Take Care Of Yourself, Sick-O!
Yesterday at this time I was pretty sure I was going to die. The white light was beckoning and I didn´t really feel like fighting it. Today I feel marginally better, but still wouldn´t place a large bet on my survival. It´s the beginning of the hot summer weather here, so I have come down with the inevitable early summer cold or flu or whatever it is. I´m sure I say this every time it happens, but this one feels much worse than normal. As I site here urging my lungs to stay in my chest, my mind has been considering how we can remain productive when we are not feeling at our best. Here, with the narcotic aid of DayQuil, are 6 tips for being productive when we´re sick:
1) Scrap non-essential work — There are some things you have to do no matter how you feel. Do them. Anything that can wait, though, should be left until a better day. Despite what you may think, you won´t get a medal for persevering and getting work done, and you won´t be at your best as you do it.
2) Take a nap — The only way that you are going to get better is to treat your body properly. Take a rest. Drink lots. Take more rest. Eat chicken soup. Spending the time now to take care of yourself will pay off in productivity in the long run because you will be healthy and at your best sooner. Put another way, a nap now isn´t a waste of time, it´s an investment in future productivity.
3) If you need help, get it — If you think you need to go to the doctor, go. If you aren´t taking medicine, get some. Have no orange juice or something else you like to drink? Buy some. The more you can do to feel better sooner, the better.
4) Stay home — Remember a while ago when you were at your office and that moron who was sick was coughing and sneezing everywhere and the only thing he was really accomplishing was making everyone else sick. Remember how annoying he was? Well, look in the mirror — that moron is you now. Unless there is a really, really, really (Yes, I did use three reallys — I´m that serious) good reason for you to be out among a bunch of people, don´t. You can still get some work done, and take care of yourself better, at home. Don´t do this for you, do it for everyone you see every day.
5) Take a nap — I´m not hallucinating and repeating myself. Take the rest — it will help.
6) Be careful what you send out — If you are feeling truly terrible, or if you are on all sorts of different medication, you may think that you are making perfect sense, but you likely aren´t. Carefully proofread what you write when you are under the weather. If you can, save it and hold off on sending it until you are back to the world of the fully coherent.
