The Fresh Look Editing 5 for July 2021
Humans aren’t designed to work 24/7/365. Taking time away from work is not only recommended, but essential to recharging your mind and body. When you are your own boss, marketing, HR, and finance departments combined, that’s easier said than done. Burnout among freelancers is very real and often cited as one of the biggest challenges faced by solo workers. Still, the fear of failure is a powerful force — perhaps you’ve felt that if you step away from your business even for a few days you’ll miss out on a dream client, or time away means less financial freedom. Freelancers tend to be customer service oriented and passionate about what they do, so maybe you’ve felt like you should remain available to your clients or you don’t want to leave your work alone. A vacation from your desk is necessary to maintaining your health and well being, though. Here are some tips on how to carve out actual time away.
- Create a company policy
If you’ve worked in-house before, think about your company’s employee handbook. There are typically policies/guidelines for days off work including stat holidays, sick time, and vacation. Why should your business be any different? In a productivity course I took last year, Sagan Morrow taught about the concept of building a vacation policy into your business plan and how to automate your business while you’re away. You could decide you want to take two weeks’ vacation every year and that you’ll take those dates at your discretion (one week in the winter, one week in the summer, two weeks together). Perhaps you want to align your time off with your significant other or your kids’ school schedule. However you choose to do it, declaring vacation time as part of your overall business strategy is a great way to plan ahead and commit to taking time for yourself. - Tell your clients ahead of time
Some freelancers worry that taking vacation during a particularly busy period may put them at odds with a client’s deadline or production schedule. However, a thoughtful notice can go a long way. Most clients are willing to be flexible and will respect your time when you respect theirs. Be upfront about your intention to take a break. This means if you gain a new client shortly before your scheduled vacation that you don’t agree to deadlines you know will conflict with your plans. If your time away lands in the midst of a project, be honest and let them know as soon as you can. If your client is a good one, chances are they will appreciate the heads up and be willing to work with you to achieve an outcome that works for all parties. - Set your out of office
An out of office message is an automated communication that lets anyone who emails you know you’re away from your desk. You can also set this kind of message on your voicemail or pin it to your social media accounts. Some people keep it simple — “I will be away from my desk from August 16–20 inclusive and will respond when I get back.” — and some add a bit more detail depending on the nature of their business — “I will be away from my desk from August 16–20 inclusive and will respond to your email when I return. In the meantime, please visit my website xyzfreelancer.com for a list of my services.” One thing to note: Include all days you intend to be away from your desk in your out of office notice so there are no misunderstandings of when you may be available again, especially if you tend to work weekends and your regular clients are aware of this. - Ditch your phone (and its work appeal)
If you caught your breath a bit while reading this, hear me out. Our phones are tempting, and much more likely to be “glanced” at while you’re on vacation versus a computer. For many freelancers a work and personal cell are one and the same. If this is the case, you’re unlikely to abandon your phone for personal use while on vacation, so you need to do the next best things:
– Set yourself dedicated “no phone” time: This may be during a typical peak period for your business, for example during a time work-related chats are most active on social media or when you tend to check your emails. Set limits on your phone during those periods or physically move your phone away from you. You’re less likely to be tempted to check in if your phone is inconvenient to grab.
– Remove work reminders from your phone: Make your work tools as out of sight as possible by turning off notifications, moving apps to different screens (or temporarily removing them from your home screen), or setting downtime specifically for work-related apps or websites. - Focus on you
Vacation is a time for self care. Whether your vacation is at home or away, long or short, you have the right to rest and rejuvenate. That means you don’t have to answer a client who is trying to get you to answer “just one quick thing” or cram in admin tasks that you *really* need to finish. All of those things can wait. Time away from your desk is meant to provide a physical and mental break from your business. That may mean exploring a new park you’ve been meaning to walk through, or making a sizable dent in your TBR pile or TV “to watch” list. Maybe it means sleeping in every morning or taking time out with your family without guilt. Whatever you do, use the time to take care of yourself so you can come back to your business feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks ahead. You’ll thank yourself for it later.
What works for you? Share how you carve out your own vacation time using the hashtag #FreshLookEdit5.