Running Your Business While Sick: A Mamapreneur's Guide to Recovery
Sick day business management looks different for every entrepreneur, but as a work from home, home educating mum, the challenge doubles. Your business needs attention, your family needs care, and somehow you need to recover.
Let me share how I recently navigated this delicate balance with systems that work.
How to Run Your Business While Sick: A Real-Life Example
Recently, I implemented my sick day routine when tonsilitis randomly struck. Here's exactly what worked:
Day One: Emergency Systems Activation
Cancelled and rescheduled non-urgent meetings
Closed the laptop for essential rest
Received remote healing session
Focused on hydration with water and electrolytes
Delegated dinner preparation to my partner (who made my favorite dish)
Day Two: Managing Business During Illness
Despite feeling under the weather, my systems allowed me to:
Built client's sales funnel during energy peaks
Conducted a "Streamline Your Systems with Systeme" call
Created quick, nourishing meals: Lunch: Leek & Potato Soup (15-minute prep) Dinner: Mushroom Broccoli Pesto Pasta with Homemade Garlic Butter
Working Mom Sick Day Routine Essentials
Your sick day routine needs to cover the following three areas. Here's what they are and what my routine looks like for a real life example:
Recovery Rituals
Evening yoga session
Short walk for fresh air
Early bedtime (09:30 PM)
Balanced takeaway meals with home-prepared sides or outsurce to a partner if you can't manage making simple soups and smoothies
Systems That Support Recovery
What made this manageable? Having systems in place:
Kitchen Systems
15-minute meal templates
Home delivery services (Rappi in my case)
Simple recipes stored in muscle memory
Minimal prep requirements
Business Systems
Flexible scheduling and super chilled clients who tell me to rest and take time as needed
Remote work capabilities
Automated processes
Clear priority hierarchy
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Key Takeaways for Sick Day Management
Business Adaptation
Reschedule non-urgent tasks
Focus on essential client work (ideally take a day or 3 off compeletly)
Utilize automated systems
Work in energy-aligned blocks
Meal Management
Use delivery services
Rely on simple recipes
Accept help with meal prep
Keep healthy staples stocked
Recovery Priority
Listen to your body
Implement rest periods
Maintain basic movement
Stay hydrated
This is how I survive the occassional sick day as a mamapreneur. As you begin to protitize your wellbeing, eat home made healthy meals and implement smart business systems you will find your sick days massively reduce in frequency. And now you have this system to manage those days when cold, flu or other health setback catches you!
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