Whether you work alone in a home office or at a site filled with coworkers, chances are that few other people know exactly what you’re working on and what has yet to be done. Most of the information is on the tip of your tongue, or jotted down in several quiet places. Would your coworkers know where to pick up the project to continue your work, or even what projects you are prioritizing? If you are not around coworkers daily, how long would it take for someone to notice your absence from work? A missed deadline, perhaps? Unanswered emails, or maybe voicemail that is full?
Preparing for succession is a professional practice practiced by very few. It’s not even a stated ethical standard to have a plan for someone to take over your work in an emergency, or even just tell clients you’re working on projects for that you won’t be available for a while. Yet every professional desperately wants the projects they poured their sweat and blood into to continue even if they get struck by a car as they walk cross at a green light (as I was, decades ago).
Health is #1, and pros do not deserve to be dealing with work from a hospital bed. Here’s how to hand off that task even if you can’t talk at the time.
Essential Emergency Prep Checklist
Expand any section below for the crib notes on how you could implement it.
Have a business executor
The best executor is someone who well knows how you work and what your work is about, so that they can find and forward the necessary files to ensure that your projects do not fail without you. It could be a family member, it is wisest for it to be someone outside your immediate circle; not only will those closest to you be busy caring for you at this time, or you for them, but a colleague will best understand what to look for.
Ideally, this executor will be able to take over the projects for you because they know how you work and what the projects need. If you have people you work with regularly, it won’t take a great deal of notes to get them up to speed, because they understand your practices and processes inherently.
At the very least the executor should contacting your project managers, telling them briefly what is happening, and making sure they get all the files they need in order to keep the project going with a different worker.
From the business side of things, it would be great if this executor could also send out invoices for work done to date, so that money keeps flowing. If the nature of your work requires NDAs and other legal considerations, you might even want to have a contract with this executor, and leave extra-prominent flags on materials covered by an NDA so that all they do is contact the client and forward files at their discretion.
“A family member may be able to alert clients and pay bills if you’re suddenly unable to work, but you may need a fellow editor to help finish any projects,” writes Erin Brenner in her [official] Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors, p. 290.
Create a READ ME file where it is easily found
A note or file shared with your emergency contact is a fine place to keep the READ ME content. It can be electronic or hard copy, or both. Just tell them where it is!
It should contain details of how to proceed, as explained in the other sections. Erin Brenner suggests “you could even write up a template email [for the executor] to send in an emergency,” in her [official] Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors.
Keep current projects in an easy-to-find place
Say where current projects can be found in the READ ME file. It could say something as simple as “all work in progress is found in the favourites area of the file explorer on my computer and current “live” files have WIP in the name (meaning work in progress).”
Maintain notes on progress and yet-to-dos
The simplest form is a checklist you paste into a comment at the top of a Word file. At the end of each day, simply check off what’s done. Or this could be in a separate, prominent file.
Sort files well and maintain version control
If your filing system is unique, explain it in the READ ME file. Version control can be as simple as tagging or naming current files with WIP, or moving all older (dead) versions to a folder named “archive.” Note that keeping everything as email attachments is sure to be a huge headache for the executor and maybe a disaster for the projects.
Note contact info related to current projects
Drafts of invoices are a great idea every day, and they can be used to identify current projects when you’re out of commission. A file summaring current project contacts only works if you keep updating it. Do NOT make your executor read through emails to figure it out. Make it easy and clear!
Tell your emergency contact how to give everything to your business executor
This could be as simple as saying “If anything ever happens to me, even temporarily, please give the executor the “READ ME” file on my computer desktop. It explains my processes and how to find everything. The master password is written on a note in the fireproof safe.”
Start right now!
It will be too late to make the necessary notes and organizational structures once you are unexpectedly incapacitated—whether that happens due to your own circumstances or those of someone you love (and are now busy caring for). At minimum, keep a list of current project titles and contact info and put a placeholder in the working files to show where you left off. Include some kind of identifier in the filenames to indicate which version is current so that some older version is not forwarded to the person who takes over from you; WIP (work in progress) might suffice if you diligently remove that acronym when the work is done.
Have savings!
To continue paying your bills and eating while you’re off work, you’ll need to rely on savings then and as you ramp up work afterward. Freelancers don’t get paid sick days unless they fund those themselves! A six-month buffer of living expenses is the general rule, gathered by putting aside 10% of every dollar that comes in as savings. (On top of setting 30% aside for taxes as well as paying all the costs of running the business, it’s easy to see why freelancer’s rates need to be much higher than what a salaried employee earns!)
After my big concussion, I was indeed off work for 6 months; and then I only returned to work part time for several years. Relying on the line of credit turned into a huge debt, so I strongly recommend not relying on credit to survive.
When You’re Back
Debrief with your executor
Send a big thank you gift to your executor. Or write them a check, if that was your agreement. Ask them to bring you up to speed. It would also be good to listen to what worked for them and what they would like tweaked to make things smoother should there be a next time.
Contact clients & get back to earning!
Having ensured that clients were cared for during your emergency, they’re more likely to welcome you back to work with enthusiasm. Drop them a note (or make a personal call) to thank them for their understanding and ask if there’s anything you can do to bring the projects up to speed. You can also convey that you look forward to getting back to work with new projects they can send your way.
Do not go into detail about your personal issues unless you have a particularly familiar raport with the person. TMI is generally considered unprofessional. It’s ok to say there was a death or unexpected emergency. When I got a concussion, I said so, but not much more than that.
Retirement Succession Planning
If the kind of succession you’re planning for is retirement (congratulations!), winding down and closing business is the usual route. But if you’re handing clients off to a colleague, preparing these resources will make great archives they can use to keep the clients you cherish happy.
This and the other kind of permanent succession plan (death) should also include provisions for shutting down your business website, emails, and phone line as well as any professional subscriptions and bank accounts. The plan might also address the future of your intellectual property and handling of assets like your resource library and office acoutrements.
Who could you call on to pick up where you left off? Is your work organized so well that someone with a basic understanding of file structures (but knowing nothing about your work) could find what you were working on and get it to the right clients? Do you keep notes about current projects and contacts so that someone could let people know you’re unable to work?
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Photo of giant protecting a tree by Mohammad Rehan, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Photo of penny jar growing a leafy sprout by Satheesh Sankaran from Pixabay.
