To those employed: How to you spread your free days around the year?

[AuroraBorealis]

To those of you who are employed with a set number of free days per year: How do you choose to spread those days throughout the year?

I don't know how it works in your countries. Where I live, time where you're sick doesn't affect your regular free days, those things are separated. You have a set number of free days per year (I'll probably have 30, have to check again to be sure), and, usually, you plan all of your holidays for the next year at some point in the previous year. Like, I'd have to plan all of my free days for 2025 at some point during 2024, and get them approved by my employer. I don't yet know how it works if you want to change something later.

Since this is all new to me, I am wondering how you all do that. Do you take your free days as 1 or 2 large chunks in one year? Or do you spread them, taking only a few days at a time, to have some shorter free time more frequently?

I am thinking how to do it when planning it for the first time. I know that I'll need a break, a long weekend of 3 or 4 days, in a certain regularity, to recharge from work or to catch up on some things, with no traveling, just staying at home. To visit my family, I'll need at least a week, but then all of that free time period is taken up for family time, with nothing left to just be home and recharge. Once a year, a 2 or even 3 week long free time would be nice, to really get some rest after using e.g. the first week for a family visit. At some point in the year, I'd also like to go on a holiday with my partner.

It'll be quite a challenge to juggle all those things: Free time to just recharge at home, time for family visits, time to spend somewhere with my partner, time to see my partner's family, time to visit a friend. And, for all those things, dividing the free days into shorter and longer chunks of free time, somewhat evenly distributed throughout the year.

So, again, how do you people organize that? What are your recharging needs, and how do you accommodate them? Just to get some ideas and inspiration.
I am aware that excessive people-pleasing will result in me being stressed out and not gaining much from my free time. So I am trying to also get some perspective and to find middle ground between visiting/pleasing everyone, and allowing myself time to just stay home and rest.

I'd be grateful if we could not make this thread into a discussion of how many free days one has, and how the different employment systems work, or whether someone is "better" or "worse off". If someone would like to discuss things like that, please use a separate thread. Thank you in advance.

 

[Outdated]

Standard by law in Australia is 20 days of paid Annual Leave per year, as well as 10 sick days. If we work a job that has regular overtime then we get paid an average for all the overtime shifts we'd miss out on while on holiday too, that's called Leave Loading.

You are obliged by law to take your allotted Annual Leave time off of work in Australia, it's illegal for an employer to pay you out for it instead.

I used to use most of my sick days but this depended on who I worked for and who I worked with, I considered it stress leave, and as long as I only used one day at a time I didn't need to provide a doctors note, just phone in in the morning and say I won't be in.

(I used to always use an excuse that related to bowel trouble, it was my way of keeping a little bit of honesty in there. What I was really saying is common Aussie vernacular that I'm not allowed to write in this forum but it loosely translates as "I'm very annoyed")

My annual leave I usually took in one week or two week chunks, depending on what I wanted to do. When I was in to snow skiing I always wanted time off in the middle of winter, or during summer I'd go somewhere nice for swimming and fishing.

Getting time off during school holidays is usually reserved for people that have kids, which is fair enough. Personally I preferred to work those times anyway and go on holidays when places were less crowded.

 

[Raggamuffin]

When I worked office jobs I got bank holidays off in UK. So in total it was 28 days off a year.

As a Carer, and now as a Support Worker I work the bank holidays unless I'm off on the rota. But they tend to fall on Monday's, and occasionally Friday's. Only time it's different is for Xmas and New Year's Day. For me, each week I have Wednesday's and Thursday's off in this job.

With this company I should have Christmas off, as the service users we support will spend Christmas with their families.

As for spreading holiday out - I try and take some every 4 to 6 weeks. Taking them in chunks sounds nice, but time flies by - so to only have 1 or 2 of those a year to look forward to seems silly. Whereas, every month or 1.5 months I have an extra day or 2 off.

When I worked office jobs it was easier as I'd just make a 3 or 4 day weekend out of it, but would also plan bits around bank holidays - so my year was full of holidays. In my Support Worker role I offered to work every weekend, as I prefer days off during the week; as everywhere is a lot quieter.

I don't use holiday time for holiday's. But I think that will change once the van is sold and I've renewed my passport.

Dug out an old calendar from a previous office job. Bearing in mind I had weekends off. As you can see I had holiday time off every 3 weeks or so throughout the year. I would hand my entire holiday request for the year as soon as holiday renewed. That way I knew my year ahead. I wasn't rigid, like if a colleague wanted to swap because they'd booked a holiday. So it worked really nicely for everyone on the team. Although people would often joke "You've got another day off?" Yep, because I balanced the year out nicely with lots of long weekends.

Ed

 

[Misty Avich]

I get 25 annual leave days a year but it doesn't seem much out of a whole year. I like to take my birthday week off, which is right at the start of the new financial year which is when the annual leave days refresh (April). So I have to get in quick. Then I like to take a week or two in the summer before the schools break up for the summer holidays. Then I usually take the whole Christmas week off because I like being home for the holidays. Then I only have a couple of days left over which I try to save for emergencies. It's hardly nothing really. I need like 6 months annual leave a year.

 

[Bobsterkitty]

Something that has worked very well for me was taking them to extend weekends and when others I had to often collaborate with were out. A week or two in a row only makes sense if you travel, but in our case, that frequently means more exhaustion. Spreading throughout the year was all I could do at one point because during the first year, I was first (SELF) onboarding and then so busy that a week away was inconceivable, and that is when I discovered that I like this better. My recommendation (within your employer's rules, manager, how it is perceived, etc.) is to do what is best for your recovery and health. The ideal job/source of income would allow all recovery needed before any burnout. I found that some work encounters were so taxing that a Monday 7:30 am half-hour meeting would do me in. Enough/self-determined recuperation is impossible in corporate and near impossible if you are self-employed and must do all or most of the tasks before they become urgent.

 

[honeytoast]

I hoard a lot of PTO. I'm actually going to need to use it soon since it will cap out in a few weeks. Doesn't help that work gives me a decent amount every other week, but I am not complaining.

I mostly spend my time off with family. I live far away from them, so I plan accordingly and use my time to travel up there for the holidays and see them. The last time I've used free time for myself was about a month ago and it was for a few hours on Friday. Not a ton.

I don't have sick days separated from my PTO. If I get sick, I either make up the weekly hours if I am well enough or use PTO to cover it. I get some holidays.

I've been thinking about taking time off just to do NOTHING. I don't want to go on a vacation. I don't want to see family. I want to stay at home and rot. I want to have no responsibilities for a week or two weeks (other than my house chores). I did this back in 2023 and it was so nice. I played video games. I caught up on anime. I walked around a ton. I know this is the NEET life and I don't wish for it, but having two weeks off sounds so lovely. This is how I recharge.