Have laptop, will travel.

All dictionary definitions point to a ‘holiday’ as being a period of time where you relax and enjoy yourself away from home, and where you don’t work. So that would make ‘working from holiday’ a juxtaposition in the true definition, and a big no-no for most people.

But I don’t actually have to be sitting at my desk in my (albeit lovely) office in Manchester. I can set up my laptop wherever I like.

So I am experimenting with that idea this year by not switching on the ‘Out of Office’ and spending some of my time working whilst on holiday.

This is a new approach for me as I was always firmly of the belief that a ‘holiday’ should be a true break - nobody was going to disturb my sun-worshipping, book-reading, new-place-exploring hiatus from the daily grind. But this year I am going to use some of the family down-time to keep my hand in with clients and work on some of my own personal projects.

Early mornings on a balcony in Spain before it gets too hot and while the kids are still asleep or during siesta time while the family is chilling are perfect opportunities to grab some laptop time. Although maybe not in the evenings as I will definitely have had a vino by then!

I think the most important thing for me here is the freedom to choose. Working from holiday isn’t for everyone. And I am certainly not going to allow it to impact my precious family time. But an hour or two to keep the money coming in (holidays are doubly expensive for a non-working freelancer), and maybe even to get some fresh inspiration from the change of scenery, is a choice I am happy to make.