Dealing with illness and work is something that's important for everybody but I think it's something contractors (or other non-salary workers) need to be especi

Dealing with illness and work is something that's important for everybody but I think it's something contractors (or other non-salary workers) need to be especially cognizant of. I've been contracting for the last 13 years. I've had a few occasions where I feel I "worked through" a period of illness too enthusiastically and ended up making myself feel worse and lengthening the illness. Knowing that you need to bill, and therefore need to work, is tough to balance against stopping work to get better. It's been a tough lesson for me, but I try very hard to slow down or even stop work when I'm sick. On the last occasion I really tried to "power through" an illness (with a persistent bad cough and even more persistent sore throat) I started thinking about Jim Henson's death. That made me slow down. Nothing is worth that.