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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THE EPISODE:

THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING TIME OFF

HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR TIME OFF

NOTIFY THE PEOPLE YOU NEED TO NOTIFY AHEAD OF TIME

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I hope you are finding yourself somewhere relaxing today! It is a time to unplug from work and relax. And that is an important ingredient to inspire creativity.

When we are stressed out, running ragged, freaking out, frazzled, and everything in between, it is nearly impossible to tap into our creative side.

I myself am on vacation this week! I am in my happy place. It’s not a sexy or glamorous vacation, it’s a small, sleepy beach town in lower Delaware that my family has been going to since before I was born. 

One reason it’s my favorite place is because I suffer from FOMO when I’m on vacation. If we go to a new city or country, I am on the go. I don’t want to miss a thing! 

I have seen the best this sleepy beach town has to offer over the years so I can truly just relax and rewind! (I’ll be posting lots of photos so make sure you’re following me on Insta @devignierdesign!) 

Today’s episode is about the independence of self-employed designers.

Owning your own business is truly a form of independence. You’re not working for someone else – you are in charge…..of everything! And I do remember the time when I worked for other designers for more than a decade. It was stressful – you’re not only trying to please your clients, but you’re also trying to please your boss because you’re hoping for a promotion, more projects, or more robust projects.

We truly have the independence to carve out our own work style. 

Maybe that means leaving early for the day. Maybe you’re not working at all this week. Maybe you have a big event coming up and you’re taking multiple days off simply because you want to be present for those moments.  

If you’re not doing those things, I want to encourage you to do it. 

While there aren’t too many upsides to being an independent business owner – these are them. And I want you to take full advantage of them. Because if you miss the perks, you’re really just going to feel like you’re in a day to day grind. And like I always say, you can’t be creative if you’re constantly stressed out about the work that you’re doing. 

So what do I do about this vacation?

Well, frankly, I work with the same clients year after year, and most of them keep very good boundaries around my time off. I do allow my clients to reach me during this vacation because we aren’t really scheduled to do things. But the best part is they don’t reach out to me unless there’s truly something going on. 

You need to notify your clients of vacations well in advance of taking them. 

I get that makes some of you cringe, truly I do. It’s natural to feel that way because you are passionate about your work and you want to be as responsible as possible. 

But the reality is everybody takes vacations – because we need vacations! If you are burned out, you can’t be as creative, and therefore your client won’t get the best form of you. 

I notify my clients at least three weeks ahead of time. That allows time to manage any of their issues. Make a template in your email. I just edit it appropriately with the dates and times and IF they can reach out to me or not. That’s it! It’s not a big explanation….and shouldn’t be!

The good news about July 4th holiday is it’s a federal holiday – we’re all off! 

That brings us to the next part of independence, which is how holidays can throw our schedules off, and in some instances, the project comes to a standstill for the week. And that can give us lots of angst! 

Do your research in advance and find out who is working and who isn’t working and determine if the project can move forward or not with whomever is still working on those specific days. 

It’s likely that not a lot of progress will happen on your projects. And this is where you will have to change your mindset and know that it’s ok!

Take time off. 

Unwind. 

Unplug. 

Notify the people you need to notify. 

Collect the data you need to collect. 

And share all of that with your client in advance the next time if you didn’t do it this time.