How to survive a conference when you’re ill

How I would have otherwise spent the weekend

​This isn’t the blog post I thought I’d be writing after attending the annual conference of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, but fate had other ideas. Having said that, I think I’d known for a while that I would more than likely be ill. The conference took place two weeks after my son started back to school, and I just knew he’d be riddled with all kinds of fresh germs.

Sure enough, the evening before the conference began, the sore throat and blocked nose made their appearance. The next morning it was even worse, with my throat feeling as if I’d swallowed razor blades. Paracetamol wasn’t touching it. I needed a plan if I was going to survive the weekend. Here’s a summary of what I did to help me get through it and make the most of it all, and I hope it helps others plan for this eventuality.
 

1. Allow plenty of time for your journey so you don’t have to rush.
2. Stock up on essential medication on the way.
3. There won’t be much time to rest during the daytime, but try to do so as much as possible in between meetings, lectures, workshops, sessions, meals and other social gatherings.
4. Get an early night. Yes, it’s great to finally have an opportunity to socialise with colleagues you usually only interact with online, and it’s particularly tempting to stay up late if the wine is flowing, but in order to survive the full day ahead, a good night’s sleep is a must.
5. Take plenty of notes. Your concentration and memory aren’t likely to be on top form, so by taking notes at least you’ll have something to look back over when you’re feeling better.

 
Luckily, I had already planned a relatively quiet week after the conference, as I knew that I'd be exhausted, cold or no cold – a lot of us editorial folk tend to be introverts and, as much as we enjoy each other’s company, getting to know and learning from one another, 48 hours of almost constant stimulation is too much for most of us, and we need time to retreat and recover, also, time to absorb and perhaps begin to apply what we have learned.

Even if you are fighting fit at the conference, you may well go home with unwanted germs, as several of my colleagues have done (I’m so sorry to any who caught them from me!) and so for all these reasons it’s best to have no work booked in for this week, if at all possible.
 
In spite of feeling rough throughout the conference, I did enjoy it very much and learned a lot. However, I’m really looking forward to going to a conference when I am 100% because it’s bound to be even better! So, fingers crossed for next time!