just in case so you are still on call.