How to Take Time Off as a Freelance Writer: Vacations, Extended Leave, and More
Part of the allure of being a freelance writer is that we have control over our schedules. The flexibility in hours and ability to work remotely is attractive, and while those are aspects of a freelance writer's life, the reality is: taking time off as a self-employed individual is quite tricky.
In this episode, we get into why it’s so difficult to take breaks from work as a freelancer (ahem...as we both know from firsthand experience), how to unplug successfully, and why it’s beneficial to do so.
This episode is for anyone who is freelance, owns their own business, or has any level of difficulty disengaging from that work email on vacation.
Planning a vacation: preparations and boundaries
Getting a vacation to happen (let alone an unplugged vacation) takes a lot of effort. Freelance writers rely on consistent client work in order to get paid, and many fear what taking time off will do to that client base. But the truth is: clients who respect your work will also respect your vacations if you set expectations ahead of time and implement solid safety nets and boundaries.
“We need to be deliberate about what systems we’re setting up and what boundaries we’re creating.”
Planning, preparing, and implementing the specifics of your boundaries before a vacation is critical to ensure you get the recharge time you need.
Each freelancer's situation is different, so unplugging will look different for everyone. Figure out how much time off a year makes sense for you, your life, and your needs, and go from there.
Build systems to get yourself off of email on vacation. This includes planning your vacations at the beginning of the year and building deadlines around them, alerting your clients to weeks you won’t be available ahead of time, hiring subcontractors to cover for you, setting up an out-of-office email notification, and appointing an emergency contact person.
“Unless I’m deliberate about vacations when I’m not going to work, inevitably work will creep into it. Decide on the year’s worth of time off in January and then take some time to build systems to make that happen for yourself.”
Any kind of extended leave (like maternity leave) requires more planning than a regular vacation, but it’s based on the same principles. Figure out what your unique circumstances require of your leave and pre-plan it so you can wrap up projects responsibly. Believe it or not, your clients will be there when you get back. Four, five, or six months of leave may sound like a long time to you, but for anyone else, it will pass by quickly.
“My goal isn’t to avoid ever getting interrupted with work on vacation. It’s to not spend my vacation on email putting all my brainpower into work.”
Maternity leave tip from Emma: talk to people who’ve done it before. Talking to as many people as you can to learn how they managed their maternity leaves is a great way to give you ideas for how yours could look.
What kind of values can be found in unplugging from work? (the oft unspoken benefits of getting offline)
In a world where the vast majority of us have the ability to be online 24/7, disconnecting from work as a freelancer requires a lot of firm, self-enforced boundaries. But if the thing that motivates you is being better at your job, then we might be able to convince you to try this new-fangled vacation thing, because many freelancers experience a myriad of benefits after taking intentional breaks from work.
“The benefit of taking a vacation is that you can rededicate yourself to your work when you get back. You have brain space to think about new ideas or reassess working with certain clients.”
For Emma, the time away from work during her four months of maternity leave made her better at all aspects of her business. Not only did it give her a renewed sense of energy and focus, but she also found she became a better communicator.
Unsurprisingly, most freelancers have difficulty implementing the boundaries that work-free vacations require. But if you haven’t intentionally stepped away from work in a long time, we recommend trying it out.
Challenge yourself to refresh your brain, get a new perspective, and take advantage of the flexibility freelance life can offer you.
This season of FWCP is brought to you by Eva Gutierrez, creator of the Client Acquisition System.