I’m in a bit of a sticky spot.
I would like to get away on a holiday. In fact, I know that I need to get away on holiday. Alas, working for myself, coupled with freelance projects, promotion activities and the theatre, finding the time to get away proves tricky.
For one - it costs money to get away somewhere. The further you go, the more expensive the trip gets (thanks largely in part to ever increasing fuel surcharges on long haul flights). Secondly, it costs time to get away. While it’s great to get away, you might find that you’re stuck for funds to pay your way for a holiday, or that the time you take for the holiday is possibly time you could devote to completing a project or maybe evening running a short project from start to finish.
I fall into that category. When it comes to holidays or breaks longer than a weekend, I’m the eternal procrastinator. So much so that the holiday I’ve been promising myself to this year (Canada in August), I’ve already put off until October and unless I act soon I’m at risk of putting it off until later in the year. This is a trip that I was supposed to make *last* October.
But it is necessary to make the break and when October hits, I’ll be making a serious break and I’ll enjoy every minute of it.
What I want to know is what do YOU do for a holiday? Or have you, as a freelancer, ever taken one? The last trip I went away on for more than a 4-day stretch (which would involve a weekend anyway so my work downtime would be limited) was November 2006 and prior to that was possibly 2001, due largely in part to work commitments.
As a freelancer are you bothered by holidays? Or would you see a holiday as something completely avoidable when it comes to generating income for yourself? Do you set goals for holidays and extended breaks or like myself, keep moving the goalposts?
Don’t be shy and leave a comment, let me know what you think.
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Hi!
I couldn’t afford to have a break at the beginning but now I can and do stop working in August. My job in particular (translations) used to very low that month anyway and it just doesn’t pay to be available for clients. Even if I only go away for a week to see the family, I nevertheless close the business between the 1st and 31st of August and enjoy some quality time with the kids.
Actually, in almost 8 years doing freelance work I’ve found that if I take holidays and weekends off I get better jobs!
Good luck next summer!
Hey Maria,
Thanks for the reply
I think part of the issue is as you’ve found it yourself - being able to afford to take the break. Time lost at work is income lost at the end of the day but if work has been kind to you and you’ve been able to generate some kind of cash reserve then you should be able to reward yourself with time away.
The fact that you can take the entire month is a real bonus! I would agree as well that time away can lead to better jobs - you never know who you might meet when you’re on your travels but I usually find myself coming back from a few days away brimming with ideas and full of energy again, all helps in creating something better when the next job arrives.
i am not a freelancer but i certaiinly am a procrastinator and possibly a workaholic as i have a full time job and a family and a lot of interests yet find myself in december having to take leave or else i loose it! so maybe i’m neither a freelancer nor a procrastinator, but just a fool!
Hey Candy,
I know that feeling about procrastination (actually have a post due this week on it). I wouldn’t say it’s foolish at all but I can certainly understand the difficulty in taking time off. At the end of the day I just have to force myself into doing it (like I did this weekend) and as a result I’m all the better for it.
Or at least I think I am anyway… time will tell over the course of the week.