Extended hols

At the weekend, we got back from a fantastic trip to Madagascar; a real adventure of a lifetime and a proper getaway, with no internet, TV or mobile signal for more than two weeks - bliss! I know that some freelancers struggle with holidays (worrying about taking time off/turning work down/losing income), but as someone who fits work around my life rather than the other way round, I love the freedom to go away that freelancing allows.

Inevitably though as a freelancer, when you go on holiday, work never stops neatly just before you go and picks up again as soon as you're back. You have to plan in a bit of contingency so that you can be sure you've finished off whatever you're working on before you go away. For this trip, I finished teaching a week before I left and just had a few bits and pieces of loose ends to tidy up in the spare week. It was quite nice to have some extra packing/last-minute shopping time.

I'd hoped to come back and get started on a new project this week, but inevitably, there's been a bit of email to-ing and fro-ing to get things started and as of now (Friday afternoon), I'm still waiting for stuff to come through. Again, it was quite nice to ease back in gently, download all my holiday photos and plough through the mound of washing. I'm now starting to get a bit restless though and very aware of the fact that my two-week holiday has actually involved a 4-week break through which I haven't been earning anything. That's a month unpaid and of course, without the benefit of holiday pay. Hmmm ... swings and roundabouts, I suppose.