It’s Friday and it’s time for Karen’s Marketing Tip! But there’s a small issue… Karen’s sick! But never fear, we’ve still got a tip for you – although it’s probably more of a ‘Karen’s Medical Tip’ this week!
Karen’s been laid low with a chest infection that’s had her confined to bed for several days. But being knocked for six by an infection got her thinking about just how important it can be to get proper rest and recovery when you’re taken ill.
So she dashed off a few points and sent them to the team on Slack, and here are her top tips for getting over whatever cold/flu/virus you’ve been unfairly landed with this January (and there’s a lot of it about, we know).
Karen’s top tips for beating illness
If you’ve ever worked in an office, you’ll know that there’s always one ‘brave soldier’ who will drag themselves into the workplace even when practically unconscious with the flu, or sneezing loudly enough to make the pencils fall off their desk.
And sometimes there’s an expectation that, whatever the ailment, your team should all come sniffling and sobbing into the office to get on with the job in hand.
But when you’re sick, you’re sick – that’s what we say here at The Profitable Firm. And the best, and most productive, thing you can do is stay home, keep your germs to yourself and get the rest you need to get well again.
- It’s a total false economy to push yourself to work when you really are ill. You only make yourself worse and lengthen your recovery time.
- Remember, mostly what clients want is an update from you on their current projects, not necessarily for everything to be sorted perfectly right this instant.
- This is a time for virtual and remote working to come into its own. If you find you’ve got the energy to do a few things, you can: but they can be done at whatever time of day (or night) you happen to be feeling better. Not 9 to 5, and not in an office to spread the germs to everyone else.
- It’s important to have a great team around you and to learn to delegate when you’re indisposed. You may be able to do the work yourself normally at 100% but if you’re not there then 80-90% from your team is better… and they may surprise you and do better than you would anyway.
- Netflix is your friend when you’re sick (other TV subscription services are available!). When you’re stuck in bed, a near limitless list of box sets and movies is almost as good a cure as the horrible medicine the doctor’s given you.
- Listen to your body, not business coaches and entrepreneurial videos. This is not the time to listen to Gary Vaynerchuk and Tony Robbins and get all fired up to ‘do more and be more’. Everyone has to take days off…even the boss.
Rest as a central pillar and value
Rest is very important to us as a business. In fact, it’s one of the four key pillars that form the values of the Profitable Firm.
So when it comes to taking time off for sickness, we believe it’s vital to follow your own principles and values. Knowing when you’re too sick to work, when you’re not being productive and when it’s time to rest is a great skill to have – and it shows you’re serious about to sticking to your core values.
It’s also helpful when the rest of your team share the same values around rest – and go out of their way to remind you of those values! (I’ve been told to go back to bed several times this week… but I can do that safe in the knowledge that the team are picking up the slack).
So, recognise when you’re ill, let your team help you and – most importantly – stay off work and rest until you’ve beaten the dreaded germs… after all, no-one else wants you to share them!