Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, December is often a slow month for freelance writers. Many companies wind down as employees take time off and accountants want to wrap up the books for the year. Some writers might even hear about circling back in the new year as early as November.

It’s a predictable cycle, but it’s one that can be difficult to handle even for seasoned writers. It’s hard to feel comfortable spending money on gifts and travel during a time when your income is at a low. How are you supposed to factor in the end-of-year slowdown when averaging out your annual income and planning for the next year? Is it even possible to make money during those last few weeks?

One of the most important skills a freelance writer needs is money management. Even if you’ve succeeded in finding lots of well-paying work, being mindful of ebbs and flows in your income is crucial to everything from planning your savings to paying your taxes. And if you’re one of those people who stays awake at night dreading the holiday slowdown, planning is power.

Remember, one of the biggest benefits of being your own boss is that you get to be in control of your professional life. So don’t get discouraged, and don’t feel like you have to simply accept losing money every year.

Don’t Wait Until the Holidays

The best way to account for the end of the year is to plan for it.

If you’re used to your niche of work slowing down and speeding up during certain points in the year, budget accordingly. It’s tempting to overspend when you have the money, thinking that you need to enjoy it before you have to tighten your belt. But if you save that extra income, the lean months won’t hit you as hard.

Whatever percentage of your income you send to your savings (and hopefully you are contributing to savings!), increase that number during your busy months. Maybe take on a few extra jobs here and there and send that income directly to a savings account. Think of it as spreading that money throughout the entire year so you can live as if you have a consistent paycheck even when you don’t. It might be frustrating when you’re saying no to a few fun things over the summer, but when the weather turns cold and you’re not worried about cash flow, you’ll thank yourself.

If you don’t feel like your writing income has stabilized enough to predict when those high-income periods will arrive, don’t worry. This is especially common for newer freelancers or someone who has recently changed niches. You’ll find that your income will eventually start to follow a predictable pattern, but until that happens, follow a budget. Anything you have leftover goes into an account where you can’t easily spend it, and then when you need that money, it’s there for you.

Explore Your Options

Not every freelancer has a totally flexible schedule that allows for working extra hours during some months and being totally off for others. Maybe you have kids and need more of a set schedule, or maybe you’d rather not work yourself into the ground in order to prepare for the end of the year.

In that case, try branching out. After all, it isn’t every business in the world that shuts down from November to January.

You know who does a lot of business over the holidays? Retailers. If you generally specialize in business-to-business writing, try writing customer-facing copy. Someone has to write all those emails about Black Friday sales and holiday shipping rates. If you focus on stepping in for the holiday rush, you might naturally find some clients who need you around the end of the year but won’t add to your calendar during the other ten months.

If that isn’t a good fit for you, there are other industries that still need writers around the holidays. Think medical writing, law offices, financial companies—all those high-stress jobs where the employees don’t get much vacation any time of year. You certainly don’t need to sign on to working the kinds of hours a New York stockbroker or an emergency room doctor works, but you can rest easy that those kinds of industries don’t shut their doors.

You might even find that those niches are easier to break into if you actively seek work around the holidays. Lots of other writers might be resigning themselves to losing work, or they might be closing their own laptops like a regular business. If that’s not for you, you might find it easier to get those bylines even if you aren’t experienced in that industry yet.

Embrace the Slowdown

Many people transition to freelance careers because they want control over their lives. They want to take vacations without asking permission, they want to be their own boss, and they want to make more money on their own terms.

But that can often lead to burnout.

Freelancers, after all, are often very disciplined people who are good at managing their own time. But while that’s good for juggling different jobs and deadlines for multiple companies, it’s not so good for getting recovery time.

Take an honest look at your finances, your day-to-day life, and your habits. How often are you taking breaks? Are you the kind of freelancer who shuts down their laptop and puts their phone away from Friday afternoon till Monday morning? Or, more likely, are you the type who does some kind of work almost every day, even if it’s checking in on only an email or two?

Taking it easy over the holidays isn’t a terrible idea. You deserve a break! Even if you’re good about taking regular vacations, it’s nice to have a few weeks out of the year when you’re working but not quite as much as usual. If you don’t celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving, see if you can take the above tips to give yourself that break over some other time of year.

You’re in Charge

Whatever you do, don’t simply accept a situation that doesn’t work for you. If you’d rather work as usual over the holidays, explore places that need writers year-round. If you hate not being able to spend your December decorating your home and baking cookies, don’t let anyone stop you from making that happen.

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog. When not writing or reading, she is a fiber and textile artist who sews, knits, crochets, weaves, and spins.