Sick

I find this idea a little cringeworthy, but I’m speedrunning this writing session today.

I wasn’t feeling very good one night (this might be two weeks ago if you’re reading this at the time of posting). It felt like I had the flu, but it was just at the gates waiting for the guard to let it in. The feeling went away for a short while when I had to obliterate a flying cockroach in my room.

Adrenaline glands are impressive.

But, adrenaline doesn’t last forever. The fever-ish feeling went back, and I decided to sleep early. More sleep = more HP regen (btw, that’s “health regeneration” in gamer lingo, my boomer buddies – love you).

I woke up at 6:30 AM, which is surprising given my body’s state of affairs.

On that morning, I’m supposed to run to tick off the “exercise” box on my to-do list, eat my breakfast quickly, take a bath, and get to work.

As the gravitational pull from my bed was getting stronger by the second, I told myself, “No.” I wasn’t really feeling like doing all of that. I felt sick, and I didn’t want to be more sick. I’d rather pay my time now than later on with additional interest.

So, I slept again.

I woke up at 9.

I took my time making the best breakfast in the world (which is currently toasted bread + fried egg + caramelized tomatoes + coffee). [Levi from post-edit here, it’s now temporarily changed to cereals + milk because breakfast go brrrrr]

I played some games. (“Some” is probably a lie.)

I did minimal work – like barely looking at the subject header of emails and just making sure that I don’t have any fires to put out. Glad to report that there were zero. 

I also slept a lot in the afternoon – so much so that I couldn’t sleep at my regular 11 PM to 12 AM window.

I was better the next day. Not 100%, but I can at least get back to a “Let’s go!” state.

TLDR: If you’re not feeling well, maybe resting is the better option than “hustling” yourself to oblivion. You can say no to yourself (and to other people), but remember to come back once you’re better. Of course, sometimes you have to make sacrifices, but “heroes” are often labeled as such only when they die.