7 small adjustments I make to my workday to accommodate my body

Now that I've stopped pretending my body can work like it used to

For to Be a Farmer’s Boy, Winslow Homer, 1887

My body can’t work how it used to.

My body can’t do a lot of things the way it used to.

In the “before times” —before my severe POTS, before 2023— I engaged in a lot of performing wellness. Of pushing through even when it felt like my head was being compressed by a tractor and my joints were throbbing. Of managing 1-2 week crashes after said pushing through and then being a little cheeky and not changing my behavior because that would require admitting something was wrong with my body and that it had limitations.

All I wanted was to prove that I could keep up. That my illness didn’t impact me. That my body was like my peers’.

Becoming majority bedbound in 2023 was the slap-in-the-face realization that I needed as a Type A overachiever. A wake-up call to the reality that something needed to change in the way I related to my body.

But if I'm honest, the signs were there much earlier. In the moments I knew I should rest but convinced myself I was overreacting and should keep going. In the accommodations I didn't ask for but knew I needed. In the grief I locked up in Rapunzel's tower, waiting for my prince charming (better health) before letting down my hair (processing and moving through it).

This isn’t just my story. It’s the story of my 1:1 clients, and the people who have come through Believe Your Body. Chronic illness typically shows us signs of what we need to change before we are fluent in the language needed to understand them. For many people with chronic conditions, a life-altering moment, diagnosis, or change in ability is what it takes to take the body's signals seriously.

Maybe you relate.

Work has shifted

As a first year PhD student, I would wake up at 7am, work for a couple of hours at home, and then head to campus for a full day of class, research, and clinical work. In the early evening maybe I'd go to the gym, make dinner, do more work for 2 hours, and then go to a friend's place to socialize.

I can’t believe my body could do that. On a regular basis.

That is no longer my reality. And even though I have made big strides in my recovery process, I’ve still had to come to terms with the fact that illness changed the life I thought I would have. These days, I try to connect to what my body needs NOW, not what it used to be able to do.

Now, I can work full days from home. I can socialize with the right preparation. Long walks are back in my life, but the gym isn’t just yet. Proactive adjustments are a requirement for my success. And in the process of finding the right adjustments for myself, I have built trust and understanding in my body that is more valuable than any of the protocols or quick fixes I have tried or been tempted to try along the way.

7 small adjustments I make to my workday

That trust is what has allowed me to accommodate myself. So here are 7 small adjustments I make to my workday as a chronically ill entrepreneur, now that I've stopped pretending my body can work like it used to. Permission to take what’s useful, and leave the rest.

1. Build in buffers. I always build in at least a 15-minute buffer (ideally 30 mins) between meetings or coaching sessions. Even if I’m convinced I’ll be fine, I take the proactive step to set myself up for success as I’m building my schedule.

2. Mix task types. I mix task types throughout the day to work with different energies: cognitive, social, physical, creative. For example, meetings take social energy. Writing is high creative energy. Chores are physical energy. Business admin is heavy cognitive energy. Mixing them keeps me from overdoing it and crashing.

3. Work from bed. I work from bed on flare days. And I don’t feel bad about it! Sorry not sorry.

4. Manage screen time. I’m very sensitive to screens, but of course my work means I need to be on one a lot. So I keep tabs on it. I switch video meetings to phone calls when I need less screen time. Or I jot down notes on paper when I want to brainstorm but need a break from the computer.

5. Breaks as a given. I take breaks to walk, eat, do chores, or be creative throughout the day to regulate my nervous system and reduce screen fatigue. Do it. Even when you don’t think you need one, that’s the best time for a break.

6. Appointment decompression time. I build time into my schedule to decompress after medical appointments and procedures. Always. If I feel A OKAY after an appointment, then I take the time to do something nice for myself (a walk in the park, a funny TV show). I try not to skip the decompression time because I know how taxing appointments can be physically and mentally.

7. Notice weekly wins. Each week I have a calendar task that says “Weekly Business Wins.” This is where I take the time to really get into the nitty gritty of everything I accomplished that week. It can be easy to convince myself sometimes that in between the appointments and the breaks I’m not being that productive. But when I list everything out, it becomes very clear that I have been. Plus, appointments and breaks are very productive.

There’s so much pressure

I hope the examples of how I accommodate myself will be helpful for you—whether you are currently working or not. Because they apply not only to career work but also to chores, medical admin, taking care of kids, you name it.

There is so much noise about what bodies should be able to do and accomplish. That noise makes it genuinely difficult to tune into the right cadence for your own body—given your own conditions, your own reality, your own particular body.

YOU are the one who knows best what works for you. At the end of the day, that's what matters as you adjust to a life that looks different than it used to.

What's one thing your body has been asking for that you've been ignoring? Are you ready to make the adjustment? I’d love to know.

Sending lots of love for joy and healing always <3,

Dr. Talia

P.s. 🌻 If you’re ready to tune into what your body needs now, not what it used to be able to do, my course Believe Your Body could be a great fit for you. Join the waitlist before June 25 for 50% off.

More ways to connect with me:

🌻 1:1 Coaching — A space to be supported in moving from fixing yourself toward acceptance, self-trust, and body safety while living with chronic illness.

🌻 My guide, “What I Wish Your Therapist Knew About Chronic Illness” — A resource for purchase that bridges lived experience and clinical care.

Interested in using your lived experience to advise health tech companies?

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Some previous posts you may enjoy:

Chronic illness makes you face your changing self; 5 things that are really difficult without self-trust when you’re chronically ill; Ask Dr. Talia #4: How do I manage illness while working?