Blog: Top Five Things to Do When You’re Sick

As a senior, I’ve been, um, ill more days than in past years. I’ve found there is a sort of art to the sick day. If you’re not doubled over, barfing into a plastic Tupperware, sick days should be used carefully. So, if you find yourself, um, ill  with nothing to do, here are a few activities to consider.

5) Watch the District Channel
Channel 2 is something of an enigma. Most of the time, different slides fade in and out with random facts about SMSD, but occasionally you’ll find a real jewel. Every so often they replay old graduation ceremonies, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll get to see a Categories episode. Once I flipped to the district channel and a video on International Baccalaureate was playing, which was super exciting because there was a brief clip of me. So, if you’re missing school, it might be beneficial to get some Shawnee Mission time in your day.

4) Take a nap
Yeah, if you’re home sick you probably slept late anyway, but if you’re feeling even a little bit sleepy, get in your bed for an hour or two. Waking up from a nap is the best—it’s like I have this endless amount of energy, waiting to be used. A nap will probably cure your headache or fever, and even if you’re not actually feeling that bad, naps just help you feel that much better. You also get crazy dreams during naps. One time, I dreamt I was on a search for the perfect waffle. Then I turned into an iguana.

3) Load up your Netflix Instant Queue
If you’re lucky enough to have Netflix, there are some pretty great things that you can view instantly, but sometimes they’re hard to find. Log onto Netflix on a computer and spend a few minutes rating movies. Then, go to the page dedicated exclusively to instant-watch movies. Now, you have a whole list of so-crappy-they’re-good films at your fingertips. If you don’t want to spend that much time, Netflix recently uploaded a bunch of Disney Channel Original Movies, so those are always a good bet.

2) Do some homework
This may seem to go against the point of taking a sick day, but having whole day to catch up on projects is really helpful. I would suggest ignoring the daily work and going straight to the long-term assignments you’ll probably put off until the night before. This is also a really good time to finish college and scholarship apps.

1) Finish up things you need to finish up
Does your camera have photos from the seventh grade? Is your computer filled with old files you don’t need any more? Does your room smell like a toilet? Sick days are the time to finish those things you can’t get done because of homework, or because you’re procrastinating on homework. A school day is 7 hours, which is plenty of time to devote to those second-tier activities. Also, you probably don’t want to follow my first four tips if you want to be really productive.