Having a person with the flue in the house usually means you, too, will catch it sooner or later. Last Monday night it was my turn. My throat had been starting to hurt Sunday, but I had hoped to stave off the worst somehow (tea, scarves, warm socks…). It didn’t quite work, though.
Since I had an important meeting on Wednesday and really felt terrible Monday night (I think I even had a fever, and I couldn’t stop coughing), I made the decision to stay home from school on Tuesday and beat the flu.

Being a freelancer, the question then arose: How sick is sick? Clearly, if you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and can barely keep your eyes open, your head is pounding and you can’t take a single breath without dissolving into a coughing fit, then you’re too sick to work. But what about the “I’m feeling kinda blah and slow, but sitting at the computer is not that exhausting, is it”?
Well, while sitting itself might not be that hard, using your brain all day sure is! And if you’re not feeling well, everything takes longer, and the quality will most likely suffer at some point, regardless how many pills you take and how many cups of coffee (or any other hot beverage to push you up) you drink.

So, all you freelancers working from home out there: At which point do you actually take a sick day? And up to what point do you tough it out with medication, tea and the heat on high?

I took it easy and felt 100% better on Wednesday, by the way. But one day off is not so bad. What if you actually needed 2 or 3 or a whole week?