Letter To a Girl Boss No.4 by Ieva Laicāne

Welcome to our series “Letters To A Girl Boss”. This series is all about bringing a little bit of inspiration and happiness to the every day boss. Sometimes we just need a friend to give us a little pep talk, to boost our confidence and let us tackle the day.

If you’d like to join in and submit a letter of your own in order to inspire a fellow girl boss, you can find more about it here and you can submit your letter to: sarahs@creativeandcoffee.com

Letter No.1 from graphic designer Maru

Letter No.2 from brand strategist Rachel 

Letter No.3 from Divine Connector Steph Lagana

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Hi Dear,

 

I just got back from my vacation. It might not seem like a big deal but ever since I started freelancing and became a digital nomad I worked for almost each-of-the-damn-days. Mondays and Sundays. Christmas and New Years. It never mattered. Because, hey, I love what I do!

 

Oh, and don’t look at me like I’m some kind of a monster. I still love my family and friends, I even have a boyfriend which might seem like a torture to him…

 

I might be exaggerating a bit. But just a tiny bit. I really do enjoy working and whenever I have a spare moment to squeeze my work in, I don’t hesitate to do that! I’ve had an occasional “day off” but this day off never gets too far from my computer – just in case. At some point, this is pretty funny… I decided to be my own boss and run my own business so I can be as “free” as I want. But now all I want to do is working…

 

Anyhow, there came a day when I decided – I will go away for a week without my laptop. WITHOUT MY LAPTOP. I hear your heartbeat rising. It’s insane, I know. I felt like it’s the biggest adventure of my life. And it somehow really was because for the first time in the past few years I realized – the world doesn’t stop if my laptop is left home, my emails get autoresponders and my clients have to WAIT. Another trigger word for that heartbeat, right?

 

Going away WITHOUT MY LAPTOP. I hear your heartbeat raising' talking #digitalnomad life w/ @ievalaicaneClick To Tweet

 

But that’s really true. And with this letter I want to encourage each freelancer, digital nomad, boss or whoever you are – JUST ENJOY YOUR GODDAMN VACATION. I’m a digital nomad and I can work and travel, hand in hand, whenever I want. Will you be surprised if I’ll say – it’s the worst kind? Not because I don’t enjoy it. Because – I do enjoy it way too much. Traveling and working goes hand in hand for me which means – I never REALLY travel and never REALLY work (okay, this one is not true tho, haha).

 

So let’s take a look back and see what I’ve learned after this one offline week:

1. I do enjoy company around me way more when I don’t have easy access to my mailbox;
2. Offline time gives you double as much inspiration as any online time ever could!
3. Sometimes you really just need to rest. Period.
4. New experiences give new motivation!

 

And yet another truth you might find useful:

Whatever you think is holding you back from one good juicy vacation – that’s not true.

 

We all are crazy busy. We have clients waiting, deadlines alarming us, mailbox filling up each day, again and again, there are blog posts to write, Facebook groups to follow. For some, not enough money might be made.

Whatever is on your mind as your own excuse right now – it’s just an excuse!

 

So here’s a simple advice you can follow when planning your own vacation: plan in advance. 2-3 months will be fine. Schedule whatever needs to be scheduled, inform your clients and, believe me, they will understand. Create your email auto-responder, hire a nanny for your kids, cut off some extensive purchases you might make, JUST PLAN YOUR GODDAMN VACATION ALREADY!

 

And send me a thank you letter when you come back 🙂

 

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Ieva is the author of The Random Passion project: story and resource library for aspiring digital nomads and new freelancers. After working as a freelance graphic designer for several years, she decided to pursue her true passion and connect with digital nomads and freelancers all around the world and spread a message – your random passion also can be the career of your dreams!

You can find Ieva over on her website here

As well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.