No Holiday for the Self Employed?

I took four days off over the Christmas holiday. I had to – otherwise I wouldn’t have had a holiday with my family. I crammed the entire shebang into about 72 hours – we’re talking shopping, wrapping, cooking, jamming everyone into my house for eating and a present-a-thon. Now the needles are dropping off the tree and I look forward the New Year and getting on with 2009.

On the Sunday after Christmas, for the first time in four days, I opened my email and did some catching up. In the process, I read comments from an online group on LinkedIn.com in which a member asked if anyone else was working over the holidays… Kind of like someone calling out a window – “Hey, anybody out there? What are you up to?”

That’s what I love about social networking. It’s like being neighbors with the world.

It was interesting to read some of the responses. There were plenty of people who were working but most of the responses sounded relaxed and grateful – both in working during what has been traditionally a “down” week, and grateful for having work to do.

That got me thinking: These people are all self-employed, as I am. Do we have to work differently? What’s an option in work for us — and what isn’t?

• Now that social marketing and media has entered the picture, how has that affected our work “day”?

• In working on your own — what qualities (as opposed to skills) are necessary?

Over the years that I’ve been an independent commercial copywriter, creative developer and consultant, people have often chimed in on whether they could work the way self-employed people work. “I couldn’t do it! I’d be in my pajamas watching TV all day.” “I can’t live without a steady paycheck.”  “It must be great to be your own boss. Nobody to tell you what to do.”

Now the social networking sites are filled with newly-created self-employed businesspeople due to layoffs and crashes of markets. Freelance workers are blossoming like freckles.

Whether you’re working from home in your pj’s or from an office with a laptop – or from your local coffee house – there are still qualities that make or break those of us who work on our own.

And —

• Do we take enough down time for ourselves? Because now the work world online moves at warp speed. Can we afford to take down time?? Can we not??

I’m the world’s worst for not taking vacation. I’ve worked through major surgery. I’ve gone to meetings in a wheel chair with a boot cast. I work sick. Ninety-nine percent of my clients had no clue of any of it.

I try to have “regular” office hours, but they often extend into late night hours on email or writing.

Now that we’ve added Web2.0 to our work day, things are even more intense – much of it good. But is some of it dangerous to our creativity and resources??

In the coming posts, I’ll be ruminating on these topics.

But not right now. Right now I have to go feed my puppy and take him outside. A puppy’s bladder waits for no technology. Then I’m having dinner with a friend to catch up while we can still enjoy my Christmas tree.

But I’ll be thinking. And thinking is working.

Marci Diehl  (www.marcidiehl.com) is an experienced, high-level commercial writer and consultant with an unusual background. She’s a content creator and storyteller who believes it’s not just writing-it’s solutions.