Get Well

I have worked at my company for 22 years.

I accumulate 10 sick days a year that carryover.

That's 220 sick days I have earned.

Now...through the years I have used a few here and there (not counting being home for sick kids) but not many. Maybe 7? 8?

Let's just round it off to even 10. That's 210 days I have left to use.

I recently was fighting a bad cold. I know my body well and I know when I am right on the precipice between "just a cold" and something worse.

This was one of those times. Coughing. Body aches. Chest hurt. Not sleeping. The whole enchilada.

I decided to call it around 4 in the morning. I wasn't going to make it.

I took the day and did very little but rest that day. Not quite sloth-like but close.

I needed it. I felt so much better that night and was able to beat the potential plague that was lurking around the corner in my body. Time well spent. Time well invested.

I will probably work another 15 years. That's another 150 sick days.

Barring the unforseen, I will probably only use a few more before I retire.

Sick days have a negative connotation in some work environments. "Not giving 100%." "Not giving it your all." "Not a team player." That's BS.

The bottom line is this; you have X amount of "well" days during the year and if you want to maximize them, don't be afraid to take the one sick day. Sometimes, the 8 hours you invest in yourself that day will earn interest for several more days, weeks and months and produce much more than you ever could've done in that one day alone.

A day in the life.