Have you ever wondered about scheduling vacation as a freelancer? Well, this is coming to you from Kansas City where I am on vacation as we speak. I actually set the whole thing up ahead of time, so I could be binging on breakfast with my kiddos — or sleeping in — while you read this.

(I’m not sleeping in. I have three children.)

The beauty of the freelance life and self-employment means that you can have a flexible schedule — and control when and where you work. Scheduling vacation as a freelancer works on YOUR schedule. One of my big goals when I started freelancing was to be able to visit my family — a 12 hour drive — twice a year.  

Now, you may also have small children, as I do, which means we’re not lazing in bed until noon, but we can still have amazing vacations — with a bit of prep work.

Here’s what to do if you’re freelancing and you want to take a vacation where you actually get to relax and enjoy yourself.

1. Plan ahead. I started prepping for this trip back in April. I looked at what I had on my calendar for this week, and what my normal recurring tasks and commitments are, and categorized them into things I could do ahead of time, things that could be delegated, and things that I’d go ahead and handle from here in KC.

2. Time block. Once I knew what I wanted to finish before I left, I scheduled time to get that work done. The Daily Five is the perfect tool for making sure you have enough time to do the work that will have the biggest impact on your business.

3. Protect your time. I made sure to set up my calendar so that no one would be able to book a call with me during my vacation. Doing this in advance meant no one was inconvenienced, and I don’t have to worry about finding a quiet spot in the middle of the day to take a phone call, when I’d rather be licking ice cream off my fingers and bouncing on the trampoline with my kids.

4. Delegate. When I was a full-time freelancer, I didn’t have a team that could step up when I needed some downtime. But I knew other freelancers, and when necessary, I could outsource a task or two to them. You have access to an amazing network of freelancers, Mama, so you can connect with someone incredible  if you need to hand something off and free up time in your schedule.

5.Set up your systems. If you’ve ever emailed me on a weekend, you’ve seen my autoresponder in action. I’ve set it up to let people know that I’m out of the office — but I’ll get back them during my regular working hours. You can set one up for yourself in minutes.

You started freelancing so that you could have freedom, right? So scheduling vacation as a freelancer that works for you takes some smart preparation and planning.

And lest you think I was born knowing how to do this all — let me assure you that is not the case.

Last year, I took this same vacation. I had to do it without my husband, because he couldn’t get time off from work. I bought into that whole “I can work from anywhere” thing, so I basically just brought along all of my assignments.

I spent most of my time hiding in closets and bathrooms, balancing my laptop on my knees and hoping the wifi would hold up during my calls.

It was not fun. It was not relaxing. And I didn’t want to repeat that experience this year — hence the planning.

Have you taken a business break? I’d love to hear how it worked for you!