While summer may not be everyone’s quiet season, work commonly slows down for many freelancers at this time of year. Businesses often quieten down in the summer with staff going on holiday, meaning many won’t be hiring freelancers.

If this is your first quiet period it can be quite nerve wracking. However, there are a few things you can do to make the most of it.

You could use your time to relax, streamline your business or improve your business in a way that makes quiet periods few and far between. Here are some ideas for filling in a quiet period, any time of year:

Get outdoors

While it may not bring in extra work, working outside can give your mood a boost which can do wonders for productivity levels.

It’s also a nice change from working in an office all day. No one wants to be stuck inside when the sun is shining.

Give your business a belated spring clean

While it may be a bit late in the year to call it a spring clean, summer could be a better time to do it anyway if this is your quiet season. You could rethink your operations, streamline your onboarding process, edit your contracts or overhaul your system for managing accounts. Anything that helps to make your process more efficient is only going to be a good thing.

Revamp your website

All websites need a refresh every now and then, from branding to content to navigation. Why not take this time to give your website a bit of TLC? Assess your website and remove bits that aren’t working for you anymore. It’s best to do things like this when you’re not overwhelmed with clients so you can spend enough attention on it.

Develop new skills

If you don’t have much work coming in, this frees you up to spend more time on improving your business and your skillset. This could end up being an investment which makes the quieter months less deafening.

You could develop skills related to freelance work, learn about web design or accounting to reduce the cost of outsourcing or learn a new skill you can add to your list of services to increase your profits.

It’s easier than ever to learn new skills with online courses, Youtube videos and helpful websites and forums.

Batch blogging

If you’ve found yourself with some unexpected time on your hands, then it might be worth giving your blog some attention. Writing blog posts to keep your website fresh can be a bit tedious and time consuming after a while. Most people would rather be focused on client work but blogging can be a useful marketing strategy.

Many blogs end up dying out because people simply don’t have time for them. A quiet month could be a good opportunity to write a big batch of blog posts to last you for months to come.

Go on holiday

If you’re not too worried about this quiet period and can comfortably ride it out it might be best to just take this as much-needed holiday time. Getting away in the quieter periods of the year may make it easier for you to relax so that you’re refreshed when business picks up again.

What do you do when the quieter months set in? How do you make the most of the summer? Please share your thoughts and tips in the comments.