If You Want to Enjoy Summer as a Freelancer, Start Planning Now

5 steps to take time off without killing your biz

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

The best thing about freelancing is the freedom to do what you want when you want.

At least in theory.

In reality, it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind.

You may be planning to take time off, but a last-minute request here or a potential new client there can quickly turn your plans to dust.

This is a feeling I know only too well

I made this mistake plenty of times early in my career as a freelance writer.

It got really bad during the first year of the pandemic.

Prior to 2020, I would book a couple of holidays abroad every year. Going through this process was an easy way to ensure I took time off.

But as my ability to travel abroad was cut due to coronavirus, I ended up hardly taking any time off at all.

I kept working while waiting for the perfect opportunity to take time off.

Cue no perfect time and no time off.

By the time I got to the end of the year, I realized I’d spent pretty much the entire year working.

Last year I made a more concerted effort to take time off. It worked, and I’ll be doing the same again this year.

These are the steps I followed.

1. Create a solid plan (failing to plan is … etc.)

The most important thing, for me at least, is to actually create a plan for my break.

Your plan doesn’t need to be anything huge. It’s just as worthwhile to have a week of chilling out at home as it is to fly around the world (although the latter option is nice).

So think about when you want time off, mark it in the diary, and start planning for how you’ll spend it.

Easy Action Steps

1. Start planning: Think about what you want to do and for how long.
2. Speak to anyone who will be involved in your plans: Tell your partner, friends, parents, etc., and sync your schedules.
3. Solidify the plans: Book flights, reserve a hotel, note it in your diary, tell your parents you’re coming to visit. Basically, anything that will turn vague ideas into solid plans.

2. Prepare your finances

Freelancers only earn when they work. This means it’s always super tempting to take on one more job or task when you should be enjoying your time off.

Avoid this by ensuring you don’t need the money when it comes time for your break.

The easiest way to prepare is to start putting money away early. Like any saving, the earlier you start, the less you have to save each month and the more you’ll end up with.

It will also allow you to take on extra work in the months leading up to your break if you’re worried things will be tight.

This tip isn’t only for freelancers who don’t have the cash.

Even if your business is financially stable and you can easily afford the time off, you probably still have financial goals that you want to hit. These can easily tempt you to keep working if you don’t plan for them.

Easy action steps

1. Calculate how much money you’ll need to cover the time off/hit your goals.
2. Calculate how much you’ll need to save each month to make this a reality.
3. Put the money away! Consider taking on extra work if you’re worried about meeting your goals.

3. Tell your clients early

As a freelancer, you have far more freedom than a regular job. In theory, we don’t have to work if we don’t want to.

But, clients do still rely on us for work.

And because of this, it’s always better to tell them in advance if you plan to have time off.

This has two main benefits:

1. You’ll keep your clients happy. Clients always appreciate being told plans in advance. It allows them to better plan for their own needs. And it ensures they aren't left high and dry because their best copywriting has gone missing during an important launch.
2. It solidifies the idea of you having a break in their mind. And it means they won’t give you work for the time you said you were going to be off. This is important because it means there’s no chance you’ll be tempted by a last-minute assignment.

There are other benefits too. You may be able to increase your workload before you go away to cover the revenue you won’t bring in during your break. And you’ll be able to schedule work for when you start up again (more on that later).

If you’re worried about your clients being annoyed that you’re taking time off, don’t be — I’ve worked as a freelancer for over four years and it has never been an issue.

How to notify clients

1. Give plenty of notice: A month in advance is good as there’s really no downside to letting clients know early. If I often go weeks without working with a client, I might let them know later.
2. Be specific: Let them know the exact dates you’ll be away for. Also, consider when you’ll actually be able to start working for the specific client. This may be later than your actual return date if you plan to prioritize work for other clients on your return.
3. Be clear: Let the client know what you can do before going away. You could also offer to do extra work leading up to your time off. I like to do this if I’m going to be away for a relatively long time. It obviously only works if you actually have the time to do the work.

Here is a message template that covers all the above points.

Hey [Name].

Hope all is well! Just letting you know that I plan to take time off next month from [date] to [date].

I’ll be able to do all the work we currently have scheduled, plus another article if needed. Let me know if you have any urgent work and I’ll try to fit that in.

Please also feel free to schedule articles while I’m away. This way I can jump right back in when I return.

I hope this isn’t too inconvenient.

Thanks!

4. Modify your outreach efforts

This is my favorite step because I find outreach to be the least enjoyable part of freelancing.

I typically slow down my outreach in the month before going away.

I do this for two reasons:

1. I don’t want a prospect to get excited about me working for them, only for me to take time off early in the relationship. It seems unprofessional, especially if it’s a long trip.
2. Starting work with a new client is always exciting, and I don’t want to be tempted in doing “just one more task” when I should be taking my break.

If your work relies on receiving a constant stream of new leads, then stopping outreach for too long might not be a sensible option. You’ll have to adjust the below steps to your needs.

Easy action steps:

This is very business dependant. But I typically:

1. Cut down outreach in the month before my break. I’ll still look out for options that are a great fit.
2. Stop completely one or two weeks before going away. At this point, I’m mainly focused on finalizing work before my break anyway.
3. Set up an email autoresponder so people know I’m out of the office and when they should expect a reply.

5. Plan work for when you return

Not thinking about what happens after the break was one of the biggest ways I killed my earnings early in my career as a freelancer

I would get back, open my laptop, and not have anything to do: even though I had a full book clients.

It could be a week or longer between announcing my return and clients' scheduling work.

I now always ensure I have work to do on the first day back in the office.

Most clients are more than happy to help. They usually have a good idea of what they need and it’s easy for them to schedule work for when I get home.

Easy action steps:

There are plenty of ways you can book work for after your trip:

1. Extend deadlines for existing work until after you get back.
2. Ask for specific projects you can do in the weeks after you return.
3. Let clients know they can add work to your pipeline while you’re away.

Final Thoughts

Freelancing undoubtedly provides more freedom than other forms of work.

But if you don’t make the most of this freedom, you’re missing out on one of the major benefits of the working style.

And it’s easy to make the most of this freedom while still meeting your financial goals. It just takes a bit of planning.

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