Freelance : To take or not to take a vacation ?

Summer is here, everyone around you is going on vacation, enjoying the warm weather and having fun… and as a self-employed individual, you wonder if you can afford that, too.

Let’s be real : most freelancers keep working through the summer, as long as they have something to work on, clients with demands. Because our way of life is not that stable, we already have some gaps between clients from time to time, so we feel like as long as there is work, we can’t stop. Because well, if we don’t work, there’s no income.

I thought I was going to work all summer too, actually.

I have a long-term translation project with a client, a one-year contract, and they wanted to publish a part of the translations in August so I thought I would have a lot of work until then at least. But then they said there wouldn’t be any new material to translate for a few weeks.

And that’s when I realized.

Even your clients go on vacation.

So whether you want it or not, you may be forced to take a break. And actually… I do appreciate this break, because the past few weeks have been intense, and I do want to enjoy my summer. Of course, money is important, but it’s not everything. It’s been weeks that I didn’t have time to write or to prospect for new clients, so I will finally have time to do that. Which in the future will bring money, too.

It doesn’t hurt, to take the time to relax, see some friends, have a little fun. It’s easy to forget that resting is an important part of being productive. No one wants to get sick because they work 24/7, right ? Your health is your best tool to be productive, it’s the base of everything.

So please, keep that in mind before dedicading your whole summer to work. Even just a week is still a week. We all need a break at some point, some time to recharge our batteries. Also, think about asking your clients if they’re going to take a vacation, and if yes, when. It’s better to know in advance, so you can organize yourself better. (Don’t be surprised like me, haha !)

What about you ? Are you going to take a vacation this summer ? If yes, what are you going to do ? If no, can you tell us why ?

Whether you take a break or not, I wish you all a happy summer time ! I’ll see you in a new article next Wednesday ~

Marie.