Not sure about you, but in this career, I feel like we’re made up of people pleasers. We truly don’t want to cancel, but we also want to keep our clients well taken care of. When I was out sick, I spent most of the day looking at my schedule over and over. There’s not much rest when you’re desperately looking for an open spot to hopefully book your displaced clients. Should I work an extra day to make up for being out? Then I think, if I push myself too much right after being sick, I run the risk of getting sick all over again

Then there’s the money. Being self-employed means no pay when we’re out ill. That’s a whole extra layer of stress. If we force ourselves to go into work while still sick, that’s just bad karma waiting to catch up with us.

How do I handle my sick days? I absolutely will not work extra days. That would just run me down. However, I will forgo my 30-minute lunch and shift clients to maximize the day. Typically, when I fall sick, it’s going around, and there’s always someone who’s going to cancel. I reschedule clients in the order I had to cancel them, and I think that’s fair and good business practice. Clients typically wait for me to reach out with a new day/time, or they may use my waitlist. My online booking site makes this process easier.

Do you have any tips to share?