How To Get The Vacation Time That You Sorely Need And Desperately Want
Posted April 23, 2008 in Lifestyle 16 Comments »
Vacation!
The very word is enough to cause envy in most freelancers.
Why would the word ‘vacation’ make freelancers envious?
Quite frankly, many of us are afraid to take a vacation. We’re afraid that if we leave our business unattended for a few days we’ll lose clients to competitors. We’re afraid that we’ll fall behind on our projects and never be able to catch up. We’re afraid that we’ll miss applying for the hottest project to ever hit the Internet. We’re afraid that we’ll run out of cash.
We freelancers are afraid to take a vacation, so we wind up delaying our vacation (or in many cases, not taking one at all). It’s a fear that fuels our envy of those who take vacations.
The fears are very real and this post is not intended to belittle them. However, the fact is that most of us need to rest from time to time if we are to perform at our best. What better way to rest than by taking a vacation?
This post is intended to help freelancers find a way to get that much-needed vacation rest.
Five Strategies to Help You Plan Your Next Vacation
Plan. You may think that being a freelancer gives you greater flexibility to take time off. For taking off or rearranging small periods of time (for example, several hours), you do have more flexibility as a freelancer. But, if you want to take off a significant portion of time (a week, or more), then taking a vacation may actually require more planning on your part than if you worked in a traditional job.
Depending on how many clients you have and on your project load, you may need to start vacation planning several months ahead of time.
Communicate. Tell your clients when you will be unavailable. Be clear about your vacation start and finish dates. I recommend giving at least a month’s notice if you work on smaller projects. More notice may be needed if you typically work on larger projects. This advance notice allows the clients to adjust their own schedules and expectations concerning your availability.
Work Ahead. If you have ongoing projects, then you may be able to work ahead of schedule in order to free some time for taking a vacation. Freelance bloggers may be able to pre-post so that their blogs don’t sit vacant during their vacation. Other freelancers may be able to work a few extra hours each week leading up to the vacation to get ahead on their projects. It’s also a good idea to organize your office before you leave. There’s nothing worse than returning to a chaotic office after a relaxing break!
Backup. In some cases, it may be a good idea to leave your clients with the name of a freelance colleague to call in case of an emergency. Ideally, this would be someone who is willing to let you back them up later when they go on vacation. (Be sure that you can trust your backup freelancer to do high quality work.) For freelance bloggers, providing a backup can be as simple as finding a few guest bloggers who are willing to write guest posts for you.
Save Money. For freelancers, vacations are unpaid. Not only will you have to pay for the cost of your vacation, you will also have to deal with a loss of income while you are on vacation. The solution to this problem is to save for your vacation. It’s never a good idea to live from paycheck to paycheck. That statement is especially true for freelancers.
Vacation Fears Addressed
I’ll Lose My Clients!
I won’t lie to you. It’s possible that you could lose clients when you take a vacation. Typically, these are clients who don’t plan ahead and provide you primarily with last-minute rush work. My experience is that most clients will be more than happy to make allowances for your time off if you give them enough notice and provide a reliable backup.
Remember, most people take several weeks off from work during the year and also take time off during holiday periods. Provided that you don’t overdo it, your clients won’t be surprised when you do this also.
I’ll Fall Behind And Never Be Able To Catch Up.
It’s partially up to you to manage your schedule by notifying clients and working ahead so that you aren’t in the middle of a lot of projects when you leave. However, before you cancel that vacation because your schedule is too full, consider the long-term effect that burnout can have on your work. Burnout is what is very likely to happen if you never take a break from work.
Isn’t it much better to take some time off and return to your work refreshed and eager to work?
I’m Afraid I’ll Miss Something Really Important.
It’s easy to get caught up in the hype that surrounds the Internet. Remember this: the “next great thing” is only the “next great thing” until the next “next great thing” comes along. While initially it may seem like you’ve missed some wonderful opportunities while you were on vacation, in the end usually you can make up most of what you missed in just a few short days.
I’m Afraid That I’ll Run Out Of Money.
This is a very real fear for freelancers. All freelancers, whether or not they plan on going on vacation, should already be saving money. You never know when you might have to deal with a dry spell or an emergency. If you find that you can never save any money at all, then you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I really charging enough for my product or services?
- Is freelancing a responsible way to provide for the needs of myself and my family?
Laura
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About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 18 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts.
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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16 Comments
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:23 pmYou hit on all my fears, and probably missed a few. I allow myself *maybe* a couple of hours of free time a week. On occasion, Harry and I declare a screw-off day and just walk away from it all for 24 hours.
I’m always a little amazed that the sky didn’t fall and the gods didn’t strike me dead when I come back. But a few days in a row? I’m sure I’d be fried and squashed.
I so need a vacation.
Laura Spencer
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:05 pmJames, we’ll have to chat about those fears that I missed. Maybe there’s a post in it. ;)
Seriously, I hope the article helped anyone who is trying to figure out how on earth they can manage to take some time off.
Misti Sandefur
April 24th, 2008 at 1:21 amA vacation away with just hubby would be wonderful, but the hours both of us work doesn’t allow it. And, of course, with the bills, we can’t afford the time off. He gets paid vacation days, but they pay him before he takes the vacation. In other words he gets one lump sum, so when he actually can take a vacation day, it’s like missing a day’s work. We usually use his vacation pay to pay off a bill. As for me, well you know how freelancers are… We don’t have the luxury of paid vacations unless we put money back.
The only vacation I actually get is one day off a week. I’ve reworked my schedule to give me this one day off so I can recoup. And to be honest, I usually clean house on this day, so that’s not my idea of a vacation. However, when I do return to my work, I find that my creative juices flow much better. ;)
Oh well, maybe one day hubby and I will take that vacation that we both need.
Adam Hill
April 24th, 2008 at 2:24 amLast year I went on half a dozen or more 1 week vacations… sounds good BUT… each time I took my laptop, redirected the office phone to my cell phone and stayed at hotels with Wifi access and stressed. If I’d taken half your advice then I would have had time to enjoy myself!
This year, I’ve been working ahead of schedule before holidays, and I now have mobile broadband on my new laptop, so can work from anywhere if the s**t hits the fan, but I also rely on backup freelancers / staff to help with the workload and monitor our servers while I’m away.
Also an important thing to mention is have international roaming on your cell phone if you go overseas.
Robert Hruzek
April 24th, 2008 at 7:05 amIt’s not quite the same thing, but during my many years as a contract employee, our “vacations” consisted of out-of-town assignments. Thus, we’ve managed quite a bit of travel and exploration during my working career (in engineering).
But as for a “formal” vacations, well, after twenty years of “feast-or-famine” (which is like freelancing: no work = no pay), I currently have a job with paid vacations. Our only problem now is, we’ve forgotten how to have an actual vacation; you know, where you plan something specific, etc…
The moral of the story, I guess, is this: don’t let yourself get to the point where you don’t know how to do it! All work and no play is surely a bad way to go.
Hopefully next year we’re actually going to take the vacation we’ve been planning.
Laura Spencer
April 24th, 2008 at 7:34 amHi Misti!
I’m glad that you have rearranged your schedule to take one day off a week. I’m sure that is helping you.
Hi Adam – I think you describe a common scenario for freelancers on vacation. We’re away, but we’re not really resting. I’ve done the exact same thing that you’re describing. I hope the advice helped you.
Susan
April 24th, 2008 at 8:16 amI’ve experienced all of these concerns, but just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you have to be completely out of the loop. When I went to Hawaii for ten days, I put up a vacation message and hopped on a plane. Sure enough, an editor at one of my dream publications emailed me with an assignment just 12 hours after my departure!! Fortunately, I checked my email and wrote back to her immediately saying I’d love to do the story (and my boyfriend was happy to hang out in the hotel for a little bit while I did the legwork).
You won’t necessarily miss out on projects if you check email on a semi-regular basis (I also used the plane ride to brainstorm for story ideas). I do think that leaving a freelance friend’s information as a contact is a good idea, but most editors (not necessarily clients) probably have other people they could email, too.
Alina Popescu
April 24th, 2008 at 8:44 amThis is a great guide and a realistic view into the freelancer life style at the same time. I’m not really a freelancer, although I’ve worked as a freelancer along with my day job. But if I ever choose to switch sides, I’ll surely read this article a few times a year :)
Melek
April 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pmSomething else to consider when planning is when do you traditionally have slow periods of work? for me, in looking back at my quickbooks billings, i can easily see that July/Aug are my slowest months with a HUGE dip in work. I think is is bc kids are out of school, so parents (my clients) are taking vacation. So, that’s when i plan my vacation. Then i’m not slammed when i get back bc i have less work coming in.
Also, don’t forget to turn on your auto responder so clients you may not have notified (i have clients pop out of the woodwork years after i do something for them) will know when to expect you back in the office.
I’ll sometimes even tell my clients that i’ll be back in the office on Wed when i’m actually coming back on Tuesday. That way, i have a little time to catch up before the deluge starts :)
Allena T
April 24th, 2008 at 8:47 pmThe hardest part I’ve found is the scheduling. I stop taking new clients or new projects from old clients, yet…if I don’t schedule it right, I have three or four unbooked/blank days in the wrong spot! Ugh.
Jacob Share
April 25th, 2008 at 1:46 amIn a word: subcontract / outsource
Laura Spencer
April 25th, 2008 at 8:56 amThanks everyone!
There are a lot of good ideas in the comments. Work cycles are definitely a factor that can help you determine when you should take a vacation. As far as subcontracting goes, I think it’s great if your client allows it. (I would recommend always letting the client know that you are using a subcontractor.)
Stefanie
April 28th, 2008 at 10:33 amI maintain a day job and a healthy freelancing/web publishing career on the side, but I never skip over the need for vacations and weekends away. I was lucky enough to find a partner who needs a lot more sleep than I do, so we just get a suite whenever we go and I can put in an hour or two of work each day before I get to the fun stuff.
I suppose I *could* schedule time with no work at all, but I’d rather take more vacations with a little bit of work than fewer vacations with no work.
Paul Burani, Clicksharp Marketing
May 4th, 2008 at 12:10 pmVery well done. Re: being accessible by phone, I’ve found that a SkypeIn number is very helpful for maintaining the perception of being “within reach.” I don’t recommend failing to tell clients that you’re traveling… but giving them a local # to call with a 24-48 hour return call guarantee goes a long way in putting them at ease.
Lost
June 13th, 2009 at 8:25 amWow! You touched a raw nerve here! Me and my hubby run our company. One’s the tech head and the other’s the manager.
It’s been ages since we’ve gone out for a vacation, to be precise 2 years! I wish we’d read your post earlier. Will plan a vacation in the next 2 months :)
Thanks…
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