Comments on: Open Thread: What Are Your Holiday Break Plans?

By: Sky

Sky — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:16:57 +0000

I have two faces: one is my nonprofit face (where there’s less going on over the holidays), but for my regular job, end-of-year means bill as many hours as possible. I went skiing last week, and when the lifts shut down (4pm) was immediately online again logging billable hours. (That’s the life – ski during the day and work late.) On the other hand, my clients are mostly out of town, and this means the phone doesn’t ring, so I get lots done. Merry holidays!

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 22:50:20 +0000

I’m off until Tuesday, but no plans at all. Just a quiet mini-vacation with my wife.

By: Dominic

Dominic — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:41:38 +0000

I’m going into the mountains with no cell or wifi coverage. It’s been a particularly busy year — maybe I won’t come back :-)

By: Jason Unger

Jason Unger — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:03:27 +0000

On Monday I’m going to be doing my annual 24 marathon! Watching all of Season 6, hopefully in a day or so.

And, since I’m Jewish, Xmas day means Chinese food and the movies …

By: Peter Krass

Peter Krass — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:16:37 +0000

I still believe in vacations. I am taking off from 12/25 – 1/1, and will be out of town with my family and away from computers and e-mail.

I tell my clients ahead of time — usually, a month before, with reminders as the date gets closer. Many of them are taking time off around the holidays, too. No one is shocked or upset or disappointed.

I also tell my clients that I will check my voicemail 1x/day for emergencies. But in six years of freelancing, I have never had any of these emergencies.

E-mail when I get back is not as much of a problem as one might think. Since my clients know when I’m away, they don’t send me nonessential messages during my vacas.

For longer breaks — more than 1 week — I typically check email once a day. The point is to keep the whole checking thing down to 30 minutess a day or (way) less.

By: Sabela Cal

Sabela Cal — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:39:06 +0000

Starting from today, I won´t be taking on any freelance work until January 10th. Just writing it makes me feel dizzy, but after a hard year I have decided to be slightly poorer but happier.
For freelance translators (that´s what I am), December is a great month to start working for new clients, but the energy you get from taking time off shouldn´t be underestimated either. I always fear that people are going to forget me, but it´s never happened so far…
That said, I am based in England and will be going to my native Spain for the holidays. I have the impression that we Europeans feel less guilty about not working for long periods of time.

By: Amie Gillingham

Amie Gillingham — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:14:15 +0000

I will probably take half days on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. And I’ll work as usual on the 31 because it’s a deadline day. Pretty exciting, eh? I think it’s further proof that I’m a work-a-holic, and rationalized by the “if I don’t do it, it won’t get done because there’s nobody else” mentality. But I do solemnly promise to spend quality time with the kids and shut the laptop periodically between now and New Year’s.