3 Critical Steps for Taking Holidays When You’re Self Employed

One of the biggest challenges when you’re self-employed or a business owner is figuring out how to take time off. Whether you’re wanting to go away on a special family holiday, or just needing to do some independent travel, getting everything prepped for your absence will be a big part of the game. You may have a business that will continue to generate an income even when you’re not working, or you may find that your income all but disappears when you take time off, which can make it a lot more challenging to prioritize time off. If you’d like some more tips for how to take holidays when you’re self employed, keep reading to learn more. 
Get Realistic About Money
This is the most important step. Ask yourself honestly what will happen to your income with one, two, three or even four weeks off. How long do you think you can take off before you’ll notice a considerable drop in your income, if at all. Only you know your personal financial situation, so this is an area you need to work through yourself. You’ll want to find a balance between having your dream vacation, and ensuring you can financially weather any decreases you might see from your time off. How much you can afford to have off will depend on your income, savings, and desired time off. You can learn more about some great places to stay when you’re away from home, many of which would be the perfect base for working remotely too if you’d like to try that.

Plan in Advance
Planning will help ensure everything runs smoothly. If you have a virtual assistant, or other team members in your business, it may be worth having them take on extra tasks to help you work through things while you’re away. If they need to be trained to perform the tasks, you may want to start weeks or even months before your time off so you can really detach and enjoy your vacation. If you do any campaigns or launches, you may want to plan your holidays to fall in your quiet season or just after a successful launch, so that your business doesn’t have to compromise its sales for your vacation. The more you plan in advance, the easier it will be to feel confident everything’s taken care of and to relax. Another thing you’ll want to plan in advance is where you’ll stay, check out this website for some great rental home options.

Be Sure to Actually Take Time Off
One of the biggest mistakes I see self employed people do around vacations is that they don’t actually take a clean break from work. You may only be able to realistically afford to take a week off, or even a few days, but really take those days off. Disconnect, don’t open your emails, and allow your brain and body to have a break from your work. It will do you a world of good and allow you to properly recharge so that you can come back to work with even more energy and enthusiasm. There’s nothing worse than trying to work while on vacation, and not really achieving much but certainly not getting the break that you so desperately need and deserve.

Taking time off doesn’t have to feel stressful or too difficult when you’re self-employed if you go through these tips to make it easier. If you’re looking for the best otdr fiber tester, check out this link for some great options for your business.