Q: When is a sick day not a day off?

A: When you work from home!

[insert laugh track]

Seriously, though, I have to be pretty ill to not work at all. As in, I'm-going-to-puke-on-my-computer or I'm-cross-eyed-from-medication kind of ill. Otherwise, it just doesn't seem quite honest. After all, how much trouble is it to bring my laptop to bed with me?

I woke up today feeling a little under the weather. As a result, I've been moving a little slow all day. I'm disappointed because I had a lot of plans for today, and now I may not get to anything that doesn't involve curling up on the couch with my computer.

I'd love to hear from other freelancers. How do you handle it when you aren't feeling well? Do you let your clients know and take the day off, or do you suck it up and keep working? And if you usually do the latter, what is your breaking point — how bad does it have to be in order for you to take a sick day?