Working on a Family Holiday
Family holidays are wonderful. For those of us with busy jobs and home lives, or people that work irregular and unsocial hours, a family break away from home is one of the few chances that we get to spend extended, quality time with our families. Many of us struggle to eat dinner as a family, all sat around the same table, eating the same food, so the idea of a full week, or more, away from home and all of its distractions with our families is nothing short of heavenly.
These breaks are a chance to relax and unwind. They are a time to bond with your kids and partner and to get to know each other again. A break can also be an excellent chance to get to know yourself again, instead of the you that is always stressed out and running about. Of course, it’s also a time to see more of the world, enjoy new experiences and have some fun.
Unfortunately, however, we can’t all take extended periods away from work. If you work for yourself, running your own business, working as a freelancer, or blogging professionally, then you won’t get holiday pay, and you might not have a team behind you to pick up extra work while you take time off. This means that a true week off brings your business to a near standstill, and your income drops. To keep on top of things, you might be faced with the choice of working while you are on your family break. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be as bad as it sounds.
Prepare and Plan
You might need to work while you are away, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do much less than usual. As soon as you know that you’ve got a holiday coming up, start planning. Save a little each week so that you can keep paying yourself while you are off. Start scheduling web content and set up an out of office email. Let your clients and customers know that you are going away and will only be available in an emergency. Do whatever you can, before you go.
Find Somewhere to Work
The idea of doing some work poolside while sipping on a cocktail might be tempting. But it will never work. Certainly not if you are with young children. Instead, find a workspace. If your hotel is suitable, set up a space in your room, or find a quiet area in the bar. Or, consider finding a temporary coworking space with options for visitors.
Hire Temporary Help
Have you considered hiring help for a few weeks? Even if you can’t afford to employ permanent staff, could you outsource some tasks to freelancers, just to keep things ticking along so that you only need to check in?
Be Strict with Yourself
When you work for yourself, it’s so easy to get carried away. “I’ll just check my emails” can quickly turn into a full day at your computer. At home, this might work for you. But, when you are on holiday, try to be strict with yourself. Give yourself times when you are allowed to work and assign the rest of your time to fun and rest!
