6 Things a Freelance Writer Can Do When They Are Hella Sick

Tis the season to be sick. Hella sick. Ive been a freelance writer for two years and a mother for almost four years. And guess what? Ive been hella sick only twice during this time and three times in my entire life. Now, when I say hella sick I dont mean going to the hospital with IVs or having some emergency in the middle of the night. No. I just mean the flu. But, hell, the flu kicks butt and it literally zaps the life out of you. And now that I have twins, Im waiting for them to get sick. My son already has a fever. My husband – bless him for working from home – took care of all of us and now is becoming sick. Now as mom, you just cant get sick. Its like an unwritten rule once you become a mom. But, what if youre a mom and a freelance writer? Not only do you have a house and kids to take care of, but also clients with deadlines. Typically the hella sick that comes with fevers and vomiting and other things (ahem) usually springs up with no indication. I was sitting in my makeshift office typing a blog post when I noticed my hands were like ice. I couldnt type because my hands were so dang cold. Then suddenly, nauseousness. This led to the bathroom and all the food I ever ate came out in that time! Sorry! But yeah I was totally sick. I stopped early and covered myself with a million blankets and convinced myself it was just food poisoning. Itll go away now that I expelled it all out of my system, right? Well no. Its been over 24 hours and Ive barely ate anything and am just drinking water, but finally, my fever is gone. Im not out of the woods yet. Im weak and I cant push myself too much. Tomorrow the rest of my family will be sick so I will be tending to them. But, as a freelance writer, what the heck do you do when you are that sick and you have deadlines coming up (are soon)? Here are the six things I did so that I dont miss out on deadlines and still got better. 1. Took Time to Rest The first thing you gotta do is rest. Give up and lay down. Let the fever take over before you take Tylenol. This will rapidly make you better when the fever does the job its suppose to do. When I was first hit, I stopped working. In the morning, I slept till 10 am and tried to help around the house. I did a load of dishes and still helped my twins with certain things like their potty. But, after that I was spent. I had to admit that I wasnt better and I still had to rest. So take it easy and sleep. 2. Dont Look at Your Email Seriously. Turn it off. You dont want the headache of people reaching out to you. You can wait a day or two and the world wont explode online. Remember that you dont work for your clients. You work with them. So dont feel pressured to have to be always online or attentive with your emails. If you are worried, though, muster some power and create an auto message that youre out of the office. 3. Dont Push Things Until the Deadline Im bad at this. I tend to push things until the deadline is soon and then I work on my projects. But, Im getting better. Since a lot of my deadlines are at the end of the month, I have the beginning of the month to tackle my personal projects and client work. Im sick in the beginning of the month so I dont have anything major thats due right now. But this doesnt mean I dont have work to still do. Research, newsletters, updating my course, interacting with my new students and all the other little things a solopreneur does with their biz. In your business, make sure you start on your projects sooner than later. 4. If You Can Sit Up, Write Last year, the whole family got the NoroVirus. This can happen when you have kids. The parents get hella sick. During that time there was a pressing deadline and I HAD to get it done. So, when I could actually sit up, I wrote. Yes, I was light headed and dizzy, but I did it. I didnt want to email the client right before the deadline and say Im sick. The project was almost done and I just had a couple of things I had to refine it, so even if I was feeling out of it, I still did it. Its up to you how you feel and the work you have, but if you can sit up for a bit, get your head in your work and do a little writing. Im not 100% and Im writing this blog post. Hopefully it makes sense? 🙂 5. Consider Outsourcing Now, if you have looming deadlines, it might be a good idea to start outsourcing aspects of your projects. This can be researching, outlining and the first draft of a post. Outsourcing can help you write more too (when youre not laying on your death bed sick as a dog). Some of my course students are at the point in their business that they have a full plate of work but want to start picking up higher paying clients. Well, you can start outsourcing some parts of your work so you have time to take higher-paying clients. And when you have some writers in your network, they can help you get out of a pickle if youre totally sick. 6. Ask for An Extension Okay. There are some times when you just have to ask for an extension. But, only do this if the deadline is in three-to five days – not the next day. For example, even though Im almost better, Im not 100% and my children will probably be sick tomorrow. If I had a deadline in the next five days, you bet I would be emailing the client and ask if I can turn it in a week later. Youre Not Going to Lose a Client When Youre Sick Hey, I know. Your fear is that you get super sick and you lose a client, or all of them. I hear ya, but Im pretty sure that wont happen (unless you have a client that isnt human). People understand and if they want your best work, you have to be at your best capacity. Now its your turn – tell me how you handle your freelance writing work when your hella sick.