Should You Take Your Work with You When You're On Vacation?

If you worked in an office setting previously, likely when you went on vacation, you were on vacation.  You didn't have to check in at work or do work.  You could completely unplug and relax.

When you work from home, you may find this hard to do.

First, because you're self-employed, there's no automatic vacation pay.  If you don't work, you don't get paid, even if you're taking a vacation and trying to recharge.  For many, this can cause a financial burden.

In addition, if you go on vacation and don't do any work, you likely will face an avalanche of work when  you return.  Sometimes that alone makes a vacation less fun to take.

Considering these constraints, doing work on vacation almost seems like a requirement.  However, there are ways you can lighten your load while on vacation:

Designate Times

One of the reasons why you probably wanted to become a WAHM is to spend more time with your family.  You don't want your kids to remember family vacations where all mom did was work.  Instead, designate times to do your work. 

Perhaps you could get up before the rest of the family and do your work for a half an hour.  Then, enjoy the day with the family seeing the sites.  After the kids go to bed, you could have another hour or two to do your work.  Using this strategy, you still get to enjoy the majority of your vacation with your family.

Take a Shorter Vacation

Another option is to take a shorter vacation and completely unplug.  Take a 3 or 4 day long weekend and don't bring your laptop with you.  Of course, if there are clients you interact with on a daily or near daily basis, you'll need to let them know that you won't be available.

A short vacation allows you time to unwind completely without facing an enormous load of work when you come back.

While being a WAHM has many advantages, there are also challenges like carving away vacation time.

If you're a WAHM, do you take your work with you on vacation?