How to take time off
A few notes on exit, re-entry, and how to keep the holiday spirit alive
If part of what all freelancers love about freelancing is the flexibility to take time off, then why don't we take time off?
Well, we do. But we could take more of it. And longer stretches.
But here I am sitting at my desk in July, contemplating a week at a cottage in a couple of weeks, and I'm already thinking about how I will ramp down and then back up again.
Because a bigger challenge for the self employed is how to take a longer holiday, because there isn't one colleague waiting to take your files and answer your calls and then hand them back to you at the end. Who won’t mind because you’re doing the exact same for them when the time comes.
On the other hand, I've never had to clear a three-week getaway with a boss. I've just had to do a lot of planning to make it work. Here are some of the steps I take:
Figure out how to meet upcoming deadlines ahead of time
While it's my business when I take a vacation, the last thing I want is for clients to feel like I've disappeared on them. So when I take a holiday, I make sure that I file my assignments before I leave. If that means sending them a week earlier than promised, the client gets the bonus of an early submission. I may need to break my no/few evenings and weekends aspiration because it means I have less to handle while I'm away. I also let clients with whom I have works in progress about my vacation, my plan, and the fact that I'm available for quick check ins while I'm away (see below) if a project can't go forward without my answer, but that I'm generally away from my desk
Ask for workarounds on new work
If work offers appear in my inbox in the couple of weeks or month before my vacation where the due date will be in the middle, I ask if the deadline is flexible to finish the work ahead of time or postpone until after. Often there is flexibility, so if you speak up you can get the work and your vacation. If it's really a juggling act to get it done, this might be one to miss, or to bring in a freelance colleague as a suggested alternate.
Decide on your level of availability
I've met some freelancers who are make a no tech rule for their vacations. I am the other kind. I totally don't mind checking email if it means not missing out on potential work for when I return. Once a day or so and I'm off. I usually postpone my socials so that I'm not looking all active when I'm unavailable. I don't announce on social that I'm on vacation because I don't want burglars alerted to my empty home. Is that old fashioned?
Plan your re-entry
Create a detailed to-do list for your first day (and week) back in order of urgency. Don't book any meetings if you can avoid it. Plan a shorter day to avoid returning immediately to the stress level you may have felt pre-holiday. These are some of the approaches I take to returning to my desk after a few days off. While you may feel like you have a lot to do, try to return to your regular work schedule if you can rather than working too much overtime or you'll just return to burnout town. Instead, think about how you can bring some of the vacation mode into your return life. If you escape into a lot of novels on vacation like I do, why not finish your first day back with one? Keep the vacation going full time.