3 Things I Learned From Taking a Whole Month Off Work as a Self-Employed Graphic Recorder in London
For context, I learned last summer that there's virtually no point working in August as an event scribe and infographic maker — enough key decision makers for events and research are on holiday that my inbox is unusually quiet, and marketing efforts reach OOO replies. Better to put work on pause, enjoy the sunshine and save all that energy for September.
With that in mind, here’s what I’ve learned so far while (trying to) take a month off.
1. All those years of building a business-of-one changes your way of thinking forever, and it doesn't switch off overnight.
I believe that to build and grow your own job, you need to love — no, be borderline obsessed with! — what you do. Showing up every day with motivation to find work, smash it out the park, and get yourself paid takes a round-the-clock passion that a few weeks away won't dampen.
This is something I'm learning to accept and allow to wash over me during my time off. I'll take finding it hard to step away over dreading returning to work any day.
2. An online event falling right in the middle of the “month off” is actually very welcome.
Look, I never said I'd turn down a gig that landed in my lap! [She says to herself in the mirror, since nobody is arguing with her.] Putting the business side of things on tick-over is needed once in a while, but I'll always be happy to open the laptop for 2 hours to illustrate a workshop.
All set up with a few hardware upgrades, ahead of graphic recording a B2B workshop the next morning.
Side note that you can tell me about an upcoming event by booking an obligation-free call, and I'll throw some ideas your way about how we can bring it to life with live graphic recording.
3. Time away gives perspective on what's actually worth your time.
Here I am, "off work", yet posting on the blog… why? Because a clearer-than-usual mind means more ideas and more motivation to write them down.
Meanwhile, I deleted Instagram. The endless editing and "inspiration" browsing yielded almost no work. Now, my screen time is down, and my ideas aren’t clouded by comparison. I feel vastly less pull to check my phone, and there’s minimal risk of getting sucked into the vortex if I do.
As a result, I feel like a more present, more regulated mum (although I’m far from perfect) and I’m 99% sure my daughter’s overall mood is improved now that she almost never hears “just a minute!”
I plan to keep the app deleted on all but two midweek days where I'll focus on one (yes, 1) post and some genuine engagement.
What's one lesson you've learned from taking a few weeks off?