I used to sit around with my laptop on even if I wasn't working so that I'd feel as if I were. It kept me from resting and recovering, and I wasn't able to function. I've learned since then- if I'm not going to be productive AND I'm not intending to play online, the laptop gets turned off. If I need to be entertained, I can always read or watch a Jane Austen movie. Result? Much less stress, about the same productivity, and have memorized every inch of Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy. 😀

Paula- I've always had that problem too… Never actually thought of seeing a doctor about it! I'd break down crying in the middle of the mall because it hurt to keep on walking (since I got Crocs, I can make it much farther/longer).

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Chronic foot pain is something I've had most of my life, so a couple broken toes won't stop me. (As a kid I'd complain that my feet were too sore to keep up with everyone else on vacation, etc.. and they thought I just wanted my dad to carry me. Once I was diagnosed, they all finally slowed down if I asked them to.)

For the latter half of this week, I've been coughing and feel uncomfortable. So I got pressing things done and spent more time on non-writing work.

Last year, I was recovering from hand surgery. I tried to type with my regular hand and use one finger on the other one, but it caused my hand to swell. Thankfully, I got hurt and had surgery right before Thanksgiving when I slow down anyway and couldn't do much for six weeks including not sending my annual holiday note.

Key is to listen to the body and have a set up in a comfortable place, if possible.

Kim, that's a lot! So many kids are bound to spread the germs here and there.

But when I have a bad cold or the flu, I pace myself, rest more, start late and quit early. I've had to do a couple of phone interviews when I've had laryngitis, so I e-mailed the questions in first, explaining that my voice might go out mid-conversation. One guy pretty much wound up conducting his own interview, using my questions. He also ordered me to make some tea and get some rest, if I recall right.

Last summer I had to do an interview about ten minutes after breaking my toe (possibly two toes). Hey, it got my mind off the pain a while, and the adrenaline was still flowing, so better than that an hour or two later!

Thankfully I don't get sick too often, but I spend lots of time caring for sick kids;yet another reason why freelancing from home suits me so well.

I'm of the opinion that if I'm too sick to sit up, it'll all wait. Unless like you said it's a deadline that's looming, the world can do without me for one day.

Mei, I think you're able to push back, aren't you? If you're truly sick, there should be some consideration. FYI, the client is NOT your employer. Treating you like an employee is a dangerous precedent they set. I understand deadlines, but sometimes things can't be helped. If you'd broken your arms, would they expect you to type with your feet? If so, reconsider them as clients, I say.

If I feel myself starting to come down with something and there's a deadline looming, I try to clear it off early, and then take the time. If I feel myself getting sick and I'm not on a tight deadline, I try to take the time off early and short circuit the illness. Taking off a day when I'm just starting to go means I don't have to take off a week because I pushed too hard and got sicker faster and stayed sicker longer, and, therefore, lost more work.

Some things are so bad you just have to say, "sorry, I'm sick, have to reschedule." And then, as soon as I'm able, I work for as long as it takes to make the deadline. Again, me being sick is not the client's problem. It' s up to me to get the job done on time.

When I worked as a swing (sub) backstage on Broadway, it was part of my job NOT to be sick when they called, because I was filling in for people who were sick. That's the gig — you want the work, you better be up to par when they call. And it was part of the job to stay healthy.

I get sick much less often now that I don't have to commute in to the city on a regular basis, and for that I'm grateful. It's much easier to stay healthy when you can keep away from others, to a certain extent.

And I rarely take anything, so the times I am sick enough to have to take medication, it works fast, throughly, and I'm up and about again because I haven't built up a tolerance.