Staying Productive When You're Under the Weather
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
I’ve been sick for a week. Not “in the bathroom - with a fever - can’t think straight” sick, but more like “head full of snot - super tired - doesn’t warrant a doctor’s appointment” sick. I don’t feel good, but I don’t feel bad enough to just be lying in bed ALL day. I’ve got stuff to do!
When I mentioned how I was feeling to someone the other day, she said “who isn’t?”. So I thought now would be a great time to talk about how to keep the ship from sinking when you’re not feeling your best.
Hopefully you’ve had your flu shot and no one’s sneezed in your face this season, but if you’re not so lucky, here are some tips for staying on top of things when not you’re not running at full capacity:
Stay home!
If you work in an office job; stay home. Because technology is amazing, most office workers can work just as easily from home as from the office.
No one wants your sniffling, coughing self at the office. No one wants to worry you’re going to get them sick.
And staying home means you can shave 1-2 hours off of your daily obligations because you’re eliminating your commute. What should you do with that extra time? Sleep. Which brings us to…
Prioritize sleep
Sleep is your best weapon for getting better quickly. And the more quickly you are better, the more quickly you’ll be back to your normal productive self.
Sleep is a bedrock for productivity (and so many other things) even when we are not sick, and it’s absolutely crucial when we’re sick.
Get as much sleep as you can. If you’re single, just go to bed after dinner. If you’ve got kids, ask your partner or a friend to take over bedtime duty so that you, too, can go to bed early.
Don’t worry about the laundry, or whatever Netflix show you were planning to binge watch. Just go to sleep.
Be ruthless about paring down your workload to the essentials
When you’re low energy, you’re going to be moving slower and not thinking as clearly. You’re not going to be able to get as much done as when you are well. So don’t try. Be realistic.
Pare down your obligations to the true essentials. That’s going to be different for everyone. For me, I made sure to save my energy for my client coaching calls and the virtual workshop I taught last week. I reprioritized the non-essential work tasks/projects for a couple weeks from now, when I know I’ll have more energy.
Decide what the most important things are in your job and in your life (those things that you really can’t postpone) and focus your limited energy on those things.
Work from where you are most comfortable
When I wasn’t in client sessions or teaching a workshop, but wasn’t tired enough to sleep, I was processing email and doing some accounting work…from my bed.
When you’re not feeling well, sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference. Being cozy and comfortable can give you the motivation you need to take action on those essentials.
Ask for help
Generally, I cook dinner from scratch every night. I love cooking and in our house it’s my responsibility to get dinner on the table.
But when I wasn’t feeling great I knew I’d need to prioritize sleep. So, on the day I felt the worst, I texted my husband and asked him to figure out dinner. He ordered Indian food for delivery, I ate it, then I went to sleep.
Dinner needed to happen, but I didn’t need to be the one to make it happen.
Recovery Update
After a week of this regimen of “the essentials - sleep - the essentials - sleep” I’m finally feeling almost myself again. And, importantly, I’m not feeling behind because I got done what had to be done. If you’ve worked with me, you may have heard me talk about “task realism” before. Ruthlessly prioritizing and then getting done what must be done is at the heart of task realism. Especially when you are sick.