Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
I haven’t been able to write as often as I’d like because I have been unbelievably sick the last few days. It’s like a summer cold on steroids. I don’t feel nauseous, but the fever, sinus infection, headache and coughing have made existence quite miserable. I’m feeling a bit better today, but I can already feel that I have been pushing myself a bit far. So, why shouldn’t you write content when you’re sick?
Your Mental State
Virtually any illness has potential to alter your mental state. This is especially true if you’re running a fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Trying to push yourself to work as a freelancer or add more to that novel sitting in Wattpad has greater potential for disaster from a literary perspective. Here is what I mean.
Your Perception of Grammar
Personally, I try not to write even if I am exhausted. Over the past four years, I have found that writing when tired leads to more revisions and greater grammatical errors. Even though I swear that I developed strong content, a second look while clear-headed demonstrated otherwise. It’s the same thing when you’re sick.
A lot of people have a hard time keeping their perceptions clear when suffering from sickness or exhaustion. This is true whether you’re writing content or driving your car. Some studies suggest how driving sick or tired can be about as dangerous as drinking alcohol. It’s not just the reflexes that decrease, but your perception as well.
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Adding Random Material
I have no doubt that this post today will have a bit of randomness to it. That’s because it’s increasingly difficult to keep focused on the topic. This can be bad when writing content for a client, and it could be equally as problematic if you’re creating a novel as the flow of the material could be skewed.
From a ghostwriting perspective, adding random material could result in the client sending back the order to have it revised. It could also influence whether or not that client keeps using you to develop content. As there are many ghostwriters available on the Internet, he or she could simply move on to someone else.
The Impact to Productivity
It’s safe to assume that being sick will greatly impact your productivity. Not only will your reaction time be slower, but your ability to think and reason will be affected as well. Although some of us are capable of still being productive when under the weather, you should never assume that you’ll be as efficient as you are while feeling good.
Here’s an example of productivity; I spent more than two hours writing this post because of corrections and bouts of dizziness. Apparently, I am not at peak performance. Thank the developers of WordPress for spellcheck. In fact, I also cleared up four cases of redundancy.
Preparing Yourself for an Illness
As a freelance writer, missing days because of an illness may greatly impact your weekly income. For me, I’ve lost a couple hundred dollars because of this cold thing I have going on. The best way to prepare yourself for something like this is to have either a secondary income or set up a savings account to cover your expenses while you’re fighting a fever.
One of my current practices is to send 10% of everything I make on Textbroker to my checking account. Since I use PayPal for everything, the bank is a great place to store the money because I tend to forget it’s even there most of the time. I also have the small amount of money coming in from the liquor store I own, which we are closing up next week. In any case, you want to make sure your finances are covered for situations when your brain feels like it’s melting out of your eye sockets.
Being a Clear-minded Professional Is Always Better
While you might be able to impress a few people with your dedication to the job, it can be increasingly difficult to provide quality content when you’re sick. Most clients are understanding, and many of the good ones will wait for you to get better because they love your content. Taking care of yourself should always be first on the list of things to do. After all, you being sick in such a fashion will stop clients from receiving your best work.
It’s always difficult to have your cake and eat it too, especially when you’re sick. Even in the world of freelancing, taking time off to care for yourself is a priority. Don’t assume that you can write anything regardless of how you feel. Even the slightest fever can influence your work.
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