by Rachel Smith
05 May 2017
I’m away with my family this week and in the past few days, I have built sand castles, eaten delicious food, slept in, read a book, braved the cold water at the beach, taken my toddler in the ‘bubbly pool’ (translation: jacuzzi) and taken myself to the gym twice.
I have also filed two pieces, done a phoner, and will be using today’s nap time to work on a piece due Monday. I also hope to also squeeze in some writing on a Rachel’s List e-book, and send a couple of pitches.
Which is batshit crazy, right? Despite my best intentions to clear the decks, I had delays and a migraine which took me out for an entire work day – leaving me needing to work a bit while away. But, I do wonder if I could have / should have scheduled things better.
On longer overseas trips, I have been much better at scheduling to ensure I have a proper holiday. You know, the kind where you forget about work completely, check your email once in a blue moon, and emerge from the holiday bubble refreshed, invigorated and rested?
Yeah, that kind. So don’t follow my poor example. Try these tips instead.
Leo’s Ask Us Wednesday post this week about missing deadlines delves into the importance of scheduling and figuring out what you can and can’t do. This is even more important when you’re planning around a break. It might involve telling editors you can’t do a deadline that week as you’re away, or let clients know you aren’t available that week and blocking out your research / writing time accordingly.
When I was a movie reviewer, and pre-kids, I sometimes did a longer overseas trip with my husband – say, 5 weeks at Christmas where we’d catch up with his family and do some backpacking somewhere we hadn’t been. I had to watch A LOT of movies and write them up before I went, and do a heap of other copy too for other clients. Although I’m not filing copy to weeklies at the moment, I still try to work double-time ahead of a holiday if I can.
If you literally can’t get everything done, outsource it. I had a slight meltdown before our trip, not knowing if a deadline I was working towards would be set for the week I was away or after (my editor was away too, so we were in limbo). I phoned a friend, got his assurance he could jump in if I needed, and crisis was averted. It’s great to have a few colleagues who’ll do this for you – and understanding clients who trust you to give work to someone else (although, whether you notify clients or not is up to you – some freelancers simply hire a sub-contractor then file the completed work themselves).
Of course, you’ll have notified clients about your trip, but if there’s a crisis it helps for them to have a bounce-back email that tells them who to call while you’re away, or when you might be able to get back to them once you’re done building sandcastles.
List members, what about you? Do you ever have a ‘proper’ holiday? Or if you’re freelance, do you always take your laptop with you?
