I’m sitting down typing this on my mac air, outside on my verandah (or deck or patio depending where you come from), on a Wednesday afternoon.
So far today I’ve done two “tasks” that you would call work. I wrote two emails, one for my own email newsletter and one for the Become A Blogger newsletter, letting subscribers know that Eben Pagan has opened doors to his Guru Blueprint program with a new video. I considered that enough work for today, but then an idea for a blog post hit me, so I began to write.
On Monday night I started getting a sore throat. It hasn’t progressed to anything more than that, so I’m hoping I’ll be back to 100% in a day or two.
I’m a bit of a sook when it comes to being sick, and the first thing that goes is my work ethic. I just don’t feel like doing anything at all. To be honest, my motivation fluctuates enough when I’m feeling fine, hence when I do get the urge to work, I make sure I get stuff done. I suppose the fact that I’m writing this blog post right now is a good sign that I’m not feeling too bad.
Life Sucks When You Are Sick
I haven’t been sick in quite a while, but this wasn’t always the case. I remember when I was in university, nearly every exam block, so at least twice a year, at some point I’d get a cold or flu.
I put this down to a combination of being stressed, having to study and write papers to deadlines, often focused on subjects I didn’t want to work on, and being surrounded by a bunch of people doing the same thing – and getting sick together. The result is stressed people passing their colds and flus around at exactly the wrong time, when you have heaps of work to do to pass your exams and finish your assignments.
As soon as I left university, I noticed I didn’t get sick nearly as often. No longer was I attending a campus where I was exposed to lots of people and my life was much more in my control. I was doing what I wanted to do, or at least working towards it, on mostly my own terms.
Some of the worst memories I have in my life are from times when I haven’t been well.
Back in 2008 when I traveled around the world and visited 25 cities, which of course was an amazing experience, I also had one of the worst years of my life for being unwell.
I got sick a couple of weeks before leaving Brisbane for Fiji because I had so much to get done before I left. I then got sick again in Fiji, probably as a result of the stress built up and releasing as I finally started traveling. I was sick again in London and then again in Singapore, my final stop before returning home. Each of these periods, to put it bluntly, were awful times in my life, despite the cool places I was visiting.
Traveling is great, but you have to realize due to the exposure to different climates, people, new germs, so much time spent inside airplanes, poor sleeping patterns because of time zone changes and just the stress of not having a proper “home”, you are bound to find yourself a little less than healthy for a week or two.
Of course there is nothing worse than being sick and still having to attend a job. I’ve only had this happen a couple of times when I’ve had part time jobs, but I know from the people around me, that plenty of you head to work even when you aren’t feeling great because you feel you have to.
Any time you feel you have to do something, and that urge is stronger than your need to rest when not well, shows me that something is out of whack in your priorities.
The Freedom To Do Nothing
Besides 2008 when I traveled, most years since I’ve been running my online business I’ve been in top health. On the rare occasion when I haven’t been well, the freedom to make the choice to do nothing and just rest is a real benefit of running your own business.
Let’s face it – spending 8 hours trapped inside an office when you are crook is not a good idea. You don’t feel well, your productivity is down and you risk passing on whatever “dreaded lurgy” you have on to your workmates.
When you work on your own business, when you are sick you can just stay in bed and recover so you don’t pass on whatever you have to other people, or force yourself to do things when you’re far from the best condition to get work done.
Even in your own business, sometimes there are things that just have to be done. Usually though, they require an hour or two of work and then you can rest back down on the coach and catch a movie or read a book while you work only on feeling better. That’s a pretty good selling point for starting your own business.
I think this might be one of the best and most under promoted benefits of the Internet entrepreneur lifestyle. You don’t get sick as often, you have more time to control your meals and eat healthy, you can balance your stress levels because you control your deadlines and what work you do, and on the odd occasion you do get sick, you can sit back and focus on giving your body what it needs – rest and healthy food/vitamins – all while your business continues to make money.
It’s like getting paid sick leave without having to ask anyone permission to take the time off!
Your Health Is A Good Barometer
If you want to know how well your life is going, one of the best barometers is how you feel.
I know that seems simple, but it’s true.
If you’re frequently sick, or you always feel stressed and have a sense that there just isn’t enough time, or the fun has gone out of what you do, or you are demotivated, or depressed, or any combination of these things, then you likely have the balance wrong.
Running your own online business gives you the power of choice. Choice is freedom, and when you can choose how much you work, what you work on, what you eat, how and when you rest and exercise, what things you don’t do, what people you surround yourself with and ultimately what you do with every single minute of your life, your only challenge is finding a balance that works for you.
The balance requires constant adjustment, but if you don’t have the freedom to make the choices to adjust things, or you’re making bad choices that result in illness or too much stress or you lack passion for what you do, then you know you need to change something.
You have the power to begin changing your life towards this level of control and freedom right now. When you spot imbalances, don’t just sigh and accept them or become angry or frustrated, plan how you will change the situation and then start executing the plan.
That way, like in my life, at 3pm in the afternoon, after publishing this blog post, I’m going to sit down on my couch and watch an episode of Doctor Who, simply because that’s what I want to do right now.
Have fun!
Yaro Starak
Time Lord Wannabe
Hey Yaro,
Just noticed you posted a new blog post. As always, great content! Eben is an amazing teacher and I have almost all of his products as well. Besides Eben’s current promotion, I hope that your slight sore throat is not to much to ponder over and that you will get better. Probably just a quick bug. Anyways, I will continue to learn from the things you do here on your blog and continue with strategies to become a success with my blog as well. I look forward to working with you in the future and to the success of all striving entrepreneurs out there I wish you the best.
Your Marketing Comrade,
Johnathan Hayes
Hey Yaro
Whenever I get the smallest sign of being unwell, like a headache or sore throat, I do three things immediately, that often help me get better much sooner, or totally dissolve the illness almost instantly:
1. I drink LOTS of water – as in about double the amount I normally drink. This means I have to go to the loo rather often, but it’s totally worth it. The better hydrated you are, the better your body recovers from activities, and the stronger your immune system is… apparently!
2. I put on a scarf around my next (in the case of the sore throat), and make sure that I stay warm. Especially in cold weather, your body takes extra energy to stay warm, so keeping yourself warm means you have more energy to rebuild your immune system again.
3. I sleep a lot – like, twice as much as normal! And I do this until I feel better… or close to 100%.
And of course I also keep on eating my veggies 🙂
Get better soon!
Doctor Gideon
Thanks Doctor – I know what you are like when you are sick, so this advice is no doubt the best there is 🙂
Great advice Doc! I will certainly follow your guide on my next sick… Lolz.. Just kidding.
Hi Yaro
Same here, I have been sick for a week from sore throat to cough and then to fever and finally recover yesterday.
Being sick is a way for the body to tell us to have a rest.
Take Care
Hello Yaro!
I hope this note finds you feeling much better. Traveling while sick has to be one of the most tortureous things to endure!
Here’s to your speedy recovery as you settle in back home.
Peace,
James Delnort
PS I’m inspired to try harder when I visit your blog. =]
I agree with you on travelling during sick time. It is definitely the wrong timing to travel when we are not feeling well. I did that once and now after about 8 years, it is still the worst travelling experience.
being sick sucks, we all know that… but sometimes it is (being just a bit sick, not too much of course) the only way for hard workers to be able to concede themselves some time off!
It will always depend on the company you work for or the particular first line boss you have, but I can say that whenever I’m sick, I stay home and it has worked for me. I know people who brag about never having taken a day off and call that “professional” but I think being a germ factory in an open office and underperforming, basically applying a policy of presence, is not professional at all. My boss, who’s more of an understanding colleague taking away the administrative burdens and giving valuable feedback, is result oriented and he trusts me to deliver results, so whenever I stay home to recover, while still not taking a sickness leave, he’ll grant me that. On my side it takes the decency not to take advantage of his leniency.
If you can establish a healthy relationship with your employer, giving priority to your physical and mental health is not necessarily a privilege of the (online) entrepeneur.
Despite my boss’ great attitude, there IS group pressure though. Colleagues can act very strangely when you come in late, or stay late (as I often do, when my energy requires me so), or leave early to recover at home when you feel this day is going to bring nothing at all. And group pressure is something you never suffer from as an online entrepeneur.
Yeah, I feel you….
I do whatever I want too. That’s why I’m posting a comment right now. Because it’s what I want to do RIGHT NOW.
I feel good doing whatever I want to do. I just wake up at 12 pm because I want to.
I’m sitting down on the computer because I want to.
I’m learning how to build a successful blog, because it’s what I want to do.
I’m gonna build 3 blogs because it’s what I want to do.
I’m gonna have my own business because it’s what I want to do.
And I tell you congrats and thank you for your information, because it’s what I want to do.
And I won’t have a job, because I don’t want to!
“You don’t get sick as often”
Hi Yaro,
It’s only now that I realized, that after having been home based for the past four years, I never got sick! Unlike before when I would catch flu every year…
Thanks for this interesting post.
Jose
Yeah Yaro! How you feel is the best barometer and I love the freedom to do nothing! 😉
Who’s your favourite Doctor, Yaro? Doctor Who I mean!
Being Sick really sucks.. !! There are many times i take off for a day or two because of sickness, that was my early days of bloging :D.
Btw. Gideon advices are really awesome.
Thanks for sharing this great Post.
This is something I always tell my poor students (and myself…). We might have heard this advice a lot (or not enough). In any case, it is valuable.
A while ago a wrote about artists always seeming to be very unhealthy and that it kind of seems that is “the way things should be”. Like, artists are always on drugs for example.
I think our generation is more and more aware of the fact that a sound body and mind creates sound material.
So, I am happy you mentioned it here on this more and more holistic, or perhaps “integral”, blog. In fact, I think businesses that include health, relationships and awareness are the only ones who will eventually sustain.
Cheers!
I am working online and if I am really sick, I really don’t want to turn on my laptop. Turning it on makes me tempted to read messages from clients and to work. That would be the day that is really a day-off. I’ll just take a sleep until I get better. Of course, I have to eat healthy foods to gain my energy.
Yaro,
Must admit I’d rather take the day off because I want to and not because I am sick!
I love the freedom I now have after leaving the 9-5. It’ sunny today here in the UK (quite rare) – so definitely some time in the garden today for me!
Andrew
On the other hand, sometimes I do my best work when I’m miserable. It’s that struggling feeling that gives everything a sense of urgency.
Time Lord Wannabe is a really good title to bestow on yourself Yaro. I feel exactly the same. There are definite perks associated with working online and being your own boss.
I wish that I could take a day off because I have been putting in long hours trying to get my online magazine off the ground
Hey Yaro,
I’m sure you won’t take offense to this, but I’ll say it anyways. I laugh every time I hear you’re going to watch another episode of Dr. Who 🙂
You must be a BIG FAN. Cheers to your day off,
Steve
Yaro!
That is what it is all about… the power to chose. That is the reason that so many of us are just aching and hungry to become entrepreneurs, not because we don’t want to work, but because we want to work when we feel like it.
Being sick sucks and you are totally right, most of the reasons we get sick are because of stress and other business-related things that are weighing down on us.
When you take those things away, we get much better. It’s all about having the power to call your own shots, instead of being forced to go to a job that you hate every day.
Small business owners of the world, unite!
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
Well said, Yaro! I do believe one of the greatest benefits of entrepreneurship is being able to access whatever illnesses you may get from time to time. It’s important that we take care of ourselves because if we don’t our body will continue to scream, “take a break” and eventually shut us down to where we can’t even go to the 9 – 5. With entrepreneurship we have that freedom to have “me time” to where we can regroup.
Great read! How im feeling really does dictate my days. However when I feel sick, and run down, I seem to be able to work better. Being my own boss, I guess its motivation to do everything that needs to be done.
Everyone should make time for De-stressing though. Whether its an evening with your family, an evening walk or a short break away from everything. Stress is not healthy.
Thanks 🙂
I am a itinerant teacher for deaf and hard of hearing students. On top of being super stressed all of the time, I am also always getting sick!! I hate having to take the day or 1/2 day off, because of the valuable time away from my students and because it will put me even more behind in my paperwork. Being sick is hard when you have a million things that you have to get done. Must be wonderful to work for yourself and to be able to choose and have that freedom to take care of yourself! Perhaps that will be me one day. But, I would miss my students.
Your blog posts are very inspiring. Keep writing!
(e
I found that the sudden freedom was the toughest part of running a business from home. If you are not used to that much freedom it is easy to let it get out of control. You discover just how many distractions are around the home. People around you also assume that your freedom means you are available all the time. So it can be tough to turn down all those people all the time. In my case eventually my business dropped off because I wasn’t putting in the necessary time. Now I am back working a daytime job. Next time I make a shot at making my side business full time I will definitely have to take advantage of outsourcing more and figuring out how to better manage my time.
Bit of a sook? Crook? Not sure what any of that means (I will google aussie slang later) but being sick does suck. Hey at least you have the freedom to take a day off and not have to ask permission from work. Though I think your emotions are more of a compass to how your doing than being sick, illness is often a side effect of not having emotional health (ie stress, depressions etc). Chicken before the egg argument I guess.
Tell me about it… I love having the freedom to do nothing! As a student, most of my days(and weekends) are spent writing papers, doing research, completing homework assignments, working on class projects so I never seem to have time to just lie down and think about nothing. So sometimes, on those days when I have a free afternoon, I like to just spend it lying on my couch and doing absolutely nothing!
Yeah being sick is not fun and it’s even worse when you have to go to a job which can spread it around and cause even more damage. Having more freedom and control over your life and work makes it just a bit easier to deal with. You still feel like crap but you don’t actually have to go anywhere so it’s less crap you feel.
Hi Yaro (and fellow readers)
New to your blog – love it mate.
I’m a healer… so your post on health got me to commenting…
I use a new method called Reference Point Therapy which was developed just last year by your fellow Australian Simon Rose. It’s an alternative healing modality that works on CAUSE.
For example: if you have a recurring problem – i.e. if your throat soreness keeps on happening year after year, there is of course an underlying reason. It is always a blockage in your subconscious.
I highly recommend checking out RPT because it really is something that deals with problems once and for all – literally! It’s fast, easy, and the results are permanent.
You can easily find the RPT Website and Blog by googling.
You can also check out my blog ‘Grounded Spirituality, Conscious Evolution’ if you like 😉
All the best, Ben
We as mortal men have the right to dive into a place where only men can go when we are sick. I very rarely get sick, but when I do I usually hit the wall hard. Not long after that my wife with throw in the handy lady line of ” gee honey, I would hate to see you try and have a baby!” That always makes me feel so much better, NOT!
I get really stressed out about school and college applications, financial aid, midterms, etc. and I’ve been taking off like one day a month to just relax and fill out some forms for scholarships or clean….
I often get tired of doing these little tasks I start doing to avoid work and at the end of the day you just feel less motivated. Here is what works for me. When I find myself bored or tired I just leave my computer and go out do something fun or get some sleep. I used to sit all day in my back garden with a laptop myself and that did not get anything done 😀
When the organism is under stress it is more likely to succumb to illness, as the immune system gets compromised by this. Then by sardine’ing people on top of each other to boot, along with the lack of essential minerals and trace elements in our refined western diets you get the perfect recipe for illness to rear its ugly head.
Right on point as usual. I remember my last job if I didn’t go in and show them I was sick they wouldn’t believe me, and even when they saw they made me feel bad for going home. I am so glad I am out of there. I have never understood why people go to work when their sick. They aren’t in any state to get things done properly. when your sick it is your body’s way of saying stop. I am glad I am able to work form home these days so I don’t have to worry about it.
Yes I agree that it doesn’t make sense for an employee to go into a job when they are sick. Not only are they less productive, but they are also likely to spread the sickness to other coworkers. At some jobs it can even be dangerous to be working sick. If only more employers were more open to letting their employees work from home. When you’re sick though, it’s probably best to not do any work and just get some rest.
Take a day off is not necessarily because of health problems.
If I’m stuck without any ideas on my head but the dashboard is waiting for me to write something on my blog,I prefer to take my day off going somewhere or doing something else rather than spend hours on the Internet without any outcome for my post.
Life unfortunately even sucks when im NOT sick haha
You make take the day off yes, Yaro. The great thing about blogging is that you may go on holiday at any given time as you wish, sleep for a week without doing a lot (really!) and pretty much as you state it: have the freedom to do absolutely nothing!
Wish you good health.
Many of us tend to forget about the “FREE” in freelancer. We work a lot at the beginning, so that we can establish ourselves, but forget afterward to also breathe. Taking a day off is more than beneficial. Working yourself to death never did anything good. Not to mention being tired is not good for creativity and productivity either.
Totally agree with LaptopBriefcase. Sometimes, it’s just best to take a day off to recuperate. That’s hard for people who are workaholics though…
It’s absolutely true: being sick really sucks. I’m looking forward to the day when I will be completely on-line and be able to “enjoy” a sick day rather than fretting and stressing about lost productivity (hence fueling the vicious cycle of illness and stress).
I think you’re just getting sick because there’s going to be a lot of sales from Eben’s Guru Blueprint promotions. 🙂 Kidding to the side, it’s amazing to have that freedom to take a break when you need it working from home. I’m not there yet but aspirations does go a long way and I think it’s that persistence that sometimes make me forget I’m ill at all.
So I wish well today Yaro. You can tell us what happened in Dr. Who another day. 🙂
I personally try to devote an hour or two for exercise. Working at home lets us manage our own time but we often don’t notice that we’re getting a bit too inactive.
I for one have included jogging around the suburb after work, usually around the afternoon.
I was sick the other week with a bad flu and I found that I recovered fairly quickly by just taking time off and focusing on regaining my health rather than trying to manage multiple tasks all at once.
I not say I appreciate her letting me take the day off, or are some of you not reading that part? What lesson is there to learn? For me to not help HER out when she takes off? I think not.
I’m the same way when I’m sick. I just become a lump and need pampering. 🙂 The freedom to be sick and lay around to recover is nice. Hooray for the internet!
Hi Yaro,
As always you’ve hit the nail on the head. I was a nurse and ended up with workplace stress and infections. Potential killers to boot. I’m no longer a nurse and my husband and I are working on being internet entrepreneurs. Enjoy Dr Who!
Cheers
Jann
writing papers to deadlines? i know exactly how that feels… being a consultant can be hard, as well as working as a journalist… deadlines make our lives worse. just my 2 cents 😉
Hola Yaro
However you sometimes get sick because you get sick, most times you can choose not to get sick. That’s right stay away from the sick people, but also eat well, lots of fruit and vegetables (no I’m not a vegetarian), go to the sauna twice a week and yes keep your stress levels low. Enjoying what you do will make you feel better or at least less sick.
Maarten
I agree with you about running your own business. You can do whatever you want on your “OWN” time without getting stressed on being late, deadlines and the likes. And yes our health is our gauge whether it is time to take a break. It is futile to earn lots of money if we will just end up sick or unhealthy. All our hard earned money will also go to our medication. So lesson: If you do not have so many things to do at work or with your business, take a break. Health is wealth 🙂
Health is extremely important for our optimal output. I often stay away from computers and other gadgets when I’m sick. I will just rest, sleep, take coffee, and sleep. I guess that is the formula to get better.