When you run your own business, you might be of the opinion that you can’t afford to get sick, or that you just don’t have the time for illness. That’s perhaps not such an issue when you have a cold or some kind of flu bug that makes you feel a little unwell; you can often ‘power through’ and still work. Although if you can take time off, it’s much better since you’ll most likely be less productive and effective if you try to keep working when you’re sick.
However, some conditions mean that you have to take time away from work. If you were to develop cancer, for example, or need surgery, or break a bone, then you would not only have time off, but you might have trouble coming back to work quickly. So here are some tips to help you run your business if you’re recovering from an illness or surgery.
Work Out What You Can And Cannot Do
You might feel as though you want to get straight back to work as quickly as possible like nothing has happened. Although your brain might tell you that this is fine and won’t hurt you, your body will soon let you know when you’re doing too much. The same is true whether you’ve got a leg in a cast or you’ve just finished a round of an alternative treatment for ovarian cancer – you can only do so much when you’re recovering.
Rather than wear yourself out and potentially even set your recovery back, you should work out what it is you can and can’t do comfortably. You may be able to sit behind a desk and answer customer queries, but traveling to meetings might be too much, for example. Start small and work up, and you’ll be a lot more effective and happier in your progress.
Tell People
Many people like to keep their conditions to themselves because they just want to carry on as normal. The truth is that things are not normal; something has changed that means the way you work has to change, at least for the short term.
This is why it is important to tell people. You don’t have to go into detail, but letting them know you are unwell and recovering will help them to understand why you can’t do what you once did, or why you’re asking them to do more. It may not be a comfortable conversation, but once they do know, they can help you in ways you might not even have considered.
Delegate And Outsource
If you have a team around you, you can delegate some of your work to them. In fact, you can use this as an ideal training session, and this will help them in the future as well as assist you in the present.
If you don’t have a team and you work alone, then you can outsource some of the work where necessary. This will help you to meet deadlines and keep your customers and clients happy, but it won’t overload you. When you’re ready, you can take on all the work once more.