Good News Bad News...
Bad News- I caught a cold.
Good News- It was literally at the end of a shooting gig out of town. It did not interfere directly with that gig, however it did slow me down.
I am always amazed at how healthy I get after a cold.
I am able to get some things done but it really affects the ability to be extroverted, it just takes so much energy not to cough, talk safely around people, etc.
New thoughts on this cold run.
The bottom line is that I lost productivity because of the cold and now I have to catch up now that I have a bit more focused energy.
I recentlty was reminded of the cost of my back to back colds when I got a call from a project that needed to be completed.
I am still in catch up mode. Hopefully tonight will be the night that I push through 3 projects.
Oddly I got an email from FrugalDad about this bitchin new Infographic. I love these things. I wish I could make them.
Source: FrugalDad.com
Ryan Glass is the Man. Megan you rock.
WOW! It happened again...LAME
So after a 2 week cold, 2 weeks of the cough hanging on. I somehow caught another one. I have been ultra careful considering I still had a cough I was limiting my diet, etc.
It started as a cough again which I assumed was an allergic reaction...NOT! Then came the fever and yada yada yada.
In trying to find some sort of positive spin on this one...
At least maybe my cough will dissapear after this run.
It does seem like its moving faster through my system.
I am looking quite svelte due to diet changes.
I am reminded of one of the 4 hour work week lessons.
WHAT IF YOU COULD ONLY WORK 4 HOURS A WEEK? Due to life circumstances etc.
I have known for a few months now that the pace that I have put on myself to catch up is completely unrealistic to keep up. Not if I want to actually have a life.
So with that this is just a random journal entry to keep it real.
BACK TO WORK.
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.
I have a tendency to hit the cold from both sides. I take pseudophedrine, vit C, Guifenessen, stop eating phlegm inducing foods...
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.
(For some reason I get a lot of hits on my COLD posts lol.)
For some weird reason I write these posts on getting colds and I get traffic so here's another one.
This is the second subtle cold within three months so here we go. Last year I got hit HARD the level of cold was BRUTAL. A day of heavy sneezing, a day of swollen throat and the effects lasted well past a month.
This year both of these colds felt and feel almost like allergy attacks but I know they are not. I would like to believe that my improved diet of less high fructose corn syrup, less dairy and less wheat contributed to my less intense symptoms. It is clear however that the absence of mucus causing stuff has been a good thing for me.
The first cold started with a sore throat. This current one started with sneezing. Both are going through a subtle cold cycle.
However WORKING THROUGH A COLD I find that you have to surrender a bit to the inactivity and lack of sharpness in order to embrace the moments of activity, like the one thats allowing me to write now.
I found that during the initial COLD SYMPTOM HIT I felt quite out of it no matter how much I tried it took me quite a long time to do anything. So I watched some stuff online with a sporadic task. That and I was still in DENIAL over having a cold so I kept fighting the feeling.
I this second day I found myself doing some physical tasks slowly but not any higher functions until this evening.
ZINC WORKS- While have read and written about the research of ZINC, and it looks good if you start it right away.
WHAT EAT AND DON'T EAT-What I focus on now more is what not to eat. I try to eat as healthy as possible with no mucus causing CRAP. This now includes again less wheat, dairy, and sugar.
For instance today I had a banana, a nutrition bar, chicken, rice, salmon, potato, etc.
WHAT I TAKE-I know some people don't like to take meds but I DO lol. 12 hour Decongestant, Ibuprofen, Sugar Free Cough Drops.
On a more alternative note I do Emergenc-C, Netti Pot and I normally do a b-12/energy type thing in general. Currently taking NRG, Diet Rockstar, 5 hour.
I also suggest finding a way to stretch, find a way to relax and breathe deeply at times. Warm Compress on the sinus etc.
Colds have a tendency to tighten up muscle groups with all the sneezing and coughing. I realized this last go round that a lot of my STIFFNESS post cold is coming from inactivity vs. symptoms.
I'm sure we all have our COLD REGIMENS and again on a final note this is what I do. It is not necessarily a recommendation as I am not a doctor lol.
Let me know how you've gotten smarter or dumber with the way you treat your colds.
DAY 2 of this cold and I guess BLOGGING is now part of my formula.