Why work yourself to death

blogger Eleanor Douglas-Meyers looks at when our bodies tell us to slow down - and why there is no hall of fame for burn-out. Recently I had some “forced downtime”, I was on sick leave of sorts – well I’m not under anyone's full-time employ so it’s more that I’ve had to cancel commitments, canceled freelance shifts, moved meetings and so on. And with freelancing comes the dreaded no work no pay thing.

It is soooo difficult to switch off OMW! It has always been difficult for me to take sick days, I always feel so guilty that other people have to pick up the slack for something I had committed to.

It started in my school days when my dad practically wanted a coroner's report before I could call in sick. And they would make me do homework, “if you have time to learn you have time to clean” – or in this case, you can do spelling in bed.

During my working days I’ve always had a good work ethic (well I think so), that’s just who I am, if I commit to something consider it done. BUT then you get sick and then what?

Despite a nasty chest infection, I was ready to go to work , light-headed, snotty-nosed and going between fever and cold sweats.

I almost passed out in the bathroom, which is when I came back to bed and said stuff IT!

My boss/client/friend who I would have been working with sent me such a powerful message: “Don’t you dare apologise for getting sick, it’s not a weakness. You need your rest.”

It got me thinking, why do we glamorise exhaustion and insist on not taking downtime?

Most of the people in my life have a minimum of two jobs, I run in hustle circles, haha.

I have a friend who is a full-time teacher and coaches sport and is a Sunday school teacher and still does freelance writing.

Another friend literally runs a production company and is a make-up artist when she’s not full-time employed at a language school.

I could go through everyone close to me, like EVERYONE!

The physio who works at a school for disabled children and moonlights at the hospital, the accountant who runs an online shop, the multitude of bloggers/photographers/so many other things they do people in my life. Oh, and most of them are still parents too.

EVERYONE is always on the run and I know by now that if any of them are taking it easy, it probably means they have managed to only need to do a one-and-a- half-job that day.

I love this life, right now I’m working at a paper doing freelance design, I do freelance writing locally and also for two international content creation firms, I’m also planning an event and supply handmade jewelry to two stockists.

Also, those of you who read my blog would have noticed that I’m more active on social media . . . All of this is work. So I am almost always busy, like at all times.

So being sick is tough on me, I feel like I should be doing more.

But, I have decided that there is nothing wrong with taking a few days off to get your health in order.

There is nothing wrong with having a weekend where you actually God Forbid REST. No one is going to die if you don’t reply to your e-mails RIGHT NOW!

Money can be made again, but you can’t get your health and sanity back from not taking care of yourself.

And yes, the economy sucks and we can do with every cent we can make and I had to calculate my sick days as a loss, BUT, taking care of yourself is paramount.

So this is a note to all my hustling sisters and brothers reading this . . . It is okay to do nothing.

You can watch Netflix without simultaneously making something or sewing something.

You can play with your kid and not keep checking your watch to make sure you don’t miss a meeting. You can drink tea/coffee while it is still warm.

CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK!

Take to the bed like a character from Anne of Green Gables (which I totally binge-watched on Netflix by the way).

My plan for tackling all the work I have lined up for the next few months is simple . . .

Work from 7 to 7 and after that NO WORKING!

Also no more skipping breakfast and lunch to work . . . There is no hall of fame for burnout . . . and I’m not interested in a headstone that reads.

“Here lies Eleanor, she worked, a lot”.

JUSTELLABELLA Eleanor Douglas-Meyers is a crafty mom from Uitenhage who writes about DIY, parenting, natural hair care, fashion, food and fun on her blog