I'm still working out official policies, but one mental policy I make is "Just because a client thinks it's an emergency, doesn't mean it is one."

I take pride in providing good service, however I have one client who thinks every request she has is a red-alert, #10 high level emergency. I was getting exhausted stopping my other work to attend to her requests until I realized that she always sounds demanding.

Once I realized this, I readjusted my mental policies. Now I take her requests and calmly put them in their proper place in my queue. I respond to her in good time, but I'm less influenced by her urgency. It has taken time to retrain her expectations, but I'm getting there.

As my business expands, I'm creating more and more formal policies, including contracts and prepayment instead of invoicing for work done. This thread has given me a lot of good ideas for my systems.

Thank you everyone,

Julia