This week mornings are feeling very difficult. I don’t know whether it’s because I’m still paying for overdoing it at the weekend, or the meds are beginning to have an effect.

I wake at nearly 7am, but I feel almost like I’m hungover and shaky and my heart goes bananas when I sit up or try to stand – it pounds wildly, leaving me shaky.

I had to get up to sort the dog out – the poor darling was busting for a pee! A decaffe coffee and breakfast helped, but it was half-ten by the time I’d showered and brushed my teeth.

I started up the work laptop and apologised to the team for not attending standup. I planned to watch some more videos and prepare a presentation on new C# features for the development team.

I’d learnt that my boss’s boss was leaving, and he is a lovely fellow who had had a very positive impact on the project, so I messaged him to say that I was very sorry to hear that he is leaving.

He thanked me and then asked me why I was online. I said that I was going to watch a few videos and so forth. In his lovely way, he kindly asked me what kind of example was I setting for my team? They might think that they were expected to work when they were sick.

Good point, well presented!

It kind of marries to something I say to my brother about his own self-care as an example for his kids: they learn by example. I’m not saying that my team are like kids, but I do have a duty of care – and part of that is the example I set.

So I logged off, felt good about it – and took the nap I needed.