Do you use a sick journal?

Have you ever been sick but had no time to be sick? Getting sick always seems to happen at the worst moment. It may only happen a few times a year. It might be a family member that gets sick and needs some attention from your daily work schedule. Remote working has made it easier to work through a sick day, whether that's beneficial for your wellness or not.

Before remote work, if you were sick, you had to go home. You took the time to get better because there may not have been another option. If a kid got sick, they needed to go home, you left work to pick them up and the rest of your day was spent making soup and finding cartoons to last through the day.

Here is another challenge that everyone should be aware of, mental health. Taking days for mental health is as important as sick days. I manage all of this time in the same way.

When sick days occur, and they will, I would encourage you to take the time off. Studies show that taking time to rest and heal will decrease the time out of the office. The challenge is holding yourself accountable for the time that is taken.

Here are three ways I manage my sick time:

Be transparent - When sick days occur, you should let your manager, your co-workers, and any clients that will be impacted by your absence, know that you will be out of the office. You may be surprised at how much your co-workers may want to help you while you are out. The biggest takeaways I have learned in the workforce all revolve around honesty and transparency. Your team and manager don't need personal details, but they do deserve to know when you need the time. They deserve an opportunity to empathize and provide leadership.

Journal - Here is the big nugget of truth that many don't practice. Keep a separate journal for sick time / mental health time. The journal is a tool to log ideas or tasks that "can't wait". The journal should remind you that all tasks can wait, but the brain will only allow maximize rest when you have tabled these thoughts to close the loop. If you have ever had a quick thought, considered writing it down so you wouldn't lose it, didn't write it down, and later lost it... you know the high levels of anxiety that it can cause. The journal can also help prevent you from sitting down at your workstation to look at "a couple of emails" which can sometimes turn into hours of email work and project tasks. Keep the journal handy by your bed, as many of those sleepless thoughts will arrive at the bedtime hour.

Project Manage - If you have trouble taking sick time because you can't turn away from work, convert your sick time into a work task. I block my calendar with a passion and hold myself accountable for the time. Yes, I even block my sick time. If I am taking a full work day to be sick, I will block this time on my calendar with an end date/time. This is my project's "due date". When I reach that milestone, I re-evaluate my time. If I am still sick, I will add time to my project, if I feel well and rested, I will end my sick time. See the transparency step above if you would like to make your manager and team a part of this process.

Bonus - Here's an added tip. This one is very difficult for many workaholics. Go beyond setting the "do not disturb" on your mobile devices. It's too easy to turn it off. I would recommend taking all work-related apps off of your phone. We find this a common practice for vacations and family time out of the office, I think it's a valuable practice for a sick time as well.

Taking time off for work is an important necessity for professional growth. We often avoid scheduling sick days because we dread lost time and the stress of catching back up. Learning how to unplug from work to rest and heal from sickness will ultimately reduce lost time and lead to a healthier and happier employee in the long term.