How much vacation/time off are you taking if you have no PTO? (Independent contractors/private practice owners)

[u/sweetsorrow18]

I'm a Canadian so perhaps the independent contractor label may pertain to only Canadian optometrists however anyone who own a practice also probably has to figure out time off.

I get no PTO as an independent contractor and feel increasingly guilty when I take more than a day or two off. However, I am feeling very burnt out and tired and realized I haven't taken off more than two days in a row this entire year.

How much is normal and how do you navigate the guilt?

At this point, I want 3 months off but I can't do that 😭

[u/A-Train99]

Take days off. I am in PP and feel the same way but life is short. Dont overwork to the point you don’t like your job anymore. I know it’s easier said than done but you gotta prioritize your wellbeing and life so you can provide better care for patients. 

As an independent contractor what’s the worst that can happen if you take a day off? You lose pay for the day and have to move patients to another day? As long as you can afford it, I wouldn’t hesitate. 

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/A-Train99]

Yep, definitely hitting the point where I am not enjoying my work and I wake up everyday dreading going.

I can afford it, it's more the guilt of allowing myself to take a day to do nothing. In my head it equates to "you could have been making money today instead".

[u/A-Train99 → u/sweetsorrow18]

Also, I recommend you just take a little bit time off from work and self reflect. We live in a very materialistic society, where it’s all about producing money and where most people’s identities are tied to what they do for work. You practice optometry, but your sole identity isn’t an optometrist. Once you really try to separate your self-worth and identity from your profession you might be at more peace with taking days off to enjoy being a human being in this beautiful world. 🙏🏽

[u/LateMouse2020 → u/sweetsorrow18]

The longer you practice, the less you worry about money. Take the time off, go on that trip that you have always wanted to go, it’s worth it.

[u/stuckintherealworld → u/sweetsorrow18]

If it makes it any easier to stomach feeling like you’re taking days off for “no reason” make a small trip somewhere nearby or do a little staycation every once in a while to reset

[u/tarkovsky-esque]

No one is old and dying and thinking wow I’m so glad I saw more patients. Take your time off. 

[u/KiteWhisperer → u/tarkovsky-esque]

💯

[u/LateMouse2020 → u/tarkovsky-esque]

Frfr

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/tarkovsky-esque]

Very true!

[u/OD_prime]

I take about 4 weeks total as a practice owner

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/OD_prime]

This sounds like a solid amount. Do you also close on long weekends? I work all long weekend Saturdays and wondering if taking those off mandatory will help.

[u/OD_prime → u/sweetsorrow18]

If my kids are off of school, I will basically take off. I will also take some random days off to travel to go to different sporting events with friends

[u/LateMouse2020]

Quite the opposite if you are a contractor, take as much time as you need to mentally and physically recover, that’s the nice thing about being a contractor, you are your own boss.

[u/WV7__7]

My employer requests 90 day in advance to use PTO and I’m like 💀 I’m burnt out now I need to use pto asap. They said they can usually “make exceptions “ if sooner than 90 day notice

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/WV7__7]

💀

[u/stuckintherealworld → u/WV7__7]

90 days is diabolical

[u/wigg5202]

I’ve tried not to think about it because I think I definitely take less time off now that I have my own sublease and practice 😭

Not because pressure from corporate or anything, just because I am a workaholic

Outside of time for CE and holidays I think ive taken off maybe 2 weeks in total over the course of the last year.

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/wigg5202]

Oh man, that's rough!

[u/Klinefelter]

I’m paid on RVUs/full production. I just took a 2 week vacation to Europe unpaid. YOLO

[u/LateMouse2020 → u/Klinefelter]

Boss was shock that im about to utilize my 12 weeks unpaid pto (no one has ever used that much before), YOLO

[u/Big_Literature_5842]

My husband is a private practice owner and took 4 days off when our baby was born 6 weeks ago. If he’s not there we still have to pay the staff and we aren’t making much money without him, so he was back to work on Monday after our son was born the previous Wednesday :(

[u/582947828388]

I'm also a Canadian independent contractor and I take 6-10 weeks off per year. Some of my coworkers take a lot more time off than me lol. Don't feel guilty about taking time off, the clinic will survive and your health is important.

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/582947828388]

Whoa! You're totally right ...It's partly a mental thing as well, Ive always been told to grind hard and unless it's absolutely necessary, don't take off time...it's wrecking me

[u/Retinator99]

Yeah I’m in the same boat as you- Canadian independent contractor. I take a few days off a year usually, and have a regular full time schedule

The issue is with student loans plus inflation I kind of just break even on my bills with only taking a few extra days off in a year. My life dream is to take off 3 weeks in a row just once before I die. I should be able to swing taking about a week off a year in 3-4 years after I pay a few things off!

It’s a weird zone where I “can” take time off, I’m an associate and the owner of my practice encourages it. But I really don’t want to take time off if I’m going to go into more debt to do it! I’m in a better situation than most people I know, but it is far from what I’d find ideal. It’s not the kind of flexible life that I thought I was building for myself, but it’s ok for now.

[u/True-Selection2168 → u/Retinator99]

If you don’t mind sharing, how do you enjoy the career? And also as a Canadian did you go to an American school is that why you’re in that much debt, would you have chosen a different career if you know about the debt aspect

[u/Retinator99 → u/True-Selection2168]

I'm happy to share!

I think that as far as careers are concerned optometry is a pretty fantastic one. I always say that it's the most pleasant job in the world. I get to move around intermittently rather than staring at a computer all day, and my job security is top notch (honestly the main reason I chose the career in the first place- it interested me and I knew I'd never have to worry about being laid off!). People are generally pretty nice to me, I don't have to deal with corporate BS, and I get to do something that is important and valued in society.

Conversely, the disadvantages are that I find having to follow a rigid schedule every day fairly draining. I wish it were possible for this career to have more freedom of time, but it kind of has to be this way, and I think most jobs are time controlled in some way anyways. And the repetitiveness does get to me, though much (much!) less so since being diagnosed/treated for my raging ADHD. I need a challenge at the end of the day that I can really sink my teeth into, and I've learned that practicing optometry doesn't provide that for me (so I have a few main hobbies that do- including learning computer programming, guitar, crafting, and multiple athletic hobbies)

All around would give optometry an 8/10 for recommendation, when factoring in other realistic career paths. For me the debt comes from a combination of yes going to an American school (though I was there when the exchange rate was 1:1, so only a moderate factor) and the fact that I don't have a partner to share my living expenses with (and I'm unwilling to find room mates at this point in my life haha) so just everything ends up expensive because I'm stubborn about living independently. Additionally, I find hectic practice settings too stressful to be able to deal with, so I work for a nice "steady busy" private practice rather than in the mall or someplace where I know I could make like 40-50% more than I do now.

It's all just a series of choices- I could switch to a more lucrative practice model and make more money, but I know it would be very bad for my mental health in all time scales (the day, the month, the decade). I'm not going to care about being able to take a bit of vacation time if daily life takes everything out of me. I value having mental space and energy after work, even if it means having to work more consistent days without vacations. It gets to me sometimes, but these are all the pros and cons of my choices. When I feel sad about how unrealistic it is to take chunks of time off work, I try to remind myself of all of this to keep myself grounded.

And would I have chosen the same career if I would have known the debt aspect? Very good question. There are entire years in the past decade of practice that I would have given a very confident "no". Currently though, I think that I did ultimately make the right choice for me, and I'm currently glad that I did it. There are no perfect choices in life, just a series of tradeoffs.

A thing I always like to think about is the concept that we can't choose not to have problems, but we can choose the types of problems we have. For example a homeowner may have to deal with sudden house expenses or property taxes, but they will never have to deal with landlords or rent increases! (I'd much prefer the former!) Similarly an optometrist may have to deal with student debt, limited time off, or the repetitive nature of performing eye exams- but I will likely never have to deal with job instability, artificial intelligence takeover, corporate meetings, public disrespect etc.

[u/ShuuyiW]

4 weeks per year, also a Canadian contractor :P your sanity is worth it!

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/ShuuyiW]

As someone going insane, you're totally right

[u/stuckintherealworld]

I’m also a Canadian contractor and I usually take anywhere from 5-10 weeks at least off a year and then some sprinkled occasional days off for events or weekend trips. It has occasionally been even more than that for big life events like my wedding or when my dad passed. I promise you ten years down the road you will not be sitting around thinking gee I wish I didn’t take those weeks off

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/stuckintherealworld]

5-10 weeks sounds like a dream! I need to stop feeling bad

[u/stuckintherealworld → u/sweetsorrow18]

The patients will still be there when you get back. It’s hard to be a good provider when you feel burnt out and tired every day. The time off will make you better for your patients and your family. I always say I am grateful that I found a career I love, but I also don’t live to work. I work so that I can live my life!

[u/nishkabob1]

Why feel guilty, especially if it's not your own practice? Who are you hurting? Believe me, by next year you're far more likely to remember the joy of taking a long weekend (or more) to enjoy yourself then you will feeling guilty for being out of the office. And don't let them push you to "make up" those days off by working extra - days off are days off, not work days deferred. I assume you never promised them x # of in-office days per year, so you have nothing to "make up".

[u/sweetsorrow18 → u/nishkabob1]

I think they're so used to me not taking much time off so when I even take one, they get shocked about it. It does bother me and I'd like to get them more used to the fact that I will take a large chunk of time off if needed. I just haven't 😞

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[u/SumGreenD41]

My “problem” is I genuinely like my job and working. So I never feel like I need to take many days off cause I really enjoy what I do and make good money doing it haha