This one started as a bit of bronchitis, a cough that I was hoping was not the start of Pneumonia. Good News, it wasn't. Bad News, It turned into a cold that snuck up on me and I did not realize that I was contagious. I usually get sick inn January so I was able to negate this one for about a month.
This year I made it a point to extend my massive physical activity at the top of the year. I did 8 days of solid juggling, took a break and then started a work out regime. It seemed to be working quite well until I pushed too hard burning the candle at both ends and the middle.
Not that could have made a difference in the scheme of catching a cold but it sure seemed like it. Some more random lessons I learned from this cold run..
1. ZINC- The moment I think I have a cold I am spending 4-5 bucks on those zinc lozenges. Zinc in theory is the one thing that can shorten the life of a cold according to some studies.
2. I need to be diligent on my preventive alcohol & wipes regarding public surfaces.
3. REST, STRETCH & MASSAGE MORE. I may not be able to lift, and run but I can try to stay physically open.
However, at the height of the cold symptoms. I have a tendency to push too hard. I know that I need to rest and stretch more. The non physical nature of the cold cycle allowed me to basically not move a lot from my desk.
Ultimately a lot of the end of this cold is physically undoing the fact that I did not move. Shoulders, arms, upper body was seriously effected from coughing, typing, holding coughs in so as not to spread the LOVE. etc.
4. RESULTS MAY VARY. While it was impressive what I was able to accomplish while sick. I found that there were a whole list of things that I was not able to accomplish. That and my ability to not handle a multitude of tasks that I deemed, "Needed to be Done" was greatly frustrating and not only to myself but some clients and team members.
I don't know quite how to deal with this but to just accept what you can and can't do and try to communicate that ability to others. Just because you can acknowledge that something needs to be done, doesn't mean that you can get it done at that moment.
5. EXTROVERT INTROVERT SWITCH IS TOUGH. By nature a cold is a very introverted experience. Not a problem if your generally extroverted, however as someone who generally has to bounce from one personality to the other and sometimes at a very large level. This switch can be very problematic.
Right now I am having a problem initiating a solo extroverted event. To that end, I either have to hard schedule an event and/or get someone to meet or go with me. Otherwise I won't leave the office / house.
That's it for now. I have a very extroverted event to deal with in the next few days so that will probably get me back in the groove, I hope.
Take care of yourselves out there, this thing is going around.