“Mooo-ooooom. When are you going to be done? We want to go to the beach!” 

I sat on the couch in the vacation rental, typing away. Deadlines called, and I had to answer. My client needed me. Unfortunately, that meant either miss out on all the fun, or keep my family waiting. 

“I’ll be done soon Honey, then we can go,” I promised with a smile. On the inside, though, I was fuming. I can’t believe I’m working on vacation. Again. Am I ever going to figure out how to take a REAL break?

Planning on going on vacation this summer but can’t leave work 100% behind? I get it. It’s hard to completely unplug when you’re a copywriter – but the thing is, you need to. If you don’t rest and recharge, your creativity and motivation will suffer.

Shifting into vacation mode is easy, but you can do it! Here are my top strategies for managing my online business while on vacation – and I’ll be using them myself this week on my own family vacation.

Plan the Separation

The first thing you have to do when planning a family vacation as a copywriter is decide in advance just how plugged in you want to be while you’re gone. Why? Because if you leave it up to chance, you’ll end up spending more time working then you’d like. Trust me.

You have to sit down several weeks before you leave and decide whether you’re going to work or not and how much.

Communicate With Your Clients

Next, you need to pass that information on to your clients. As copywriters, we have the ability to plan our projects around travel. If you work on retainer, you may want to work ahead so you can deliver that week’s content early. But the most important thing to remember is to communicate with your clients.

I’ve worked with dozens and dozens of clients over the past few years, and not one has ever given me any push back over taking a vacation. In fact there’s some of my biggest cheerleaders when it comes to spending time with family and taking a break.

If you still plan on working a bit, set reasonable expectations by letting them know when you’ll be available and letting them know when you will be sending projects over.

I have spent many vacations staying engaged with my projects simply by getting up an hour earlier or staying up an hour later than my family. It means a little less sleep, but then I’m not holding everyone up when it’s time to go sightseeing or hit the beach.

Communicate With Your Family

You also want to communicate with your family about this so they can support you when you need to get some things done. Dad could take the kids to the beach or mini golfing while you tie up loose ends. Grandma might go shopping with the granddaughters for an afternoon so you can take a conference call.

Again, expectations are so important. If you don’t set some and talk about it, there are bound to be some disappointments along the way, either yours or your family’s.

Work on the Plane

I am heading off to the Riviera Maya this coming week with my family, and I’m not planning on working on any client projects while I’m gone. I’ve communicated with all my clients about my vacation, and they know that I’ll be checking in by e-mail every so often but that I won’t be starting new projects until the 24th.

I do however have some things I want to take a little time to focus on in my own business, and one way I plan to do that is by making the most of the airplane time I have. Before COVID-19, I traveled a lot. So I made sure that my personal item not only fit well under an airplane seat but would hold everything I needed it to hold.

I always bring my laptop with me, and I purposefully purchased a smaller one that would fit inside my bag. I also have a smaller zipper bag that fits all the cords and chargers and headphones I need. That way not only is everything safely with me instead of inside checked baggage getting thrown around the bowels of an airplane, but I can quickly reach it while I’m on standby, waiting to board, or taxiing the runway.

Don’t Count on the Wi-Fi

Most major airlines have in-flight Wi-Fi, which has been a lifesaver for me more than once. Budget airlines, however, sometimes do not. If you’re flying a Budget Airline and plan on working on the plane, make sure you download any files you’ll need access to before you lose access to Wi-Fi. Then you can work on them and save them back into the cloud later.

You may also want to check and double-check that the hotel or Airbnb has Wi-Fi that supports you. You can always purchase a mobile hotspot with data so you can have access to the internet to send and receive files, make conference calls, and keep track of your projects. I’ve also tethered to my phone quite a bit in a pinch. 

Other common places you can get free Wi-Fi include local libraries, and many restaurants. If you have small children, McDonald’s is now your best friend because you can grab the kids a Happy Meal while checking your email. 

Stay in Touch

If you’re taking time off from regular retainer clients, consider dropping a note or bringing them back a small souvenir from your trip. Like I said before, my clients are always so supportive when I go on vacation, and yours will appreciate this kind gesture too.

You can also send them a video message or audio voicemail just to say hello and check in. They will feel like they’re still in the loop and be less likely to hit you with backlog projects the minute you arrive home.

Let It Go

If you’ve done what you can ahead of time to set up reasonable expectations and stay in contact with your clients so that they know what they can anticipate in terms of projects and due dates, then by all means, enjoy yourself.

Will there likely be some small fire to deal with while you’re gone? Probably. Deal with it, and let it go. Everyone deserves a break. And one of the reasons why we built these service-based businesses is so that we can have the freedom to travel and spend time with our families, right?

There is rarely anything that’s so vital and earth-shattering that can’t be dealt with when you get home. I promise, it will still be there waiting for you.

Pack Well

If you’re planning on working on vacation, there are a few things that you are going to need to make sure you have with you that you may have left home otherwise. Check the list below to make sure you’re not forgetting anything that you’ll need. These are my vacation go-tos, and I threw in some items that have nothing to do with working, and everything to do with fun.

The Copywriter’s Ultimate Packing List

LAPTOP. Unless you work really well on a handheld device, don’t make the mistake of leaving the laptop behind. You’ll regret it. Don’t forget your adapter and mouse if you use one. You may also want to bring:

• Battery power source
• Portable hard drive
• Power converter if you’re headed to a foreign country

MULTIMEDIA. If you’re like me, you’re always looking for content ideas for your social media platforms while you’re on vacation. Even if you don’t have Wi-Fi access, you’ll still want to be taking photos and videos, so make sure you have a good camera with you. The one on your iPhone or iPad is perfect. You may also want to bring:

• Microphone
• Headphones
• Webcam (for those Live trainings or client check-in calls)

THE BASICS. I was recently on a flight where I was in the middle seat sandwiched between two very large dudes. Getting out my laptop and getting to work seemed like a lot more effort and energy than I had room for. Unfortunately, I hadn’t even thought to bring a notebook and a pencil so I could jot down ideas. Don’t be like me. Make sure you bring some of the basics for those times when getting to your laptop is just too difficult.

• Notebook 
• Pen or pencil
• Planner

ENTERTAINMENT. Honestly, one can only work so much while on vacation. Make sure you bring some things with you that you enjoy!

• Your Kindle or e-reader and some good books
• A crossword puzzle book
• Pre-downloaded movies or TV shows
• Podcast or audiobook
• Headphones

PERSONAL. And don’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re on vacation. It’s easy to get busy trying to remember all the things that you need for your mobile office and forget the vacation basics. Here are my favorite picks for items that have nothing to do with work and everything to do with play.

• Sunscreen
• A wide-brimmed hat
• Comfortable shoes and clothing
• A noise machine for sleeping
• Hairbrush (The last few times I’ve traveled, I have forgotten my hairbrush. I’m just throwing that in there so that you don’t forget yours.)
• A waterproof bag or trash bag to put wet items in 
• A collapsible beach bag. It won’t take up much room, and it’s really nice to have something to haul your stuff back and forth from the beach.
• Bug spray. Hopefully you won’t need it, but just in case.
• An environmentally-friendly water bottle 
• Water purification tablets (for you adventurous people who go off the grid)
• Band-aids, ibuprofen, aloe vera gel, allergy meds. I’m not saying you have to bring the whole medicine cabinet, but, it’s nice to have these with you instead of spending inflated prices on items that you already have at home.
• Medications/prescription drugs

Finally, Have FUN!

This is a vacation, remember? The most important thing you can do now is to relax, enjoy your vacation, and have fun. Let this be a time to recharge your batteries and reignite your creativity! 

For more tips on working remotely, whether on vacation or at home, download my “10 Free Tools for Your Remote Office” guide. This resource contains a list of my favorite online tools that help me serve my seven- and eight-figure clients no matter where I am in the world.