Looking forward to mini-sabbatical, at least a month, maybe next year. Husband and I are both self-employed, and I'll know we'll be tempted to work from the road. Any contractors out there successfully stepped away from their clients and still come home to work?
Disconnecting when self employed? (5 posts) (4 voices)
-
-
I'm a freelance marketing writer (aka corporate/executive ghostwriter) for mostly technology companies. Been self-employed for 20+ years. Every 2-3 years, my husband and I travel for 1-2 months somewhere "hot and cheap" – Latin America for many years, lately Asia. We always go in Dec/Jan, when my work is slowest.
We unplug completely and don't even check for messages (voicemail or e-mail) while we're gone. Some clients get a little freaked out when they first hear about my plans, but I have yet to lose a client because of my excursions.
I think the keys lie in planning well – giving plenty of warning, choosing times that will have the least impact on ongoing projects, making sure projects are completed or handed off smoothly before you leave, etc. – and having confidence!
For me, at least, doing it halfway – which would mean checking messages while I'm traveling – would defeat the purpose. There's something absolutely magical and utterly worthwhile about unplugging entirely from your "normal" life and routines and being 100% involved in what's unfolding at that moment in some very different environment. Also, for my husband and me, immersing ourselves in cultures and terrains as radically different from our home is also crucial. My husband calls our trips "enemas for the brain" – which is a pretty accurate description!
I've never billed our trips as sabbaticals, but I'm considering doing that. It gives those left behind a more confortable handle on the experience, kind of elevates it a bit. But regardless of the label, I plan to keep at it. In fact, we're leaving soon for 6 weeks in India.
Over time, we're going to build up to being gone 3-4 months a year (when it's cold here), with half pure travel and half me working remotely from some tropical locale.
Good luck with your mini-sabbatical. And at least consider the idea of not only not working from the road, but really disconnecting entirely. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself, just from thinking about the possibilities.
-
Amanda - what you're doing is an incredible inspiration for the self-employed. I count myself as one of them! It's one thing to work for a company that offers sabbaticals - paid or unpaid. It's an entirely different thing to do it when you're out there on your own and paychecks don't come unless you're putting in the hours.
I'm curious about your husband - is he also self-employed?
Also, a thought: what if you helped your clients see that these sabbaticals are part of your renewal and creative process - and part of the reason you're able to provide them with top-notch service and talent?
-
One of the hardest aspects of this for me is how to disconnect mentally, and not constantly think about/worry about whether things you've delegated to be done are happening...
-
Elizabeth, yes, my husband is also self-employed. And yes, my clients (and virtual colleagues) increasingly see the connection between my time away and my "freshness." But I've found it takes a time or two of actually leaving and then coming back before they really believe it (words aren't enough; gotta prove it). So it's an ongoing education process.
Chall, you've identified one of the greatest gifts of really disconnecting: learning how to let go at your end from worries about what's happening in your absence! It definitely takes some concerted pre-departure effort to set everything on a smooth course.
But for me, one of the most precious aspects of my regular trips is the experience of complete immersion in what's happening at that moment, wherever I am. After a few years of these times of total disengagement with my "regular" life, I find it easier to hold less tightly to my work concerns, as well. In other words, there seems to be a carry-over effect.
I think the best plan would be to just try it and see how it works for you. Good luck!
Reply
You must log in to post.