Typically, when you get yourself a regular 9-to-5 job, you’re provided with a certain number of paid sick days. After all, we’re all allowed to fall under the weather from time to time, and we shouldn’t have to suffer financially because of it. Based on Michael Moore’s SiCKO, people in other countries can sometimes get even better treatment. Unfortunately, despite all the advantages of being a dot com entrepreneur, sick days are perhaps one of its biggest pitfalls.

I just came back from the doctor’s office a couple hours ago, telling him about this nagging cough that has been bothering me for the past few days. He very quickly determined that it’s bronchitis and it should be cleared up with a few days of antibiotics. I’m feeling a little more tired than usual and my mind isn’t quite functioning the way it should be too. If I had myself a regular job, I probably would have called in sick today. This would especially be true if I was in some sort of customer service environment, because I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want me to hack up a lung in front of a customer. Imagine if I was in food service!

By taking the route of being a self-employed freelance writer, balancing the projects of several clients simultaneously, it can be difficult for me to take a day off unexpectedly. Contrast this to when I can plan for a few days off, as was the case with my Mexican cruise. When I can plan for it, I can put in a few extra hours beforehand and make it appear like I never left. A blog time stamp is excellent for this purpose. Unfortunately, I can’t exactly plan on when I’ll contract some bronchitis.

More than anything, this discussion emphasizes the importance of passive and residual income. This is something that I need to work on, because it would be nice to know that even if I did nothing one day, I’d still make a little chunk of change to keep me afloat. I get some random advertising money on this blog, but it’s far from being any sort of sustainable income. Maybe it’s time I set up a website that runs itself.