A question for the self-employed

[grumpybaldy]

[QUOTE=K444HEP;408071] that isn?t supposed to make me sound like an arrogant knob by the way![QUOTE] Too late!

[grumpybaldy]

Obviously, it does depend on the industry - in some sectors they can be informal groups that cover each others' work; it depends in part on how competitive it is.

[Emaresee]

no price on sanity... no pockets in a shroud...

its professionally negligent to work so hard that your quality of service diminishes...

but over trading is a state that the successful get used to, and your ratchet your ability to cope with volume.

But to slighlyt misquote quote Jason Bourne from the book not the film..... 'rest (sleep) is a weapon'....

[ha_banos]

Were barraged in the media about high power executives and politicians who survive on very little sleep.

Anything from the media is usually hogwash.

I like my downtime. .. when I can get it! 7-8 hours sleep with a longer sleep at weekends! Or I'm grumpy although not yet bald.

[Johnny Thunder]

I never work a weekend unless a job has hit snags and would impact on the following week if not done. Fortunately this is not very often.
I always have at least two weeks at Christmas. We usually have one fortnight holiday and two 4/5 day breaks per year.
We also take a few days off at Easter, plus the odd long weekend to visit our daughter at Uni.
I personally try to have two or three days off per month to go away fishing. This is the only thing that I will drop for work, but I seriously
try to get away.

[grumpybaldy]

Or I'm grumpy although not yet bald.

Sharp intake of breath!

[ha_banos]

Sharp intake of breath!

[emoji16]

[JoeyGunz]

I don't take time off for the sake of it but if I want time off to do something then I take it, if that makes sense.
Although this habbit hasn't always worked out well I can sometimes get myself into a situation where I've been too long without a break and ended up very stressed and unable to take anytime off due to the current workload.

[Tucky]

It's a difficult balance to get right, I'm notorious for trying to fit 8 days work into 5 which is great for periods but not sustainable. Too long on the afterburners and you crash due to lack of fuel.
It's very easy to say book time off or make them wait but the core point is often 'can I afford to turn it down'. If you have more month than money time off will only make you more stressed. Engineer it backwards what do I need to earn to maintain my lifestyle? How many days is this? That gives you a basis to plan from. After that is prioritising customers until your diary is full, you can always leave a few days floating and charge them as premium take it or leave it.