When you’re living with chronic illnesses, some days you’ll find that it’s just too difficult to get up and go to what most people would consider a traditional job. Recently, I had a very trying flare. I would be up until 3 AM and then somehow need to be able to function at 6:30 to get my daughter ready for school. It was all just too stressful and too much for my body and mind to handle. This would happen too often, and unfortunately, my employers would not understand what living with chronic illness is like. Time after time, this pattern would cause me to lose my job.
That’s why about seven years ago I started marketing online. I did different things. I did affiliate marketing, where you will promote someone else’s product for a commission. I did advertising and had an advertising company where I helped small businesses advertise online. About 4 years ago is when I started with the Unchargeables community and began making the T-shirts and other products. I really LOVE this work, but unfortunately, it doesn’t pay my bills completely, so I’ve had to come up with other sources of income.
Survival Mode
Chronic illness has a way of turning your entire world upside down. It can often render people unable to do things they once were and force us to make very difficult choices. For many of us, it becomes impossible to continue to hold a full-time job, if we are able to work at all. This can greatly add to the day to day stress we feel in the overall struggle to survive. For many of us, not working at all is simply not an option, particularly as we endure the long and painstaking process of applying for disability benefits, which can often lead to rejection and reapplying. The process can take years. So what can someone with chronic illnesses do in the meantime to survive?
Time for a New Plan
Working from home is optimal for people with chronic illnesses who still need to work as it often can provide for a flexible schedule and work environment and eliminates an often long and stressful commute. As the founder of the Unchargeables, my main source of income come from the associated shop. Obviously, this is not an option for most people, but you can take the concept and apply it to your own skills. If you’re crafty, you can create a product or craft and open up your own shop on venues like Etsy or Amazon. A big help for me in my business is Clickfunnel, a software which helps structure and manage online businesses. This would allow you to use your skills at your own pace and bring in some income.
Harness Your Skills
Another source of income that I’ve come to rely on is that I’m a freelance translator. I have started doing this in the past year to help supplement my income. It allows me to work from home and at my own pace. I have also taken consultation jobs using this skill. Whether it’s translation or something else, find a skill you possess and offer you services as a consultant. Perhaps you had to leave a full-time job due to your illness. Find a way to harness the skills you used and offer them for consultation. For example, if you were a teacher, tutor or write lesson plans. If you worked with computers, offer technical support. Almost any career has a skill that you can offer to provide consultation for if you break it down into its elements.
Sell Yourself!
When you’re chronically ill, you’ll find much of your life is spent in survival mode. It becomes so important to minimize physical, mental, and emotional stress, which are inherent with many traditional jobs. Just as you devise creative strategies for things like self-care and completing daily tasks, it becomes necessary to be creative to earn an income. Sell yourself! You are a valuable commodity with a lot to offer, even if it’s not how you originally planned.
Share this:
