About 2 weeks ago I went to Disney World with a 100+ marching band as a chaperone. All my family went and for a change, I didn’t bring the laptop–wouldn’t have had a chance to do any work anyway, although I had my iPhone with me. Was it a vacation? Yes, but I needed a vacation from it afterward. It would have felt more like a vacation if I didn’t have a big project due at the end of next week and the Disney. As a result, I came back from the vacation and found myself working 11 and 12-hour days.

So yeah, I take vacations. Sometimes I take the laptop and do some stuff on them, but increasingly I need a total break from writing–I may read my brains out–but typically if I get a break from it I can come back at it with the energy and enthusiasm to do some 11 and 12-hour days to catch up.

You shouldn’t have to justify at all. People deserve time off.”

- So true. Working too much could affect your overall efficiency. You need rest to revitalize yourself.

Part of freelancing is planning. I knew someone who had a goal for how much they had to make each year as a freelancer. They had a seasonal job that they busted their hump at for six months and then when surfing for six months.

I met a restaurant owner in a resort town who only ran during season. After a certain point in the season and a certain amount of profit he would close. Some seasons ran longer than others.

Then there’s my neighbor. He’s always thinking about money. His field is very feast or famine, not predictable cycles like the above two examples. Is he on vacation when he’s not working for a customer? He does a lot of vacationy stuff then. Sure he checks his emails, makes a few sales calls, but is it vacation if you do that after spending the day at Disney with your daughter?