Prioritizing Personal Time

Welcome. Thanks for having me. Of. Course, anytime. As a freelancer, I have a hard time scheduling vacations and taking time off. How can I do this more effectively and actually stick with it? We got some tips for you. Rosie. This is another question I totally relate to. In the early years of my business, I worked through every weekend and so-called vacation because I thought I had to be available all the time. I could use a refresher on the mindful perspective on this. So would you do the honors? I've also been a freelancer. It's so easy to plan on answering one email and then it turns to 10. Always. Does. Here's what I would focus on mindful planning. Start by viewing your vacation time as a non-negotiable, similar to a critical work meeting. Schedule it into your calendar months in advance, creating a visual reminder that this is your time to rest and recharge. Setting intentions, practice setting an intention for your vacation time. Just like in a yoga class, setting an intention can help guide your actions and keep you committed to taking this much needed. Break mindful acceptance. Recognize and accept that it's natural to feel some resistance or guilt around taking time off. Especially as a freelancer, mindfulness can help us observe these feelings without judgment. Understanding that rest is a necessary part of productivity and wellness. Great tips, Rosie. Thank you so much. I almost always found too that when you have clear boundaries. Boundaries. Boundaries, and communicate them to clients with enough advanced warning, like a one week vacation or Fridays off in the summer, their answer was usually as simple as, sure, no problem. Yeah, people are more compassionate and forgiving towards you than you think they're usually going to be. They sure are, and here's a couple more tips. Mutual time off. Respect. Respect other people's vacations and days off. Be mindful not to email people when they're out of the office so their messages aren't piling up. If you're respectful of other people's breaks, the more likely they'll be respectful of yours. Have an out of office plan in place for emergencies. I used to get nervous on vacation that I would miss something truly critical. So my assistant and I set up a plan that if anything truly urgent occurs when I'm on vacation or taking an afternoon off, then she'll text me about it. This means if I have no texts from her, I know that everything is under control and I can relax. Get out of your own way. Sometimes the biggest person getting in the way of you being able to take breaks is you. When you email someone after hours or on a weekend or on your vacation, they'll get back to you, which adds to your inbox and workload. If you don't send that first email, they won't have to reach out to you. Long live the schedule. Send Lindsay that option...