Comments on: Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Illness

By: heteromeles

heteromeles — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:20:21 +0000

I love this thing. Hopefully I can sell something soon so I can pitch money in the kitty.

I’d add two things: One is that down-time to illness shouldn’t be fun, with one caveat. If I get sick, I’ll stick my butt in bed, take my medicine, sleep, whatever, until I’m healthy again. Yes, it’s boring. That’s kind of the point. Part of this is making sure that sick-time isn’t a cheap vacation. Most of it is that, if I’m overwhelmed by an illness like the flu, I try to put all of my energy into beating that illness, rather than attempting to work through it.

The caveat here is if I’m depressed, getting out and having fun is the cure.

The other thing I’d add is to have your BS meter on when writing while sick. I’m sure you guys can write well while ill., but I can’t, especially with a fever. Crap isn’t productivity, and if that’s all I’m capable of writing, I’d rather devote that time and energy to getting well. Again, this is my personal experience, not necessarily advice.

Oh heck, three things: if you have a partner, keep him/her on board with your health needs, especially for food and exercise. Their bodies are different than yours, and (speaking from experience) they are likely to do what makes them feel good, even if they intellectually know it’s bad for you. It sucks to be a health nazi, but sometimes that’s the only way to avoid unhealthy food.

By: Coping with illness when you’re a one-man company - Danielle Baird Design > Blog

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:25:34 +0000

[...] Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes about the other side of illness — what about when you’re not on your deathbed with the flu, but you just don’t feel “good” ? When you’re your own boss, it can be too easy to take a day off. She writes about how a quick fictitious conversation with an imaginary boss can be a good barometer about whether or not you really need to take some time off. [...]

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Understand completely, Barb, and didn’t mean to offend. I have severe allergies as well–mostly to perfume–and if I don’t clear a room where someone is wearing perfume immediately, I’m on the way to the hospital. But most people who claim “seasonal allergies” often have the sniffles throughout the allergy season. I’ve never heard anyone with major seasonal allergies call them anything other than severe allergies, so my bad. I was referring to people who use the sniffles or mild congestion as a reason not to work–not anything that could hospitalize you. Clearly, that’s serious and deserves care.

I hope your health situation moderates and you can get some rest from the health issues.

By: Barb

Barb — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:28:19 +0000

I suffer from multiple chronic conditions and this has been the year from hell. As soon as one condition goes into remission another flares. I’ve been to so many doctors and have had so many invasive procedures this year that I’ve stopped counting. I miss a lot of work. I used up all of my paid sick time. And I worked from home while doing it! (When I call in sick I am not permitted to work from home, but the work must get done, so I work from home – while my company charges my sick or vacation bank. I’ve run out of both, so now I won’t get paid. If I can just make it to the end of the year, both will be replenished and maybe I’ll feel better too.) Regarding the comment about seasonal allergies – I found that offensive. I have “seasonal allergies” and asthma. The combination can be lethal. It’s not a joke. It was serious enough this summer that I was required to submit to a bronchoscopy examination. While I was under general anesthesia a pulmonologist put a scope into my bronchial tubes and took photos and biopsy samples. Please don’t judge people just because YOU may not think they are sick. If I cannot get enough air to get to the car, I cannot get to work.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:21:23 +0000

Good question, Melissa. I’ll deal with it in a later post, but I’ll let folks here talk about it in the comments now. Do remember that you can never see how hard anyone else works or what their life is really like. Just your impressions of what it’s like, which are probably not even close to complete. Imho, the most important thing is family (as you saw from the introduction). Everything else should revolve around that. Do what you can. But be satisfied with it? I don’t know any writer who is satisfied with anything. I think it may be the personality type who is attracted to the job.