Listen to your body
Friday, May 4th, 2007Dead after 8 hours on laptop
“I’ve got myself sick these few days. Had diarrhoea last Thursday (19 Apr), hurt my knee and was limping badly since last Sunday (15 Apr), had breathlessness since Wednesday (18 Apr) and fainted after work on that day at my office lift lobby, knocked my head against the wall when I fainted, collapsed again last night at home.”
Her family members said that when she tried to stand up, the blood clot actually shot to her heart causing her to collapse.
Deep vein thrombosis refers to the formation of a blood clot within a deep vein, commonly in the thigh or calf.
Some risk factors include being over 60 years old, overweight and being inactive for a long period of time.
-AsiaOne Digital
It really struck a cord within me. My friend sent me this article moments ago when i was still rushing deadline while building a mountain of Kleenex trying to stop my nose waterfalls and throatcanic eruptions. I couldn’t believe it. It sounds almost exactly like me. Only child, working hard to earn vitamin M to go on vacation. It could have been me. It could have been any of us.
I still remember the week leading up to Christmas last year, i was rushing deadlines and attending x’mas dinners, i didn’t slept a wink for 38 hours. I shudder to even recall.
8 hours straight on the computer is pretty much a day to day thing for most of us. And many times we try to push that boundary, just because we think we can. Expecially for those working from home. It’s easy to stretch the work time coz we don’t have an “official” office hour. Wanna kill that last few bugs, wanna tweak that design a few more times just to make it perfect, wanna finish a few more lines of code to feel more acomplished, wanna pick up that client phone call in the middle of the night, wanna take in a few more to the already countless projects just coz you think you can handle it even if it means die trying. Don’t we all do that sometimes? if not, all the time? 
To my dear designer and programmer friends, and to all workaholics (including myself), please give youself a break NOW! Stand up, go have a cuppa tea or play with your poor little puppy whose sulking in one corner of your room, or go to the bathroom if you have been holding your bladder (lol!). Please listen to your body, and try not to pull an all nighter if possible. Rest well if you are sick and try not to think about work. Take a break if you are feeling tired. You can work hard but take ample amount of breaks in between work. It’s really simple and logical advice that your body are giving you. All you have to do is to take the advice and do something about it. Listen to your body or you may regret it.
