How to Take a Vacation When You Work for Yourself
Self-employed? Taking vacations is essential, and easy to pull off if you plan ahead, communicate, and stand your ground.
Ya know what’s not just for Santa? Making a list and checking it twice. Freelancers do that all the time. If you were to look and the naughty and nice lists for freelancers, you’d see the vast majority are on the nice list. So, they deserve a little gift like everyone else, right? Of course!
So for the most wonderful time of the year, here’s another list every freelancer can get behind: the perfect gift to get your freelancer this holiday season.
Feed The Freelancer
When a freelancer is juggling tight deadlines, they may or may not forget to eat. Give the freelancer in your life the freelance holiday they deserve by making a decision for them! Get them a subscription to a service that delivers all the ingredients right to their door, like Blue Apron or HelloFresh. Sometimes, the worst part is picking the recipe. And if the freelancer in your life stores their sweaters in the oven, get them a gift certificate to Seamless or GrubHub so they can order takeout to their heart’s desire.
And if you’re feeling more inclined to do the cooking yourself, check out the recipes we lined up for freelancers.
Get Your Freelancer Co-Working
Many a freelancer longs for a working space that isn’t in their living room. A separate workspace is a motivator for many self-employed people; it can help them feel “2 legit 2 quit” because it gives a sense of professionalism. Co-working spaces have been popping up left and right the past few years and freelancers who can afford the membership jump at the chance. I mean, can you even imagine interacting with other people…in person?! Giving the gift of a co-working membership will mean a lot to the freelancer who wants to step it up a notch. WeWork is one of the most popular spaces, with locations around the globe, but do some research to find the best co-working space in the freelancer’s area.
Give Freelancers Silence
Sometimes it’s good to drown it all out and hone in.
Now and then, all a freelancer needs to succeed is silence. If your loved one is working in a public space, a good pair of headphones to drown out the noise cannot be underestimated. TechRadar has their list of 2016’s best headphones for you to peruse. The freelancer in your life will thank you…if they can hear you.
Give Freelancers THE Plan
Sure, a lot of people rely on their Google calendar nowadays to schedule their lives but there’s something about a new planner that gets a freelancer excited to work. Ever since I was sixteen, I look forward to December as the month when I get to pick out my new planner – it’s my freelance holiday. My favorite brand is Blue Sky. Their weekly/monthly planners give you a well-rounded view of the work ahead. Not to mention, they’re *pretty*, affordable, a light enough to carry around but sturdy enough to take a book-bag beating. Believe me, I’ve gone through my share of planners and this brand takes the fruit cake.
And To Go Along With It…
The perfect pen. Freelancers get a drug-like high using a really good pen. To find your freelancer the perfect match, check out The Pen Addict (a real site!) to discover the Top 5 Pens (by type). Oh man, I get excited just thinking about it.
Give ‘Em Juice
Like it or not, a freelancer is attached to their phone. An update from a client, a change in a plan, the prospect of a new job keeps our ten fingers pressing that screen. And going around from client to client while continuously checking emails really runs a freelancer’s phone battery into the ground. I mean, how many times have you popped into a Starbucks just to plug in your phone? That’s why a portable battery is such a smart gift for freelancers because it’s something you don’t realize you desperately need until you need it. Check out Jackery Bar Portable Charger – affordable, highly rated, and in orange for a pop of color!
Get Freelancers Help
Another great freelance gift? A membership to Fiverr Workspace. Fiverr Workspace will help them streamline their business by handling their invoicing, expense tracking, payment processing, and more. Most freelancers wish they had more hands so why not give it to them?
Give Your Freelancer A Break
Us freelancers don’t get vacation days. And if we are just building our business, it might be a long ways away before we get to travel. Every human not only deserves down time but also time to discover! So, this holiday season, remind them of that. Groupon has great deals for getaways like this one for Connecticut or this adventure to Punta Cana. If it’s in your budget to give your freelancer a real freelance holiday, they won’t be able to thank you enough.
Caffeinate ‘Em!
Since we don’t have access to the office Keurig machine, freelancers need to make their own caffeinated beverages for fear of going broke. And since we don’t want to spend all of our moola running on Dunkin’, we need cute packaging for our homemade brew. Get your loved one a custom made travel mug, like this highly rated one by ThroughtheMilkyWay on Etsy, so that it gives them the extra push to fill up from their own stash.
Get Your Freelancer…Hamilton
Freelancers work hard! Why not be the person who finally gets the tickets to the show that you can’t get tickets to? Might as well check Ticketmaster…(cough cough, mom, cough cough)….
I mean hey, with that last gift, you can’t say I didn’t try.
