You feel crap, and you’ve got masses of work. It happens to everyone but what do you do? Do you push on and keep going to get all the work done or pull back, conceding to ill health and protect yourself.
Push On. Do whatever’s needed to get everything done, because you feel that’s the correct example, despite how you feel and the risks. You might make mistakes, or not do your best work. Your judgement is likely to be affected so you could make bad decisions. Persevering may mean you make your health worse and delay a recovery or possibly spread an illness to others.
Pull Back. It’s a warning to slowdown, to decide if you should call in sick or work from home. It doesn’t mean all is lost, it can be an opportunity to delegate and trust others. Explain how you feel and ask the team for help, it’s surprising how much support this can get. If you know sickness is coming, help yourself. Be sensible with your expectations and think about putting off non-urgent meetings. Work on tasks in smaller pieces so the mountain in front of you appears smaller and if you’re not performing to your best, tackle tasks where this won’t matter.
Next time you’re less than 100% it might be a better example, and more beneficial to everyone, to Pull Back.
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