How to take a vacation when you're self-employed
Intentional communication is everything
Mindset Mastery is a weekly newsletter about the psychology of self-employment from Jenni Gritters. If you’d like to support my work, please become a paid subscriber for $5/ month!
In December, my membership program for freelancers, SUSTAIN, is focused on building passive or value-based revenue streams (meaning, something you design once and offer over and over again). SUSTAIN members also get access to a complementary end-of-year business audit workshop in December, and we’ll hear from passive revenue pro Damon Brown.
“I’m taking two weeks off at the end of December!” Liz said.
I wanted to believe her. But I knew that the slowness would be too uncomfortable for her to manage some days. I knew that she’d come back to my coaching room in January feeling stressed out, having taken on work even when she said she wasn’t going to.
Liz is all of us. When work slows down, those pesky, anxious thoughts tend to come to the surface:
Is my business really going to work?
Is this slow-down (which I chose) proof that we’re in a recession and I’ll never get work again?
What if my clients never come back?
Often, we become so overwhelmed by those thoughts that we can’t sit in the slow-down, so we pick work back up again as a protective mechanism. (I wrote about this discomfort a while back, in a newsletter called Confronting Stillness.) And poof, there goes our vacation time! But I don’t want that for you, or me, or Liz.
This year, we’re taking time off for the holidays — because let’s be honest, our clients are usually AWOL then, anyway. Perhaps we’ll use a day within those few weeks off to reflect on the year ahead and do some business development. But we are not going to work for most of it. We are going to rest.
You in? Here’s the action plan:
Plan intentionally for the time off by communicating with your clients up front.
First, you need to tell people that you’re going to be away from your computer for a set period of time. Get real about your boundaries — when you’ll be working, what dates you plan to be away, and beyond.
Then, let your clients know about your vacation plans a month or so in advance. Email them with the dates you’ll be out of office, and a set plan for accomplishing any work ahead of that time. You can also let them know when you plan to return.
As part of this plan, you’ll set an out of office responder in your email inbox, too. This way, you don’t feel like you’re on the hook for responding to things as they come in: people know that you’re away, and they know when you’ll return. Transparency and communication win this game (and often, they make you look even more professional which can solidify client relationships and increase trust).
Secure work for after you come back from your vacation.
If you work for yourself, the momentum game is a real thing. Slowing down can make it tough to ramp back up. If you get paid on a delayed schedule (for many of us, about 30 days out), you’ll be covered during December — but you may come back to a low-revenue January. This is totally normal (it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong!) But if you don’t have savings or reserve funds to cover a low cash-flow month (which I just taught everyone in SUSTAIN to do), make sure you have work lined up for your return.
For most of us, this looks like reaching out to current clients to ask for another project in early 2024. You may want to think about who you loved working with this year and send them a little thank you email, with an ask for more work attached. If you have anchor or retainer clients (again, something I taught SUSTAINers to build into their businesses a few months ago — all those sessions are in the learning library for the program, so you can access them if you join now), chat with them about early 2024 plans.
Did I mention that this is all about communication?
Create a plan for that off-time.
Going from a season of busyness to a season of slowness can feel uncomfortable. Making a plan for how you’ll use that off-time (yes, I’m suggesting a plan for rest) can help you feel like you’re being intentional, rather than reactive. Are there books you’ve been wanting to read? Podcasts you’d like to download? Hikes you’ve been waiting to do? That all goes on your list of things to do while you’ve stepped away from work.
Acknowledge the possibility of discomfort and prepare for it.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about finding your medicine for seasons of in-between. If you plan to take a few weeks off, I want you to put together a toolkit for self-soothing and nervous-system regulating activities that will help you feel more grounded. Discomfort is likely to pop up, especially if you’re taking a few weeks off. I’d suggest putting together a little toolkit of the following:
A mantra (written on your mirror). I love: “I trust that my work will still be there,” or “rest is an investment.”
Two or three movement-based activities that make you feel good: Walking, dancing, yoga, and beyond.
Two or three grounding activities that help you settle down: Box breathing, laying on the floor with your kids, and more.
A reminder list of the basics you need to do every day to feel okay: 8 hours of sleep, drinking water, eating protein-based foods, going outside, connecting with humans you love, etc.
Let it be squishy.
Are you allowed to have squishy boundaries? YES! You can spend a few hours clearing out your inbox. You can go to a coffee shop and write out thoughts about your business. We’re not in an all-or-nothing world here.
The big thing with taking vacation is feeling at choice about work. If you intend to take time off, I want you to feel like you can make that choice from an empowered, prepared perspective. And if you need to address something work-related while you’re at it because that reduces your anxiety? Go for it!
We all need to rest. It’s not just nice-to-have, it’s a radical prioritization of our bodies over the norms of capitalism. It’s an investment in ourselves — because if we burn out, our businesses cannot run well.
You are the most important resource in your business. Protect that resource intentionally — and enjoy some holiday cookies for me, too.
Sending brave boundary-setting vibes your way,
Jenni
Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach based in Central Oregon. I have two small children and I work part-time so I can spend a lot of time with them. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with non-linear business building and teaching people how to build successful businesses that support their human needs first. Check out my coaching offerings here, follow me on Twitter & Instagram, or download my free business plan for creatives!