When we’re self-employed, we take PTO whenever we want. No asking for permission. No trying to be the first person on the team to ask for time off around holidays.
Of course, since we don’t have an employer paying our salary for these days away, there may be nothing “paid” about this Paid Time Off either. There may be a little more financial planning involved. To me, the trade-off is totally worth it.
I used to live in New York City, and I hadn’t been back in at least a decade. A couple of weeks ago, a thought popped into my head – I really need to see New York again soon. The next day, I got an email from my college saying they couldn’t organize a full reunion as they had hoped for this year, but they were still hosting a casual get-together. (Hmm. Should I go? Could I go?)
A couple of days after that email, I finished a huge project that had me working seven days a week and 15-hour days. Once I hit “send” on the final deliverable, I was like, I'm going to New York!
I needed an escape from my laptop, and it felt awesome to be able to make a last-minute decision like that.
Sometimes we can get great deals on last-minute travel. Usually, though, we have to be willing to go wherever, whenever to get those deals. I couldn't really do that. I knew I was going to New York and had a certain pocket of time, so it was not a cheap trip.
One thing I did to save a bit was staying for the first time in a “capsule hotel” – in what I’m guessing is the world’s tiniest hotel room.
It was hilarious. Imagine sleeping in a train car – if the train car were in downtown Manhattan. The private, spotless, and beautiful bathroom was down the hall. For three nights, it was perfect: a comfy bed in an amazing location. That's really all I needed. I wasn't there to hang out in the hotel room. I was there to get out and see New York.
I squeezed in not only the college get-together, but I took a lot of trips down memory lane: went to my old neighborhoods – Williamsburg in Brooklyn and the West Village and Chelsea in Manhattan – and ate at a couple of restaurants I’d been craving for a long time, including Veselka. If you’ve never had Ukrainian food, this is a great place to start for stick-to-your-ribs meals.
Aside from enjoying amazing food, for two and a half days I walked, walked, walked. New York has totally changed since I left in 2006. (A lot of my old stomping grounds in Williamsburg are completely unrecognizable.) But of course, NYC is always NYC, and I still had a few "only in New York" moments.
Like seeing a whole city block shut down in Chelsea so that school kids could have recess on their “playground” – the streets of New York.
Seeing everyone walking around the West Village eating pizza on a Friday night.
Going to a movie premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
And being the mark for a sidewalk psychic. I played along for a minute to have a good story for my friends, and found out that my colors are apparently lavender, silver, and turquoise – and she had never felt anything so strongly in six months.
For me, traveling whenever I want is probably the biggest perk of being an independent consultant. Travel has always been important to me. When I was in my 20s, I’d work for months as a temp, save up, and then take off for somewhere. I’m thrilled that all these years later I’ve found a way to do the type of travel I like to do now – on my own terms and whenever I want.
Is travel one of the reasons you became, or want to become, a freelancer or consultant? Or was it maybe just a nice side effect? Share with us in the comments!
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