Most companies are pretty flexible about interviewing you if you ask, and also my work hours are flexible where I'm at, in addition to my already being able to

Most companies are pretty flexible about interviewing you if you ask, and also my work hours are flexible where I'm at, in addition to my already being able to work from anywhere at least some of the time (in fact this is near the top of the list of non-negotiable things I look for in a job). I can work around an interview pretty easily, especially because I'm already nearby. I have only had to take vacation to interview one or two times. All the other times I just make it work. But to address your question, I do in fact sometimes "pretend to be sick", because someone very wise once taught me as a young programmer to take "blue flu" days away from the office to help maintain a good work-life balance. I think this alone has been instrumental in preventing burn-out, because I am also at times the kind of person to work hard without any kind of break, which I think can be detrimental. When I mentor, I try to pass this along. You should take blue flu days, too!