My good friend Lauren, a successful art advisor, recently told me that she gets stressed out when a client or art gallery calls and she’s not officially “working” i.e. she’s spending an afternoon with her son, taking care of personal business, or just checked out mentally or physically for an hour or two.

Lauren is like a lot of successful entrepreneurs I know, especially women.   She’s a multi-tasker in every sense of the word. She runs a successful business, but she does it part time.  Or better said, she runs it on her own time.  There is an important distinction there.

When Lauren sees a call come in from someone she’s not equipped to speak with at that very moment, I advise against taking the call.  It really doesn’t do you any favors to pick up a call when you’re at the playground or in the grocery store-the kids shouting, the deli counter repeating back your order or the fire trucks going by-none of that messages professionalism.

Instead, let the call go through to voicemail and then return the call promptly when you’re somewhere quiet you can talk.  Or, if you’re not going to be somewhere quiet for a period of time, send a quick note on your blackberry with, “I saw that I just missed a call from you-my apologies.  I’m tied up for the next few hours (or I’m in a meeting), I’ll get back to you at 4 pm…”

If you do pick up the phone by mistake, here are a few options of what you can say to get off the phone quickly and maintain your professional mojo:

• Hi Jonathan, it’s great to hear from you, I had a note in my calendar to call you this afternoon.  I’m actually headed into a meeting in ten minutes, however. Would it be alright if I got back to you later this afternoon?
• Jonathan, hello, how are you?  I’m so glad to hear from you.  I know we need to catch up, but I’m unfortunately tied up for the next few hours.  Is there any way we could speak this evening after 8 pm or tomorrow?
• Jonathon, hi, how are you?   I’m going to be out of pocket for most of the afternoon, but I wanted to pick up briefly so that we could schedule a time to talk that works for both of us.

You’re client doesn’t need to know you’re at the gym, having lunch with friends or sipping a midday martini.  It’s not disingenuous to say “I’m tied up” or “I’m headed into a meeting” even if that meeting is with your toddler or masseuse.  The beauty of technology is that more and more people work on their own time.  So, the important thing is to message a sense of availability and enthusiasm-the availability doesn’t have to be immediate.  Its okay to not be able to take a client call the moment the call comes in-just be sure to propose some alternate times, get back to the client quickly, and then service the hell out of them when you do speak next.