51–59 of 59 posts
I procrastinate the drudge work anyway; it's there & ready when bad-brain days show up.
Yesterday was bad enough that I put off driving until it cleared some. My career revolves around having that kind of flexibility.
Genuine question: why does being productive matter on a off day? Isn't an off day ones body's way of telling that it's need something else not what the mind conjures up randomly or something that is instilled in the subconscious through cultural or personal values?
Jobs that demand a certain performance level at all times are the most common. Businesses can be too small to employ more than the bare minimum needed - or have the ability but are too exploitive.
i found a way of sleeping with my hand on the mouse that moves it slightly with the motion of my breathing so that teams doesn't show me as away while i nap
Usually an off day is for kids or other urgent matters, such as water leak or basement backflow. Our invisible middle aged family man/woman does not have the luxury to be "off".
OP meant "off day" as in a day when you're not at your best, not a day off.
My solution has been to move to more of a supporting role (engineering manager, or architect or similar).
Basically, if you are unavailable (as in not very productive), things still move along and happen, even if a bit suboptimally.
Conserve your health. Take "off days" seriously as a message that you need some TLC, and that will help prevent serious health issues.
Luckily, the way I deal with it is by being overly-productive on the good days. So if anyone requests anything on my off-day, I just try to do 1 or 2 things, and for the rest I tell people I will get back to them with more info or will set a future meeting.
So far so good. Being 100% remote helps.
Do nothing. Be no one. Every once in a while. Works for me great.
Off days are tough. The important thing is not to feel guilty about it.