Vacation? Fowgetaboutit!

One of the most difficult aspects of being an entrepreneur was maintaining any kind of work-life balance. When you work for yourself, work is no longer 9 to 5. It's evenings and weekends. That's even more true if your office is in your home. And forget about a traditional vacation.

The inability to take a vacation without having to take work with me was a real sore spot for me and my family. As much as I loved what I was doing, as much as I loved working for myself, I resented the fact that others could take work-free vacations, but not me. I mean, what was the point of working so hard if you couldn't take any time off to enjoy the fruits of your labor?

Eventually I made peace with the fact that ignoring work for a week while I sat on the beach wasn't going to happen. I read this article this week, and it reminded me of a few strategies I figured out to make "workcations" a bit more palatable.

• Tell your clients when you plan to be on vacation at least a month in advance. Then remind them of the date on a regular basis. The disadvantage of giving them so much advance notice is that they'll want something done before you leave (and won't look at while you're gone even though they swore the project had to be done before you left). The benefit is that I found clients didn't call me while I was gone, and I didn't usually have too much in the way of emails and voicemails waiting for me when I got home.
  
  
• Make sure you know whether the place you're staying offers Internet access. If not, call the property management people in advance and ask where they recommend you work. I found the local libraries were usually my best bet for free wi-fi and inexpensive printing.
  
  
• Don't be afraid to occasionally tell clients "no." Twice clients called and said they had important projects that just had to be done the week I was planning to be gone. Both times I said I was unavailable, but could either recommend another freelancer or start on the project as soon as I got back. Both times the clients said they'd wait until I got back.
  
  
• Be disciplined. Decide when you'll work. For me it was usually first thing in the morning. When that time was up, put the laptop away and "be" on vacation. Make a mental switch to vacation mode and forget about work until the next day.

Remember, since you're the heart and soul of the business, it's important you take care of yourself and take the opportunity to rest and recharge.