It’s coming up to Christmas and the holiday season, which means I’ll be taking some time off.

This will be the third Christmas I’ve been a freelancer, and it doesn’t get easier any year.

At some point in September I tell myself I’ll take two weeks off over the holidays to relax, see family, and generally spend time away from my laptop. Then it gets to December and I think “oh well, maybe I can just take one week off”, or, “maybe I can keep up my work for one or two clients over the festive break.”

I had a wobble the other day, but I’m going to stick to my guns this year and take the full two weeks off, no exceptions.

But what does that mean for business? Well, although I’m taking two weeks off, I shouldn’t see a major drop in income because I’ve been preparing for about a month.

This also works if you’re going on holiday for an extended period of time or just need to take a break for a week or two. I’ve booked a trip to explore America next year for 3 weeks, and I’ll be using the same tactics that I’ve been using this past month then, too.

So here’s how you can successfully take time off as a freelancer without spending the whole time worrying.

Tell Clients in Advance (or Hustle a Little)

I always give my clients at least 2 weeks’ notice that I’ll be taking some time off, even if it’s just a couple of days one week. This not only helps them recalibrate their strategy, but it shows I’m professional and care about them (which I do, of course!).

Swipe this copy for your own clients:

Hey [name],

I hope you’re good and are enjoying December so far!

I wanted to drop into your inbox and let you know that I’ll be taking some time off over the Xmas period – from the 20th December to the 3rd Jan. I’ll be taking some much needed time away from my laptop, but will be able to answer emails sporadically during this time.

Let me know if there’s anything urgent you need me to get done before the year is out.

Have a great day,
[Name]

Alternatively, Hustle

For the last two years, I’ve employed a bit of serious hustle when December rolled around. Because I knew I was taking some time off, I doubled up my client work.

So, if I usually wrote one piece for a client per week, I’d write two or three in the weeks leading up to my time off.

Sure, I had to work a little harder for a short amount of time, but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and it meant I could enjoy my Christmas break without worrying about money.

Prep for the New Year (or Your Return)

I find that this time of year is always a bit slow. Clients take time off, and people are winding down and starting to think about family time rather than work, so often your workload won’t be as big anyway.

Which means it’s the perfect time to prepare for the New Year or your return.

The worst thing is getting back from a holiday or some time off to pages and pages of to-dos and a bucket load of admin tasks. Bleurgh, no one wants that!

Before you leave your desk and put on your Out of Office, see if there’s anything you can do to prepare yourself for your return.

That might mean organising your folders to come back to a squeaky clean filing system, or it might mean emailing some blogs to guest post on so you have a few opportunities waiting for you in your inbox on your return.

Before I go off for Christmas, I always plan out my strategy for the New Year. It’s hard enough coming back to your desk in January or after a break only to not be able to get back into the swing of things.

I like to plan my first week back before I take time off so I can slide straight back into it. This helps me keep my motivation levels on the up and means I’m not wasting another week not getting anything done when I get back.

Take Stock of Your Achievements

Ah, the end of the year is always the time for a panic, right?

Like I said earlier, I always go through a stage two or three weeks before I take time off where I think to myself, “I don’t deserve to take time off,” and, “I’m not at the stage where I can swan off on holiday for three weeks. What about my business?!”

This is the perfect time to take stock of everything you’ve achieved throughout the year – include everything, like if you got retweeted by someone you admire, if you received great feedback from a client, and whether you hit your income goals.

Write them down on a big list and stick them somewhere by your computer where you can look at them when you get that “I don’t deserve to take time off” wobble.

Step AWAY From the Laptop

As freelancers, it’s so easy to “just do a little bit of work” while you wait for Christmas lunch to be served, or “just send off a few emails in the morning”.

Because we work from our homes from our computers, we feel like we could be doing something work-related in every spare gap.

My strong, strong advice for you is to NOT DO THIS. Please!

Everyone deserves time off. Think of your friends and family who don’t work for themselves. I bet they don’t feel guilty when they take time off to relax and rejuvenate.

When you take some time away from your business, you are fully able to step back and take stock from a distance (not from right in the middle of it). This means you return feeling refreshed and inspired.

If you’re constantly doing a “bit of this and a bit of that” while you’re supposed to be taking time off, you won’t feel the full benefit of going back with a new state of mind (and, if you prepare, you shouldn’t have to do a “bit of this and a bit of that”, anyways).

Your Clients Will Take Time Off

Finally, just remember that your clients will be taking time off, too. It’s likely they won’t be expecting you to work over the Christmas period.

The thing is, if you give your clients the impression you’re available over the Christmas period or when you go away on holiday, they’re going to think you’re available ALL the time.

It’s important to set boundaries from the offset, so even if you only plan on taking 2 or 3 days off, let your clients know you won’t be responding to them during this time unless it’s urgent (like REALLY urgent).

Taking time off as a freelancer is so important because we are constantly “ON”. We’re constantly thinking about our clients, what we need to do, and how we can better our businesses.

But the only way we can REALLY better our businesses is by bettering ourselves, and to do that we need time off to reflect, relax, and rejuvenate.

So, if there’s one Christmas present you give yourself this year, make sure it’s the gift of time off.

Tell me, what do you do when you take time off? Do you have a checklist you follow or do you just tell your clients and go?

If you’re ready to go into 2017 feeling stronger than ever as a freelancer, sign up for my 3-day video workshop that starts Jan 9th.