XOMU: I worked through my entire sick day

And it wasn't a boundaries fail

Last week was a DOOZY. After traveling the whole week prior to film GMA3 and spend two full days in off-site meetings in Florida, I flew home to a sick husband. Though I thought my few extra nights in a hotel here in Salt Lake had me in the clear, by Tuesday I was feeling it. Sore throat, body aches, stuffy nose… my COVID tests were all negative, but I clearly had something.

I spent Wednesday in a zombie trance, getting some work done but having to cancel a few calls and meetings. On Thursday, my schedule was packed. I had a few calls that I could reasonably reschedule, which I did, but I had three media appointments (one for an NBC affiliate in Seattle) that had been long-scheduled, one important call that took us ages to coordinate with everyone involved, and a YouTube Live for the Whole30 community that was the last in a long series.

I decided to work through my illness. And it wasn’t a boundary fail, and I’m glad I did it.

Checking in

It is now an automatic practice for me to check in with myself before making decisions involving my time, energy, and health. I never automatically say yes. I always pause and think, “Who’s asking? Do I have time for this? What else might this push off my plate? What’s happening after this? Will I have enough time to recover? Do I even want to do it?"

This makes me a trustworthy individual, because when I say yes, you know I really mean it. And it helps me preserve my time, energy, and capacity, because if I suspect that I can’t or don’t want to authentically complete the task to my usually high standards, I’m gonna say no.

This morning, I woke up and asked myself the same questions, while looking at my unusually-packed schedule, going line-by line:

• Who or what is this meeting/call for?

• What would happen if I canceled—would I reschedule, or just pass on the opportunity altogether?

• If it’s the former, will it throw other richly scheduled days into a tizzy? If it’s the latter, is that acceptable?

• What’s the energy expenditure required—and do I have it?