A Web Designer’s Guide to Taking a Vacation

Those are my feet in that photo above. And as we speak, I’m most likely finding my lounge chair at that same pool.

I didn’t always take vacations. Not real ones that didn’t include working, anyway. It was a new phenomenon for me. And now that I’ve started doing it, I can’t imagine making it through my busy times without dreaming of my vacations. It keeps me sane and pushes me to meet my goals to afford to take a nice break.

Taking a vacation can seem wrong when you start with your own business. You’re hustling for clients, and deadlines are looming. Or maybe things are just dead, and you need to be around for any opportunities that might come your way. Whatever your situation is, I urge you to get away from it at least once a year. Even if it’s just a camping trip, a quick weekend getaway, or simply closing the home office door for two days in a row, you need a break from work whether you realize it or not.

What do you need to do to prepare for a vacation?

Communicate

Before you go:

• Let your active clients know that you are going on vacation at least a month in advance. Send a notice with your care plan reports and do another email via Mailchimp about a week later. Tell them to send anything they need to be completed before your leave asap.
• Your email communications should explicitly say, “I’m not working during vacation.” Many people might assume that you are on the beach with your laptop. I’m not kidding.
• Define an emergency. I usually say – if your website is down. A crisis is not that the clients need three new pages added to their website for tomorrow’s presentation.
• Give clients an option in case of an emergency. I tell my clients they can text me in an emergency, but I might not be able to help them on the spot. I ask them to have their hosting information handy if I instruct them to call their hosting company on their own.

While on vacation:

• Set your vacation message to say you aren’t responding to emails while on vacation.
• For incoming inquiries, I create an email template. I don’t want to miss any good leads. I do this from my phone.
• I also set my online forms to say I’m unavailable until (DATE) and will return their message on (FIRST DAY BACK IN OFFICE).

When you return:

• Use an autoresponder to say you are working through your emails, and you’ll get back to the sender as soon as possible. You might need a day or two to answer emails.
• Let clients with incoming requests know you just got back from vacation, and you might need extra time to get back to them.

Prioritize

Before you go:

• Look at your current to-do and first list the things you can finish before you go. What projects are close? Let the client know you may push to get the site done before vacation. It can be a good motivator for clients that are slow with content.
• Make sure you launch any websites with enough time to troubleshoot issues before leaving. If you don’t have it ready to go 5-7 days before leaving, wait until you return to launch.
• Decide what needs to move forward. Set a task to accomplish and get that one thing done. Make sure you’re sending a to-do list for the client if you can. It’s another great chance for them to catch up on getting content together.

When you are gone:

• If you have a long flight and you want to get out that laptop and wrap up a few things, do it. It might help you relax more when you get there.
• Resist ALL WORK when you get to your destination. I mean anything that isn’t a dire emergency. I put my computer in the hotel safe. It’s there for emergencies only. I don’t do business planning, make to-do lists, or listen to any work-related books on Audible. A vacation is for downtime, not for business. My one exception to this rule is that if I realize I forgot something important, I send a quick email to remind me to do it first thing when I return. Don’t let it eat at you on vacation.
• If there is an emergency, don’t stop your daily outing. I once looked up a client’s hosting info and emailed it to her from a streetcar in New Orleans. I followed up with the client when I got back to my hotel. All was good.
• Make sure you  have your clients’ information on the cloud. Use a password keeper to access emails and files. 

When you get back:

• Don’t schedule a bunch of meetings on your first day back. Use this time to adjust after your vacation and get back to your routine.
• Look at your to-do list and work through what your clients might have sent when you were gone.
• Make anything that nagged you on vacation a top priority. We always forget something along the way.
• Breathe. You can’t do it all. Don’t make coming home from vacation so stressful you are apprehensive about taking your next break.

The benefits of taking a vacation will show in your work, attitude, creativity, and most importantly, your ability to deal with running your own business when you return.

Remember, you are the boss, you work hard, and you deserve to give yourself a much-needed break now and then.

RESOURCES: A Freelancer’s Guide to Taking a Vacation