Juggling that Work-Life Balance on Vacation

Ever since I started working for myself, it’s been harder for me to take vacations where I can switch my work life completely off. While I admire those that can do it, I get a little stressed when I think about completely disconnecting for a few days. This is something that I can improve as I grow my business, but for now, I actually like the flexibility of being able to work a little while I’m abroad. Whether you’re a freelancer or a small business owner, you may want to be able to keep track of how your workflows are going while away. Here’s how to juggle that work-life balance while on vacation.

By Shelly Zev

@shellyzev 

I’ve been able to take a few trips this year to Las Vegas, New York City, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, all while working a little bit to make sure that my clients and wallet are happy while away. I am not perfect at this, and I’m learning as I go, but after a few trips this year, I think I’ve figured out an ideal way to maintain this balance between relaxation and checking in that all my clients haven’t suddenly abandoned me. Keep reading to learn more about my best practices to getting this done!

First, I have to mention that part of maintaining this balance is to be realistic. If your typical workload requires 8-hour workdays, you will have to be ready to reduce that workload significantly during your trip. To begin balancing your vacation time with your work time, you have to decide exactly how much you’d like to work. Do you want to work an hour in the morning and an hour at night with infrequent check-ins with your clients? Will you be working for a few hours in the morning and explore your travel destination in the afternoons? 

Once you come up with a method that sounds realistic to you, it’s time to think about how you can execute this reduced workload. You can do this in a multitude of ways. For me, personally, I like to get my team members involved and make sure that my assistants and subcontractors are ready to assist with an increased workload. In other cases, I let clients know that I will be unavailable for the duration of my trip and that I would be happy to assist them again upon my return. This all goes back to my point about being realistic. While I’d love to keep my workload the same, it is likely not feasible, so I have to prioritize the work that can be done by subcontracting or offloading tasks to trusted team members. If your clients tend to be meeting-heavy, you may want to think about the tasks you can support them with autonomously without needing to attend meetings. Perhaps you can suggest an alternative to calls…how about voice recordings? Think carefully about the strategy you’d like to take to make sure that you can get some work done without sacrificing the precious free time you’d like to save for yourself.

Now that you have a strategy in place, it’s time to tell your clients and give advance notice. I usually recommend taking a very proactive approach and letting clients know a month in advance. This will allow you to expertly set boundaries with the client by letting them know that you may be away for some days, but that you can support them in advance of the trip and upon your return. If you are choosing to work autonomously, you may want to give a heads-up that you will be travelling and unavailable for meetings, but you can check in via email as needed. You can also let them know which projects can continue in your absence, thanks to a trusted colleague, or which will need a pause until you return.

Speaking of boundaries, you will also need to discuss them with your friends and family – whoever is joining you on the trip. If you have a plan to wake up early every morning to work before continuing your adventures, you need to communicate this with your travel mates so they are respectful of that time and understand that you are unavailable then.

I often travel with my sister, and I sometimes remind her that I am making these sacrifices (such as talking on the phone with a client while we walk through Stanley Park in Vancouver!) so that we can continue to go on all these trips that we enjoy. Even now, I am writing this article from beautiful sunny Miami where I am on a birthday trip. Prior to the trip, I make sure to communicate that I will be working occasionally on this trip and to ask for her understanding. This does sometimes result in upset and worry (“How is it a vacation if you’re working?”) but I’ve gotten used to this response. This lifestyle may not be for everyone, and it’s okay if it’s not for you, but as a business owner, I know it would be impossible for me to quiet my brain completely, and I am happy with this compromise.

Now, even as I talk all about expectations and boundaries, it is important to keep in mind that I am not perfect. I do often make the mistake of checking my email too frequently and then get worried that I can’t respond right away. I try to combat this by reminding myself that not everything is an emergency. And if it is, my clients can take care of it themselves. If you anticipate you may be prone to this impending doom feeling, you can remove your work email off your phone temporarily so that you only check in when you absolutely can. I haven’t had enough confidence to try this myself, so I compromise by turning notifications off and trying to check in only every couple hours…the keyword being try.

It may not be a perfect system, but I enjoy feeling in control of my workload while still feeling refreshed and inspired by all the new sights. If you’ve been thinking about taking a more flexible workload while working, I hope these tips prove useful! And if you already do some of these things to work while on vacation, is there anything you’d add to my list?

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