How To Be Sick Productively

There are two kinds of people: those who procrastinate, and those who keep putting off doing so.

Being sick in bed can be the right time to finally getting done some of your most under-appreciated tasks.

How Do You Choose What To Do?

I keep a prioritized to-do list all the time. This living list grows and shrinks every day as items are added and deleted. The harsh reality is that some of the bottom-scraping items will never get done, which might be fine. If they mattered more, they'd be higher up on the list, right?

Perhaps, but what about the important stuff you keep delaying?

Most of the items on my list have dependencies i.e. things without which the items cannot be completed, such as having access to the Internet or being able to leave home.

How sick you are will determine how you may be limited regarding your own to-do list's dependencies. Translation: there are items on the list that you temporarily can't complete and should ignore until you're feeling better. As a result, many or the remaining items will move up on the list and into the realm of the doable.

Pain Hurts. Let It Decide

It's true. Feel free to quote me on that one.

Over the weekend I caught a case of bronchitis from my baby daughter (that's not her in the picture, my daughter has more baby fat). It was tough to concentrate on anything between the bad sleeping, breathing difficulties and waking-everyone-else coughing. Finally, after visits to each of our doctors yesterday, we started to feel better.

By taking into account the above to-do list reduction tip, I still managed to get done quite a few things while sick in bed.

Best Things You Can Accomplish While Sick

1. Finishing a book. Whether for pleasure or for work, everyone loves a good book and it's important to read them. If you're like me though, during a busy work week the book reading often gets pushed to the end of the evening, eyes closing on the 3rd or 4th page. Being sick is the time to pick up the pace and end that book.
2. Watching a video tutorial. TV is called the “idiot box” for a reason; you may as well learn something during your slowdown. If you can see your computer well enough from your sofa or bed, check out a site like 5min.com for quick video lessons on anything.
3. Thinking about life. Few people have said it better than Ferris Bueller: “Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” You may have specific to-do list items to mull over (maybe even to increase their priority), or you can just take stock in where you are with your current and long-term projects.
4. Relaxing. Because 81% of people have their best ideas out of the office i.e. when not working.
5. Sleeping. Ok, I doubt this will be on your to-do list, but perhaps if you were sleeping more already then you wouldn't have gotten sick in the first place.

Wrap Up

Life continues even when you're sick, so keep that in mind and do not simply ‘turn off' because your head hurts or you have a sore throat. Always trying to make the best of a situation means that being sick is a moment to grasp like any other, and you can reap the most benefits by finishing those tasks you weren't doing otherwise.

Were these tips helpful? Subscribe to JobMob via email or RSS for more offbeat productivity tips for your job search.