Being available and being a volunteer has only one thing in common. They both require some time. You need to look at each request for your time to determine how you can best help. If you are booked too much, you cannot use any external advice. Your calendar should have small fragments of time when you can be available; This will give you the flexibility to move certain things to accommodate the client. Personally, I always leave on Friday afternoon. If the client should have on my site on Thursday afternoon, and this is unexpected, I can transfer the work on Thursday to this time interval. If nothing appears during the week, I just take part of my workload for the next week and do it early. Your time will always be filled, even if nothing is planned.
Volunteering to help a client may not include assistance in their projects. Perhaps they are holding an event that will attract other potential customers. These events may be such as seminars, workshops, or training programs. If they want your help, just ask what they would like you to do. Perhaps they want you to be one of the speakers for the event or to link them to the event planner that you used in the past. Always ask first and then decide.
The biggest problem with a volunteer is a balancing act that you must perform in order to keep all your projects on time and on schedule. Do not spread yourself too thin, keep on top of your calendar all the time.
