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I am entering the final stretch of scrambling to wrap up projects before I leave tomorrow for a week-long holiday. I have yet to manage a smooth transition from work to holiday. Somehow I just cannot seem to finish projects until the very last minute. Sometimes I end up taking the project on the airplane to finish. This trip, though, I am driving, so double incentive to finish before I go.

At least I have a week away to look forward to.  

As a freelancer, I have often heard people voice a fear of going on holiday, which is really a fear of being out of contact should a potential job come knocking. I have also felt this fear before, especially as a new freelancer when work was sparse. At that stage of one’s career, every job can feel like a big opportunity, and you don’t want to miss out. It can be hard enough to find work as it is.

In the last couple of years I’ve had the opposite problem. I have had steady work, and it has felt like the only way for me to take time off is if I schedule it in advance and proactively tell clients when I am going to be unavailable. Thankfully, most of my regular clients seem to understand, even if it occasionally means I have to turn down a project. I think I’ve even had a client once ask when my summer holiday was going to be, so they could schedule around it. That is one way to melt your freelancer’s heart.

Being busy as a freelancer is a two-edged sword. As new indexers, it is what we aspire to, if we are trying to derive a living from our work. I find that people often respond, “But that’s a good thing,” when I tell them that work has been busy. Because work equals money, right? At the same time, I have experienced periods of burnout as a freelancer, when I can feel my focus, intellect, and motivation stretched thin. I believe that as humans, we are made for periods of rest, so I have become quite deliberate about taking regular holidays. They are a necessity if I am going to freelance long term. If anything, I think that my clients should be thankful when I go on holiday, because I will probably be a better indexer in the couple of weeks after I get back. 

(Finding and creating periods of rest and margin in everyday life, such as actually taking evenings and weekends off, or whatever time period works best, is a similar issue, and one I still struggle with. It is not quite enough to take a holiday every few months. Smaller breaks are needed between the big breaks.)

Still, as freelancers, planning a holiday can be nerve-wracking. There is the risk that we will miss out on work. It can be hard to schedule if clients are contacting us months in advance with a project, before we  have figured out our own holiday plans. How can we successfully plan and take a holiday without ruining our career?

For me, it starts with making holidays a priority. As I mentioned, I have realized that I need periodic holidays in order to maintain peak indexing condition. I also have family and friends who live far away that I want to see, and I don’t see them if I spend all my time at home working. So while work is still a priority (I still spend most of my time indexing), I also have reasons for taking time off. I have also come to trust that turning down the occasional project is not going to ruin my work schedule or relationships. My regular clients, thankfully, are understanding, and I already have projects that will be waiting for me when I return. 

If you are a newer freelancer, missing out on work is a very understandable concern. I think you can still get in the habit of scheduling holidays. Recognize that you are at a stage in your career when work is likely going to be sparse, regardless of whether you stay at home or go on a holiday. You are not going to be in this stage forever. You may miss out on an opportunity for work by going on holiday, but if going on holiday is a priority, then missing one or two jobs, in the long run, is going to be okay. To be honest, I wish I had established the habit of holidaying earlier, so I could have avoided burning out once work got busy. Early in my career, I did not really know how to say no or how to pace my schedule, which eventually became a problem. 

Once the priority has been set, I find it important to schedule the holiday a couple of months or more in advance. My work schedule is usually booked two months in advance and I do not want to kick clients off my schedule if I have made a prior commitment to them. So for holidays, I find a clear spot on the calendar that is not already occupied, and stake out that space. It is mine, and I am not going to allow a client to take it over. 

The next step is to tell clients. I have been diligent this last month, and especially this last week, reminding clients that I am going to be away and unavailable. Occasionally this means turning down a project (I did turn one down this week). More often, it is a scenario like accepting a project but letting the client know that I will be starting a couple of days after the proofs become available, because I will not be home yet. I think some clients can be amendable to working with your plans so long as they are not surprised at the last minute.

If you are going on a longer trip, say longer than two or three weeks, you can let regular clients know ahead of time and ask if they have upcoming projects they want to schedule for when you return. This can mitigate the scenario of the client trying to contact you while you are away and you being unable to respond. This can also provide some peace of mind, knowing that there will be work waiting for you when you come back. Alternatively, you can contact clients when you return, to let them know that you are open again for business. Either way, you are giving the client some guidance, both about your schedule and about when is the best time to communicate with you. 

The last consideration is, do you stay connected while on holiday? Ideally, to fully disconnect, I do not take my laptop with me, and I do not check email. I instead set up an auto-reply letting people know when I will be back. When I am away, I want to fully engage with my holiday. Occasionally, though, I do need to finish a project in the first couple of days away, or I need my laptop for other reasons, which often leads to checking email every few days. Still, I find it can be so satisfying and refreshing to be free from my devices. To read a paper book instead of the screen. 

On that note, I should get back to work and get my remaining projects sewn up so I can depart tomorrow guilt-free. I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday too, whenever you take your next.