Scheduling time off as a freelance writer
I’m not talking about evenings or general days off here. I’m talking about proper holiday time.
I’ve scheduled in six days off next week as my niece is coming to stay for a few days. Should be good fun – and the break will do me good as well.
But it is necessary to prepare for it a while in advance so I can be mindful of deadlines and when certain projects are due. I have also needed to make sure I don’t take on too much work in the run up to this break so as to avoid that scenario we are all familiar with – it has to do with a chicken and no head.
Seriously though it has worked out rather well this time (so far at least). I’m booked up until Saturday so I can have Valentine’s day off 
. And then it’s back to work for one more day on Monday to tie up the loose ends before heading off for my mini-break.
Luckily I have also booked in a long course from the end of February onwards which should take about six weeks, possibly longer, to complete. So with any luck I will be back with a vengeance right from the start.
How do you cope with arranging any time off like this? Do you find you have quiet periods leading up to it and when you come back, or do you get the balance just right?
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Hi Allison, congrats on some vacaction time! I’ve actually faced serious problems in the past figuring out how to schedule *real* vacation as a freelancer (I’m a web developer). Recently I launched a web-based tool to help with that exact problem… it’s called HourPatch (http://www.hourpatch.com/). It’s made for people who have project-based work schedules, so I’m not sure if that’s a fit for you. But if so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!