How To Have A Week Or Two Off As A Freelance Writer

January 05, 2011

I’m writing this post on Christmas Eve. It’s just turned midnight (don’t worry, not making it Christmas Day — midnight as in it’s just turned Christmas Eve). I’m a little tired, but have another two hours of work to go yet.

Although I’ve garnered somewhat of an understanding from friends and family for my late night / early morning workings, even 2am is pushing it for me on a regular basis — 1am is usually my cut off point.

I’ve been staying up until 2am for the past few days, however, as I’m away for the first two weeks of January (I’m taking my wonderful Better Half to New York for her birthday) and I’m wanting to take the whole of Christmas and those two weeks in January off without having to carry out any work.

And so I’m hoping by the time you’re reading this I’ve had a great Christmas, New Year’s Eve went with a bang and we managed to get to New York without any problems. If we stick to our rough plan, we should have been up the Rockefeller Centre by the time this post is published and I should be well on my way to doing a great impression of a pack horse whilst my girlfriend shops in Macy’s.

Whenever I want a week or two off work, things are usually less stressful than this, as I’ve learnt to plan and prepare properly. Things have been hectic lately, though and with that extra week off because of Christmas, I seem to be glued to my laptop nearly 24 hours a day at the moment.

Irrelevant of the time of year when I plan on taking a week or two off, however, I’ve got somewhat of a plan that I follow. I’ve created it over time, learning from my mistakes and the good practice of others. It might not be perfect for your own circumstances, but it should provide you with a good base to go by.

1. Plan ahead

One of the pitfalls of being a freelance writer — or in fact a freelance of any type — is that you can’t necessarily just pack up your things and head away for a few weeks, especially if you don’t plan on working whilst away.

If you plan far enough in advance, however, you can take off weeks at a time and there’s no reason for you to miss any work deadlines.

Take this post as an example. I’m writing it two weeks in advance. If I hadn’t mentioned this, would you have known? Probably not. Does it make any difference if I write a post within 24 hours of it going live or two weeks of it going live? Not as far as I’m aware it doesn’t, no.

There are obviously some deadlines that you might not be able to hit, as your work might revolve around daily news, but for the most part, there’s no reason why your clients should see a difference in the work that you provide.

2. Let people know

I’ve heard of several freelance writers who think that telling people you’re taking a break is blasphemous and you need to be able to do it all in secret, so that no one knows you aren’t available.

No matter how much of a professional image you portray, at the end of the day, you’re just a human and your clients are just humans, too. They enjoy holidays and you enjoy holidays — there really isn’t any reason for you not to tell them that you won’t be contactable for a while.

As long as you’re not flying out on holiday for two weeks the day after you’ve told them, explaining that you won’t be contactable and won’t be able to meet the normal deadlines, there shouldn’t be any problem — you’re always going to get people who kick up a fuss, but your regular clients who you’ve struck up a relationship with should completely understand.

Don’t forget to put an autoresponder on your e-mails, too — it’s only a small point that takes a few seconds to do, but a client that receives an automated e-mail giving them details of when you’ll return will be a happier client than one who e-mails you and gets nothing in reply.

3. Schedule your social network activity

If you’re the type of person who updates Facebook on a regular basis or tweets every few hours, it could be worthwhile using one of the many programs that are available to schedule your social network activity.

You might not think your activity is watched or read by others, but if you fail to provide updates for a week or two, there’s a good chance some of your customers — previous, present or potential — are going to think something’s up.

4. Don’t leave anything until you get back

Although it’s meaning a few late nights this week, I’m clearing my work schedule completely for the next three weeks.

Whilst I’m actually only not able to work for seven of those days, on the lead on up to it I’m planning on enjoying Christmas and relaxing over the festive period and after I return I’m giving myself a few days to get over any jet lag, check my e-mails and ease myself back into work — if I start earlier than expected when I return, it simply means I can get ahead with work.

Leave work until you get back, however and it’s always going to be on your mind whilst you’re away.

5. Ask for help

Should things get a little too busy for you on the run up to your break and you don’t think you’re going to get everything finished on time, there’s no shame in asking for help.

Depending on what work it is, you might have to outsource it to another freelance writer or pay for someone else to do it. If there are only a few little tasks to carry out, though, you may be able to ask for a favour from a close colleague — just don’t forget to return it at a later date.

As tempting as it can be to pack up your bags and leave for a week or two away, as a freelance writer, it’s important that you remember you’re now running a business. You have clients that you need to take care of and people you can’t let down.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t ever have a break from work — you just need to plan everything in advance to ensure that you can enjoy your time off without any problems occurring whilst you’re away.