A FREELANCER'S GUIDE TO HOLIDAY SURVIVAL

We can’t explain it, but time works differently in Q4. Once the Halloween decorations come down, freelancers are basically on a collision course with the end of the year. 

Depending on your clients and the industries you specialize in, the workdays surrounding the holidays can get tricky. For some of us, business slows way down as our points of contact shift focus to friends and family. For others, this is the prime season for getting caught up in someone’s frantic mission to meet deadlines or use up their marketing budget before the year runs out. 

As we enter the Zone of Unpredictability that spans Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the first week of January, it becomes especially important to expect the unexpected and establish a game plan. Here are our best tips for controlling the controllables, making good use of your downtime, and heading off holiday work emergencies. 

Communicate Your Plans

You can’t fully eliminate holiday uncertainty, but you can set the right tone by defining your availability and getting clarity on clients’ expectations early. 

Make sure you understand what needs to be delivered before you break for the holidays, and inform your clients of your out of office days as soon as possible. As a freelancer, it can be helpful for you (and your clients) to approach vacation time more like a closure of your business rather than traditional PTO. 

Download our Let’s Go Out of Office Planning Worksheet for a full breakdown of how to prepare to take time away. Being proactive now can make your holidays a lot more restful and your inbox a lot less intimidating when it’s time to get back to work. 

Ask for Client Schedules 

There’s nothing worse than requesting urgent feedback on December 18th only to discover that your main point of contact won’t be back at their desk until January 4th. As we approach a time when a lot of people travel, it’s smart to be aware of both office closures and individual vacation schedules. 

Having a full picture of key players’ availability will allow you to prioritize deadlines so nothing gets hung up awaiting review by someone relaxing at their grandmother’s wifi-less lake house. Note any planned absences in your own calendar, and establish an alternate point person if necessary. 

Build in Flex Days 

If you’ve recently started freelancing or are approaching your first holiday season with a new client, it can be hard to guess if you’ll be busy or bored. 

Fight the uncertainty by adding some “maybe” days to your work calendar — time that’s neither dedicated to holiday events and travel nor to projects and deadlines. A few optional workdays before and after Thanksgiving, the week of Christmas, and during that weird liminal space around New Year’s can be a fantastic buffer for client emergencies, should they arise. 

If there’s peace on Earth after all, you’re free to use the time to goal plan, tackle administrative tasks, or just rest. 

Be Intentional About Downtime

As the holiday chaos mounts and last-minute PTO requests come in, it’s not unusual for November and December projects to get punted to January. While this brings on feelings of unparalleled relief in the moment, it can make for a demoralizing start to the new year. 

Sometimes that cold, dark post-holiday slog is an inevitability, but if you find yourself with extra time on your hands, use it to do something nice for your future self. Working ahead on recurring deliverables while your inbox is quiet is a great way to mitigate a January backlog.

Need some inspiration? Check out our How to Use Downtime Checklist and start conquering those small, lingering tasks you’ve been dodging all year. 

Seize the Opportunity for New Leads

The end of the year is both pitch season and out of office season — in other words, the perfect time for freelancers to establish rapport with new clients.

Many businesses are onboarding new projects at the precise moment their full-time staffers are trying to use up their PTO. Look for opportunities to step in when the need is high, and you’ll be in a great position to form lasting relationships with clients who otherwise may never have considered working with freelancers. 

Closed Means Closed

If you’ve properly communicated your travel plans and set your out of office auto-reply, don’t wind up with one hand on your laptop and the other inside a turkey. 

Last-minute asks tend to crop up at the end of the year. If you intend for your time out of state with your in-laws to be a working vacation, that’s your prerogative — just be clear and firm in your boundaries. 

Making yourself available when you said you wouldn’t be sets a problematic precedent. If you’ve made the decision to unplug for a certain amount of time, stand by it. You’re entitled to rest, travel, and enjoy time with friends and family without keeping one eye on your email.