The only thing worse than getting sick on your vacation is getting sick one week before your vacation. You end up only half-recovering and then cramming everything you have to do and prepare and finish into the last 48 hours before your trip. This happened to me in July.
You know when you finally recover from a multi-day sickness and you feel like you could rip out trees? I’d had only a whiff of that feeling, but on the second-to-last day before hitting the road, I finished reading a book I had to review, wrote some new stuff, scheduled two weeks’ worth of emails, and mowed the lawn.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted, which was good for my sleep but probably not great for the remainder of my recovery. The next morning, I knew more wrap-up madness was coming, but a thought struck me: Have faith, but don’t tempt fate.
It’s good to trust in your path back to health when you feel it coming. To put some strain on your body and spirit. Reactivate muscles and mind. Prepare to re-engage routine. But it’s not good to overdo it too early. To protract your ailment and turn a cold into the flu—or worse.
Where is the line? That’s life’s question to us. What good is wrapping up a small pile of infinite work if it prevents you from tackling a much bigger one with confidence two weeks later? Just as with family, “health most” does not always mean “health first,” but it sure translates to “don’t run before you can walk.”