Working Through Illness
For several weeks last year, I was running at 80%. It was a combination of allergies, sinus issues and general malaise, and I wanted to share my strategies for working through things like this, where you’re not at 100%, but you still can and must get things accomplished.
First things first, if you’re in a situation where you know taking a day off and getting some rest will pretty much solve the issue: take the day off. I took the day after getting zero sleep, and it was very much needed. I was in such a brain fog that I was unsure about driving, nevertheless trying to be productive and creative for my clients. The same goes for feeling burnt out. When you know a day off doing something relaxing, or catching up on sleep, will bring you back to normal, take the day off.
But, when it comes to prolonged issues, like my never-ending sinus thing, or the new allergy issues I get when I go outside on a nice day (which is always), I know taking a day off just won’t solve them, and it’s frustrating.
The first thing I do to manage this is planning my tasks out the night before. Now, I usually do this anyway, and you should be doing it, too, but it’s essential when your brain won’t be at 100% in the morning. Do a bit of work now to set yourself up for the next day.
While normally I like to dig into the hardest problem of the day straight away, I pad that task with something more manageable when I’m feeling off. Maybe it’s catching up on my inbox, or doing some project management or admin tasks, things like this: low brainwork, easier stuff to get my brain warmed up for something more.
Usually, I’m able to ramp up and start knocking things out. If not, or if I get back from lunch and the afternoon hits a little harder, I start looking at my MVP tasks. We do a lot of things that either don’t need to get done or can wait. Look at the results expected of you, and only work on those tasks, or at least do those first.
For example, things that get done no matter what are: scheduling blog posts that are already ready to go, sending out email blasts, putting out any fires, having purposeful meetings with a set agenda, and answering time-sensitive questions via email, Slack, or Trello.
What can fall off is typically writing (usually for my sites), answering non-time sensitive emails, or emails from prospects, doing non-urgent design and coding, etc.
To figure this out, for each client, I look at the tasks that I planned ahead of time and say what HAS to get done, and then what HAS to get done today. I do those first. I often have clients who don’t have any important AND urgent requests or tasks, but I still pick out the most critical tasks and get those handled, especially if they’re building towards a larger goal. This way, something gets done for everyone.
These strategies have helped me through countless ups and downs in the past, through sickness, unexpected travel, major life changes, and other events outside my control.
The final thought I have on this is that when you’re not at your best, you should pick out the MVP tasks for each of your clients and communicate with your clients. I’ve been lucky enough to work with clients who understand that I’m a person, too, and I try always to let them know a general idea of what’s going on and what to expect.
If you have any questions about how to navigate real life while building your freelance life, just send me an email, and I’ll be happy to answer them.
