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Sometimes you just don’t feel like going to work, so you call in sick.  The feeling might be triggered in the morning as the day begins and you feel so overwhelmed that the thought of spending a day in the office when there are a million things on you personal to do list seems impossible.  But what if you planned one of those days off in advance?

The idea is one that many people I know take part in.  They’re perfectly healthy, rarely sick, but about a week in advance they determine that next week, they will be sick and will take advantage of an extra sick day.

If the thought of being dishonest in this way is apalling, then read no further.  But if you’re interested in some great ways to pre-plan for a “random day off” to recenter, take care of projects in your personal life, and get your life in order, then read on.

Planning for your random day off

For this to work, you have to think ahead and there are some things to consider.  Obviously if your job is on the chopping block or a massive project requires your presence in the office, then you’ll need to reevaluate acting on this concept.  If you do decide this is helpful for you, here are some things to consider:

• Have a good excuse — it doesn’t have to be that you’re sick, but don’t duplicate a recently used excuse or choose a reasonable reason for getting time off in other situations.  For instance, notifying work that you’re taking the day off for doctors appointments is something that you could probably justify on any old day of the week.  Why waste that opportunity here?  The sick day is usually a good excuse.
• Choose the right day of the week — for my friends that have done this, they typically choose Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for several reasons.  Choosing a day in the middle of the week looks less suspicious, as it doesn’t appear you’re trying to extend your weekend.  Not to mention, taking a middle of the week day off breaks up the week.  Also, Fridays are great days to be in the office because the work is slower and with others leaving early and taking it easy, you may be able to easily catch up from your day out of the office.
• Have a plan — if you wake up on your selected day and have no agenda, the day can quickly get away from you.  Knowing exactly how you plan to use that day gives you the ability to plan for your activities.  For instance, if you’re planning a huge decluttering project or implementing GTD at home, there may be some prep work.

There are a few schools of thought to how you approach this day off.  Some may say that it would be wise to tackle all your scheduled projects that you don’t enjoy and have been putting off first, at the front end of the day.  While it would be nice to lounge on the couch for the entire day, if you do, you may feel extreme guilt and stress if you ignored the reasons you took the day off in the first place.  Plus, if you’re efficient and get everything out of the way, you can bask in the glory that is personal free time!

Another way to approach your agenda is to space out the projects throughout the day, giving yourself breaks in between.  Your “fun” breaks can make your day off not only productive, but relaxing when you reward yourself with free time.  You could break up house projects with a jog in the neighborhood, a long bubble bath, or a TV episode saved on your Tivo.

Perhaps the number one thing is to set realistic goals.  This day off is intended to relieve your stress and remove things from your to-do list, not make you feel like you were unproductive.  If you list 10 massive projects on your agenda and get through only two of them, looking at that list at the end of the day can breed frustration.  This is an important time to keep in mind your limits and not over extending yourself.

The possibilities for the day are endless, but keep in mind what your excuse was and have a way to cover your tracks.  If you called in sick, don’t be found by a coworker living it up by the pool or shopping downtown.

Has anyone else taken advantage of this guilty pleasure?!

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