I spent two weeks fighting off a cold that had threatened to knock me out if I didn’t stop and pay attention to my body. I was doing pretty well at keeping the cold at bay when one work day last week rendered all of my efforts moot.
Sometimes no matter how hard you try to keep yourself healthy, there are uncontrollable factors that can, and will, make you sick.
Dilemma: Can I afford to take a day, or two, off to rest and recover knowing the amount of work that awaits me at work and at home?
It’s a dilemma we’re all familiar with.
A simple cold or flu is not the end of the world, but it is then that our already jam-packed schedule, stressful workloads and tight deadlines will seem doubly so. And yet, we think that if we just push through it, ignoring what our bodies are trying to tell us, that things will get done effectively.
WRONG!! Why don’t we ever learn?
There will always be work to do regardless of how hard you work. There will always be responsibilities at home that cannot be ignored. There’s really no point in fighting it.
So with that in mind, prioritization becomes of the utmost importance when recovering from a cold or flu.
Priority #1: There will inevitably be things that require your urgent and immediate attention. If you must, take care of those things to the best of your ability through the coughing, sneezing, aches and pains.
Priority #2: Once all of the urgent tasks are done, take the day off! I know you’ve given the same piece of advice to a friend or co-worker who was feeling just as rundown as you feel at this moment. You should listen to your own advice once in a while!
Priority #3: Don’t go home and watch TV, play on the computer, clean the house, etc. You took the day off to rest and take care of yourself, and that’s just what you should do.
I realise that the world doesn’t stop working just because you happen to not feel well. (Believe me, I was completely sensitive to the dozens of emails waiting for me when I returned to work the next day.)
All I am saying is that there are times when you need to stop and listen to what your body is trying to tell you. Nobody needs a coughing, sneezing, runny-nosed “hero”.
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