LOS ANGELES —  Domestic diva Martha Stewart (search) says her home confinement was tougher than doing time in federal prison.

"You have to watch the clock constantly because you're only allowed out of your home for a limited period, and for a busy person watching the clock, and knowing other people are watching the clock, is extremely difficult," Stewart told Time magazine in the issue reaching newsstands Monday.

Stewart, 64, served five months behind bars for lying to authorities about a stock deal and nearly six more months in home confinement. She has been free of her electronic ankle bracelet monitor since Sept. 1.

She launches "Martha," (search) a syndicated daily television show this week and enters prime time Sept. 21 in the Donald Trump role on "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" (search) on NBC.

Asked if she's hard to work for, Stewart says, "Many of my executives have worked with me since the beginning. I can be fair and decisive and encouraging as well as demanding."

Viewers who want to see a tyrannical Stewart should watch two made-for-TV movies about her, Stewart says.

Who would she choose to play her in a movie?

"Me," she says.