Score the hours before you cut

A written weekly maximum is the scribe line. Extra hours across it wander into sleep and the day job.

A scratch awl does not cut. It scores a line so the saw has somewhere to follow. Side hours work the same way: write a weekly maximum before new work arrives, then stay on that line.

Hours taken without a line look fine on Sunday night. By Wednesday they wander into sleep and the day job.

What to score

A weekly ceiling in hours, not a hope.
The evenings and the Saturday block that can take work.
What you will refuse when the line is already full.