Maternity Leave as a Freelancer
By Abigail Boatwright
Recently i was asked for tips on how to navigate taking maternity leave as a freelance writer and photographer. I am sure the process looks different for everyone, but I did take maternity leave when both of my children were born. I thought I’d share with our Freelance Remuda community in case the info can be helpful to you as well.
Congrats on your upcoming arrival! One of the best things about being a freelancer is you can tailor your work around your life. I never have to worry about calling in to work if my baby had a rough night or my kid got sick. You can take on as much or as little work as you’d like, which can make your entry into motherhood a little bit smoother.
Here are some tips that might help that transition—and way to go on thinking ahead!
- Plan for a lighter workload around your due date and your desired maternity leave. If you want to take 8 weeks of maternity (Or more, or less), block out that two months on your calendar and if you haven’t already, consider turning down assignments due during that time. If you have deadlines already, you can either plan to turn them in early if possible, or talk to the editor about extending your deadline. It may be hard for you to turn down work, but you’ll want some time to adjust to caring for a newborn.
- Communicate with your editor about ongoing deadlines. I had a handful of recurring assignments during both of my pregnancies, and I didn’t want to lose that steady work. I talked with the editors months in advance and was able to make arrangements for someone else to take those assignments that couldn’t be done before my due date, with the understanding that I’d pick them back up afterward.
- Plan ahead for photo shoots. My last photo shoot with my firstborn was at 32 weeks, around 35 weeks with my second. If you have photo needs for any stories due close to your due date and even the month or two after your maternity leave is up, consider scheduling them before you get too late in your pregnancy. It’s hard to plan that far ahead, but it’s much easier than missing a shoot because of your health or juggling a brand-new baby.
- Reconsider event coverage. If you have any event coverage that requires you to be in-person close to your due date, you might reconsider that assignment. Pregnancy can be unpredictable and you never know if you’ll be put on bedrest right before that event.
- Keep your work organized. Whether it’s paper folders, folders on your computer, Dropbox, spreadsheets—make your system crystal clear. If someone needs to access your work, think about how you can make that easy for yourself.
- Go easy on yourself. If you have a history of meeting your deadlines (and even if you don’t), the world will not end if you go into labor early and miss a deadline by a few days. HOWEVER, Communicate with your editors so you don’t put them in a bind, but don’t stress yourself out. This is why I would give yourself earlier deadlines for stories due close to your due date! If you turn them all in and then your baby is two weeks late (happened to me with both my children!) you will at least have a few quiet days to relax not worrying about work.
- Protect your maternity leave. Especially the early few weeks, you will be very tired, sore, trying to learn your new baby and nursing and diapers in the middle of the night--and recovering. Hold space for your mental wellbeing so you do not have to work during that time on top of everything else. I found interviews and phone calls extremely challenging during those early weeks (Yes I didn’t completely disconnect, especially as I was thinking about upcoming deadlines after my leave). I found I could answer emails on a sporadic basis. If it’ll make you less stressed, check in with your work emails occasionally and then leave the rest to enjoy your baby.
- Enlist help. As you come out of maternity, consider what help you have available. If you have someone that can watch your baby for a few hours a day, a couple of times a week, that’s a great start. Perhaps it’s your husband, a family member or a friend. Or maybe even a regular babysitter. You will learn how to compress your productivity into the time you have. If you don’t have help for childcare, consider how you can offload other tasks: a cleaning lady? Meal prep service? Lawn care? Instacart? Clearing some of your non-work tasks can free up time for you to work while your baby is napping as a young baby. It’ll get harder to work as they get more active, but focusing on the early days, they do sleep a lot!
- Get creative. You can get quite a bit of work done wearing your baby while they nap in a wrap/carrier and sitting on a yoga ball in front of your desk. Maybe not interviews, but you can knock out some tasks.
- Time block. Your time to work will contract, but that doesn’t mean you HAVE to do less work. I actually increased my workload little by little after having kids. Think about making to-do lists, and maybe even writing down how long you think tasks will last. That way when you sit down to your desk you know exactly what you need to do. If you have 5 or 10 minutes, knock out a task, versus lamenting that you can’t write a whole article with what’s left of a nap time. In those early years I also organized tasks by “daytime” and “nighttime” so that during other people’s work hours I would make phone calls and interview sources, and during the early morning and evening times I’d write, edit photos, plan stories, etc. (Note—I have some more tips for time blocking HERE and HERE—My systems are always evolving but you can see what has worked for me in the past. Also, Kate and I are talking about productivity at the upcoming American Horse Publications Back in the Saddle Conference in Fort Worth this September. )
- Aim for balance. In my experience, after having children I worked most evenings and early mornings, at least for a few hours. That left daytime when my babies were awake to be present, to take them to the park, go for walks, playdates, etc. My children are in school now so that time looks different. I take 1-2 nights off a week now, and I work out 4 mornings a week. I’ve found a balance, but my kids are 7 and 5. It is a season to have young children. It doesn’t last long, and it’s so worth it, but it’ll be a big change to your work-life balance. Look for ways to regain equilibrium. Even if it’s a walk by yourself or a quick ride on your horse. Fill your own cup and you’ll be a much better parent and freelancer.
Good luck! You can do this. Feel free to reach out to talk!
Abigail