Tip of the Week: How to Stay Productive Even When You Feel Sick

It doesn’t matter how extraordinary your business skills are; eventually, your body begins to catch up with you and you’re hit with a storm of illness that no painkillers or medication can quell. In this case, it’s often better to quarantine yourself to your home and take it easy for the day. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t be productive at the same time.

Even if you are stuck home and not feeling well, you can take advantage of your sick days for some “professional development.” What we mean is spending the downtime to benefit your uptime. Take advantage of the time you cannot spend in the office to make the most of it when you make your triumphant return.

Try Working from Home
If the only reason you aren’t going to the office when you’re sick is to keep the rest of your crew safe from whatever filth you have contracted, you can try working from home. There are several benefits to this; you won’t fall behind due to unexpected sickness, and you can be available if your team needs help with other problems. With the advent of cloud computing and remote access software, working from home has never been easier. You can communicate with your office in real time and access important company documents without having to be in the office itself. Directive can equip your business with the tools necessary to accomplish this.

Curl Up with a Good Book
Sometimes you just get so sick that you simply can’t concentrate on important work, even while out of the office. However, instead of rotting away in bed hacking up a lung, you should try reading some books. We don’t mean tucking yourself away with that bulky adventure novel you’ve been dying to read (though that certainly is a great way to spend a sick day). Instead of choosing your personal favorite, opt for a topic that you can learn something from. Businesses books about best practices and marketing techniques are good examples of this. You probably have a list of books you have been meaning to read, and your sick time is a good opportunity to put a dent in that list. You might not be able to do much physically when you’re ill, but the mind isn’t as limited by the physical limits of your body.

Watch Something Interesting
Perhaps you aren’t quite feeling well enough to work or study up, and instead want to watch television. You can do that, too, but be mindful of what you watch. A lot of the time you can find educational videos that can help your brain stay active. While not in the workplace, it is important to keep your brain from shutting down on you. This will help you stay focused on your overall goal, that being to keep your business successful.

Can You Better Streamline Operations?
There’s no better time to think than when your body refuses to let you work. Use this time to figure out what the biggest obstacles in your path are. Are you having trouble finding a proper IT manager? Do you need to optimize your productivity applications? How are your security solutions holding up? These are all questions that should be addressed on a regular basis, and sometimes you don’t have time to think about it until you get some downtime.

Just Go to Bed
If you feel absolutely wretched and absolutely can’t concentrate on anything, maybe it’s best if you just go to sleep for a while. Rest is a vital part of being a human being, and an even more imperative part of keeping your body healthy. Most people don’t get enough sleep; especially entrepreneurs. A day’s worth of rest can help you get back up to speed and boost productivity upon your return to the office.

You might feel like you cannot take a day off without everything falling apart, but we assure you that your team is capable of making its own way for a day. If you’re still unsure about them, especially in the IT department, Directive offers technology management solutions that take that responsibility from your shoulders. Give us a call at 607.433.2200 for more information.

Even if you’re out sick from the office, things will be fine. Take the time to rest up and try your hand at some sick time professional development. You’ll be surprised by how much it can help you set things straight and stay organized.