Do you take days off when contracting?

[SimonMac]

No, I take a month or two off between contracts aiming for an 9 month avg each year

[Wanderer]

I budget to take 4-6 weeks off per year so I can stay away from the mentality that I'm "losing money" every time I take a day off. If I'm not working between contracts then that counts as part of my time off for the year so I'd be less inclined to take time off during a contract if I've had bench time.

There have been years where I've worked almost every billable day but as you get older you become more aware that you have to protect your work/life balance and mental/physical health so I tend to use up all my budgeted time off these days.

[Project Monkey]

MyCo give me 4 weeks paid holiday a year and I have the option to buy more. Best company I've ever worked.

[ThomserveBAS]

As a permie - I was always the one who struggled to take holidays through the year, getting into a bun fight with the employer at financial year end about carry-over until they introduced the holiday buy and sell scheme.

We could never afford holidays so I didn't bother taking time off unless I had to (i.e. to use up my allowance) which was often wasted time.

Since August, and excluding 2 weeks at Christmas, I've taken 2 days leave and the bank holidays, and I'll probably not take any leave now until this August when we are expecting our first baby and I plan on taking my statutory paternity leave plus a weeks leave - then I'll just work through til Christmas again.

My focus has been very much on building the warchest and reducing debts and both have come on leaps and bounds in the months I've been contracting so I do have plans to change the way I view annual leave once I stop worrying about having to fill the warchest (which in reality is about now).

[TheFaQQer]

I budget to take 4-6 weeks off per year so I can stay away from the mentality that I'm "losing money" every time I take a day off. If I'm not working between contracts then that counts as part of my time off for the year so I'd be less inclined to take time off during a contract if I've had bench time.

In a bad year, I'll end up with only 5 weeks holiday. My aim is to work no more than 9 months of the year and spend the rest of the time with my family.

This year I may work more than that, but I don't like to - while the children are of an age where they want to spend time with me, then I want to do that. Once they turn into teenagers, I may rethink that idea.

[SussexSeagull]

Finishing a contract at the end of the month which has been running since January last year and have had one non-bank holiday day off.

In hindsight should have taken a break but it was extended a couple of times unexpectedly so I always thought an enforced break was round the corner!

[DigitalUser]

Re: Do you take days off when contracting?

Been contracting for 10 months now and regularly take time off for breaks - working with nonstop leads to burnout (which, being self-employed have a duty to manage and avoid), and moreover I'm not a sadist. One of the reasons I got out of consulting was because I worked too hard - why repeat that and be miserable? No one fondly remembers working long hours on their deathbed...

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[nomadd]

No one fondly remembers working long hours on their deathbed...

Don't think anyone works long hours on their deathbed...

[mudskipper]

Don't think anyone works long hours on their deathbed...

Nor remembers much about their deathbed.

[MarillionFan]

I would always aim for a billing cycle of 44-46 weeks when contracting and normally fell into that. Saying that I've had feck all time off in the last two years.