It can be incredibly easy to feel like you have to work all the time, or taking holidays is hard - but with some structure, it doesn't have to the be the case.
Many of the freelancers we’ve spoken to, and many of the articles we’ve reviewed with the title “Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Freelancing,” include something about how hard it can be to take time off when freelancing—or even when you do, you’re still “at work” or thinking about work.
The ability to carry your work with you in a backpack on your laptop, or on a mobile phone, being globally accessible and available, can make it hard to ever be out of reach of your existing or potential customers.
Even if you’re completely off the grid, you might find it hard to “switch off,” and your mind might be turning over some of the concerns of your business, or thinking about what’s next.
Without “paid holiday,” many also find it hard to relax when they know they’re actively turning work away in order to rest—indeed, Leapers’ research showed that 67% of people even found taking holiday “stressful.”
This can lead to many new freelancers feeling like they’re “at work” all of the time, or feeling an immense sense of guilt if they’re ever not working or taking time off—leading to the idea that “you can never truly have a day off.”
Whilst this is not an uncommon “I wish I knew,” it doesn’t have to be true.
Putting effective boundaries around your self-employed work is absolutely essential, to both avoid burnout and to ensure you’re able to grow a healthy, successful business.
This means that you’ll need to put some effort into preparing for taking time off, creating the mental space to allow you to put your work to one side for a while, get the rest you deserve and need, and then return to work with renewed energy.
Boundaries don’t magically appear when you become self-employed—no one else is going to create your schedule, manage your diary, or tell you where and when you can take time off. So, without putting in the effort to plan your time off, it won’t happen.
But equally, boundaries are not just about taking time off as holiday. It’s about helping you unlearn the habits of employment and redesign the way you want to work, need to work, and work best.
The idea of a “weekend” or the “summer holiday” being the only time you can step away from work is being eroded, especially through self-employment—to good end.
Being more in control over when you work, how you work, and harmoniously integrating the things in your life leads to better productivity, and crucially, more time for all of the things you want to achieve in life.
1/ Recognise that rest is an essential part of building a successful business. In the same way, you can’t work if you don’t charge your laptop, you can’t work if you don’t recharge yourself.
2/ Look to put a routine in place for yourself—including when you “switch off” at the end of the day, and techniques to help you step away from thinking about work. This can include finishing the day with a to-do list for tomorrow or engaging in a physical activity to create a separation between work and not-work.
3/ Consider writing a holiday policy — Flip the idea of having a finite amount of holiday time, and set yourself a “minimum” number of days you’ll aim to take off each year. Agree at the start of the year the amount of time you’ll aim to take off—and schedule it in advance, or at the very least, agree on a maximum amount of time you’ll work before taking some sort of break.
4/ Consider other “shapes” of working e.g., four-day weeks, shorter days, longer weekends, two-days-on-two-days-off, etc., rather than huge blocks of time off in a traditional “holiday” format. As you’re self-employed, you have the ability to work in patterns you design.
5/ Find a support network—build stronger and closer relationships with a handful of fellow freelancers to share accountability, support you in taking time off as collaborators, or even just to nudge you into taking that time off!
6/ When you’re busy: consider putting time off into your contracts — if you’re working longer-term with clients, make sure you have provision for some time off. Ideally, working for any longer than eight weeks without a break is going to lead to exhaustion. Remember, as a freelancer, you’re in control of when you work, not your client.
7/ When you’re quiet: utilise your ‘down-time’ — when you’re less busy, make good use of the time without client work, and use your days to rest and recharge. Whilst it’ll be important to be looking for future work too, try to balance your time between rest and new business.
I book out regular time off in my schedule and stick to it!
While it’s an approach that may sound obvious on paper, I’ve always found that the moment I take some time off, client work always comes in!
I’ve had to learn to switch off and stay switched off, because I’m going to be no use to anyone if I’m burnt out.
It’s all down to me, and setting strict boundaries.