It’s that time of year again. Everyone in the office is telling you where they’re going on their summer holidays. Kerry from Finance is off to Florida, Matt from IT is heading to Ibiza, and Jane from HR is going on a cruise around the Greek islands.
And you? Well, you’re a freelancer so if you can scrape together three or four days off together and all of your invoices are paid on time, you might be able to nab a long weekend somewhere. But wouldn’t it be nice to jet off on a holiday for a week or, dare we say, a fortnight?
It might not seem possible with the busy, sometimes hectic, life of a freelancer, but we have some tips to help you on your way.
Book in advance
OK, so it’s too late to do this for this summer, but it’s not too early to start thinking about next year. If you book in advance it means you have to keep the time free to go and can’t let it fill up with work commitments. Plus, you’ll have plenty of time to plan out your work schedule around your holiday.
Have a holiday fund
Being a freelancer can play havoc with any notions of regular income which can make having the spare cash for a holiday difficult. One way around this is to set up a savings account and either set up a regular payment or just pop in whatever you have spare each week or month.
It will soon add up to enough to book your getaway.
Take your work with you
If you really can’t justify downing tools for a full week or two, you could always consider taking some work with you. Now, we certainly wouldn’t advocate doing too much work while you’re away that would defeat the object but if mixing a little bit of business with leisure allows you to get a break, then go for it.
Just be savvy so you don’t end up working right through. For instance, you could always schedule a bit of work in during the hottest part of the day when you’re escaping to the shade, or first thing in the morning before you hit the beach.
Subcontract
If you can’t really work remotely, then you could look at subcontracting work out to a trusted colleague so they can cover while you’re away. Obviously, you would also need to agree this with your clients but, once that’s done, you just need to sort a handover out so your substitute knows what they’re doing.
Remember you should really have Employer’s Liability cover if you plan on doing this. We can help you make sure you’re covered.
So, don’t just sit there jealously listening to others’ holiday plans. With a little bit of planning and organisation, freelancers can make the time to get a full, relaxing holiday. Now you just need to decide where to go.
