Next week is Memorial Day, which kicks off vacation season for many of us. Some freelancers simply bring their laptops and smartphones on vacation, while others put up an out-of-office message and go cold turkey for a week. Some don’t take vacations at all, because for most of us, not working means not getting paid. I’m curious where you folks fall on this spectrum.
Will you be traveling this summer? And if so, how will you handle client work while you’re gone?
Last summer, I took several trips to weddings and a graduation (the graduation was here in Massachusetts, but I took time off for a few days while relatives were in town). I did my best to keep up with email, but I knew I couldn’t act as if it were business as usual, so I had to turn down a couple of projects due to timing. On the plus side, my travels inspired at least one article and allowed me to reconnect with family members and old friends from college.
This summer, I have one work-related trip in the works (fingers crossed that everything comes together) and might be taking a few long weekends with Mr. Muse or my extended family. Oh, yeah, and I’m moving at the end of July/beginning of August, so I expect some interruptions to my normal work flow then. I’d much rather be jetting off to some exotic locale than packing and unpacking boxes, but it’s a necessary evil.
What’s on your calendar for the summer?
Flickr photo courtesy of szeke
The way I'm looking at my work right now is that it's to *finance* my vacations. I was originally planning a month-long vacation starting next week, because I was taking a motorcycle tour around the country, and I've taken on a lot of extra work to get ready for it financially, but the timing just isn't working for me in terms of the bike and trip itself. But I planned to take my laptop and do a few things for ongoing clients then, but not take on any new projects.
I'm planning a 3-month vacation starting in December, because I'm riding the motorcycle south until there isn't anymore south left (through Mexico, Central America and South America). So my work between now and then is focused on financing the trip, but I haven't decided how to handle work at that point. I won't be able to assume that I'll have 'net connection in many of those places, so I presume I'll be out of touch and unreliable, and not sure how that will affect my regular clients. I'm curious to see how other people handle this!
So, while I'm not a freelancer, as an entreprenuer I am often faced with a lot of the same dilemmas. I basically take work with me, on my phone, on my laptop. But when it is a personal trip for fun (like visiting family or friends), I usually just end up trying to wake up early to work and staying up late to get things done so I don't interfere with time with the people I love. So I often come back from vacations both refreshed after having spent lots of great time with my family and friends and exhausted from having slept very few hours each night.
This summer though, waiting to launch Kikini and living off of savings, will be a summer of limited travel for sure.
@Dachary: great to hear from you! Your three-month motorcycle trip sounds awesome! How cool that as freelancers we can make those kinds of trips happen (doubtful that most employers would be supportive). Maybe you can find a trusted colleague to cover your regulars while you're gone?
@Rachel: I've so been there, done that. I think it's reasonable to spend an hour or two a day on email or essential tasks, but more than that and it hardly feels like a vacation!
I leave for a week the week after Memorial Day, so I'm hoping to get the work for clients finished before I leave. If not, I may have to do 1 or 2 interviews for projects while I'm on the beach. There may be a few shorter trips scheduled as the summer progresses, which I'd have to handle the same way.
I think it's an issue not just for freelancers, but for anyone who is self employed. Holidays, vacations, whatever — if we're not working we're not getting paid. At least as a writer I can take my laptop along and do a some work on the road. Other self-employed people may not have the flexibility.
Argh, unfortunately I will not have Memorial Day off. The school took it away, aka made it a Snow Day because we had one less day of school due to snow than we should.
But I AM looking forward to summertime.
I WILL be going to vacation then, hehe.
~TRA
http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com
I find taking time off pretty difficult as I work like heck before I leave and then return home to a backlog of e-mails and other correspondence. Yet, I love to travel and prefer NOT to work while on the road if at all possible. I'm tied to the computer (and technology) enough while here. I don't want that same umbilical chord to interfere with my thoughts and actions while I'm away.
How interesting you mention this – I wanted to write a post (which I still will) before my 3 week vacation comes up later in the summer on how a blogger needs a vacation too. Here I am at my brother's wedding weekend and I produced a post last night and this AM early just so I don't miss a beat. It's hard when you care so much about your blog and your work….but it's important to take time off so Yes to that "out of office" or "offline for a bit…ciao for now" message
!