Keep teaching her, girl! She'll either get it or avoid your lessons. Either way, you win! LOL

To my utter amazement, she didn't argue back.

Next lesson: People who work from home typically perform more job functions that a full-time employee. We are not sitting here biding time hoping people will send us money. We're busy earning it.

Paula, you have told about her. I would mention to her in these "teaching moments" that she would have to run a business herself in order to understand how even the smallest interruption can set you back hours if not days. It may be like talking to a wall, but you'll get it off your chest. I had an incident yesterday in which I had to straighten someone out. I did it calmly, but the words I used were intentionally chosen to have maximum impact (always writing even when I'm talking!). It hit the mark and will probably halt all future comments about that topic, but I don't think it will change anyone's mind. I don't care. Just stop pestering me.

That's it exactly, Hugh. Beautifully said.

Wendy, I have an example of the "work while they're here" that was hellish. Cable guys. They were supposed to be here a total of one hour. Try four. And as I'm working they're SHOUTING across the house to each other – one in the basement, the other right behind me. I asked him to keep it down. He did. He only shouted three more times. The bastard! Worse was when he cornered my husband in the next room (literally five steps away) and told him his life story – loudly. I did ask him again to move it outside. My husband corraled him to the front porch, thank God. And yes, I had a phone interview during all that.

Re: getting interrupted by telephone. I don't answer the phone EVER. I screen ALL my calls. And, during writing time, I turn the ringers on both landline and cell OFF. I check in for messages twice a day and return calls, but I will not be interrupted. It is in my contract. Nor do I answer the phone unless I'm expecting a delivery.

I'm working. Do not interrupt me. I will not be nice. Because if you do, trust me, you will be carrying the scars long enough to never do it again.

And I really hate people that interrupt my work by saying "I just need you for a couple of minutes to help with…" They can't get it in their heads that I can't just stop what I'm doing, help them and easily slip back into what I was working on. It disrupts my train of thought and it takes awhile to get it back.

I usually just tell the person that I'm working and if I have time, I will help them later. Unless it's an emergency, but that rarely happens. Hubby is good for setting up plumbing repair or whatever without consulting me, until the last minute. When I tell him that I have to work he usually just says, "You can work while they're here." Yeah right, you mean while they're banging around and the dog is barking his head off because a stranger is in the house? Sure, no problem.

I realize it may be a bit of an oversimplification, but to me the key word in the sentence above (and in this entire debate, for that matter) is "respect."

You don't have to understand what my job entails, & you don't have to appreciate the time & effort I invest in my work, but you need to respect the fact that *I* value my job, my career & my time.

Consistent & persistent infringements upon my worktime aren't disrespectful to my work — they're disrespectful to me. And whether you're a client or a friend, continued disrespect such as this is the quickest path to adding a "former" before those two titles.

That said, as you allude to in this post, all of this has to start with us. When we respect ourselves, our craft & our careers, making the necssary "corrections" to the assumptions of others becomes much, much easier …

Yesterday an ambulance, firetruck and police car were called to a house down the hill from me. The neighbor called. She admitted she didn't know what was going on, but starting spinning theories. I let her know I needed to get back to work. (Apparently it was just a minor injury since the person walked to the ambulance.)

Five minutes later the neighbor called again to say how rudely she was treated by the women who live next door to the place with the emergency and run a family business out of a large garage behind their home. She was shocked and said, "What did I do to be treated like that?"

Um, you barged into their workplace and interrupted their work day. (These women start work at 5 am to fill orders they then haul to cities 100 miles away.)

Her reply: "They're not busy. I don't see how they stay in business."

I told her just because they aren't making actual products doesn't mean they aren't working.

Some people will never understand that running a business involves planning, marketing, sales, distribution, purchasing…and more. So I guess it's up to us to educate them.

It speaks to the issue of respect — such demands show a lack of respect for my time and what I do. And I won't be around people who don't respect me.