How to be self-employed and sick
The flipside of ultimate freedom is deciding on your minimum tasks
I almost chose to skip the newsletter this week and sleep instead. Instead, it is later than usual, and likely shorter because my head is not in the game. I have Covid.
But being knocked out this week also raises an issue regularly on my mind as a freelancer. What happens if I get sick? While those who work for an employer can typically call in or shuffle work to a colleague, for the self-employed or business owners it is more of a scramble to keep up when there are tasks that can only be handled by you. Not only are we losing money when unable to work, but we risk falling behind with deadlines and opportunities.
Frankly, being self-employed is also part of the reason why I am vaxxed to the max and get my annual flu shot as well - I can't afford to be off for too long. I also try to take to my bed as much as possible rather than struggle through, as I've found for me that the more I rest and sleep the quicker I can get back to business.
As far as work goes, when I'm sick I downgrade my workday and workweek to cover the minimums. What is the minimum number of things I need to be doing to keep this show on the road? This week I made all my zoom meetings, but I needed a lot of rest between them, and I found it hard to get to focused writing work. I asked for one short extension from a client, who was understanding, and I was upfront with most others who asked how I was (if only to explain that my voice is not usually this deep and sexy). This newsletter is also a minimum, which is why I’ve fit it in between my nap schedule.
Another item now on my to-do list is to create some more backup for myself, including evergreen posts for this newsletter. Yet another bit of protection for when the head of the company is felled by a pandemic that is apparently still raging.
What do you do to get through times when you cannot work?