Send us Fan Mail

Let's be honest — have you ever fantasized about calling in sick? Not because you're actually sick, but because it feels like the only way to justify taking a break? Maybe you picture finally cleaning out that closet, taking a nap in the middle of the day, or just... breathing. If that fantasy has ever crossed your mind, this episode is for you.

Because here's the thing: most of us are terrible at sick days — whether we're fantasizing about them or actually having one.

In this episode, I'm coming to you with a slightly squeaky voice (yes, I got sick too) and some real talk about what we do wrong when illness forces us to slow down — and what we need to do differently.

What we cover:

The Don'ts — things we need to stop doing when we're sick:

• Stop misreading your capacity. We already run at 150% on a normal day, operating on less sleep, less fuel, and less self-care than we should. When we get sick and drop down to 80%, we think that's practically normal. It's not. When you're sick, you are genuinely depleted — and pushing through makes it worse and longer.
• Stop expecting a hall pass without asking for one. If you show up to work or to your household looking "mostly fine," people will expect everything from you that they always do. You have to be explicit about what you can and can't do — or better yet, take yourself offline entirely.
• Stop confusing appropriate rest with laziness. Lying on the couch watching TV when you're sick is not a moral failing. It is literally the correct treatment. Your brain will tell you otherwise. Don't listen to it.

The Do's — what we should actually do:

• Delegate. Ask for help. Whether that's your partner, your kids, your staff, or your neighbors — people can and will step up, but you have to ask and be clear.
• Rest. For real. Sleep more. Nap in the middle of the morning if you need to. Stop pushing.
• Knock off the low-lift, naggy tasks you can do horizontally — the overdue multiple-choice CME questions, that one thing on your to-do list with a soft deadline. Keep it low-stress and low-brain.
• Get cozy. Fuzzy socks. Warm tea. A blanket. You've spent enough time in cold operating rooms and stiff scrubs. Lean into comfort.
• Let go of the guilt. You can be sick with guilt, or you can be sick without guilt. Either way, you're sick. Choose without.

The systems we work in were not designed with our humanity in mind — but that doesn't mean we have to internalize that. We have human bodies. We get sick. We are allowed to rest.

If you've been fantasizing about a sick day, that's a sign you need a real break — and that's something we can work on together.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

Send us Fan Mail

What's your number one work fantasy?

For so many of us, it's walking out the door and never looking back. But what does it actually look like to quit — not in the dramatic, table-flipping way we imagine, but in the real, messy, meaningful way? This week, we're getting into it, because it's my five-year quitversary, and I'm taking you behind the scenes of how I left the job I thought I always wanted.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why I stayed in a job I wanted to leave for nearly five years — and what finally broke me open
• The moment a stranger's "how are you?" made me burst into tears and changed everything
• The very deliberate steps I took before I ever sent that resignation letter (including a $20,000 reason to wait one more week)
• What "quiet quitting" can actually mean in a healthy, empowering way — even if you're not ready to leave
• Why our employers benefit when we keep believing we're not good enough
• What life has looked like on the other side: the coaching certification, this podcast, the expert witness work, the poorly-paid sabbatical — all of it
• The real thing we're leaving behind when we quit: not just a job, but a set of thoughts and beliefs we've been carrying way too long

This isn't a "burn it down" episode. It's an honest look at what it takes to choose yourself — and what's waiting for you when you do.

Next week: We're continuing the conversation with lessons learned from the other side of quitting. You don't want to miss it.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD

Send a text

There's a kind of tired that drains you to the bone — and then there's a kind of tired that feels almost like a gift.

In this episode, I'm coming to you fresh off a red-eye from our twice-yearly EntreMD Business School conference, messy hair and all. I'm exhausted. And I'm more energized than I've been in a long time. And I want to talk about what it means that both of those things can be true at the same time — because for so many of us, we've forgotten that they can.

What we talk about in this episode:

When did you last feel excited tired — the kind where your mind is buzzing with possibility, not dread? Where you stayed up too late not because you were charting or on call, but because the conversation was just too good to end?

We're so accustomed to the other kind of tired. The chronic, grinding fatigue of long hours, late nights charting, replaying difficult patient interactions, being paged in the middle of the night. We've been trained to normalize it, to push through it, to tell ourselves we're fine.

But here's the truth: when we ritualize that kind of numbing, we stop being curious. We stop being compassionate. We stop feeling fully human.

This episode is an invitation — a gentle but urgent one — to ask yourself:

• When was the last time you felt both tired and excited?
• If you can't remember, what would need to be true in your life for that to happen?
• What would it look like to intentionally put yourself in spaces that energize you, connect you, and remind you of what's possible?

We don't stumble into those spaces. We have to choose them. And that choosing? That's the work. And while we're very good at hard work, we're also very practiced at avoiding this kind of work — the tuning in, the reflecting, the deciding that something needs to change.

You deserve to feel energized. You deserve connection that lights you up. You deserve a life where the tired you carry sometimes is the good kind.

I'll be back with you next week. Until then — take care of yourself.

Support the show

To learn more about my coaching practice and group offerings, head over to www.healthierforgood.com. I help Physicians and Allied Health Professional women to let go of toxic perfectionist and people-pleasing habits that leave them frustrated and exhausted. If you are ready to learn skills that help you set boundaries and prioritize yourself, without becoming a cynical a-hole, come work with me.

Want to contact me directly?
Email: megan@healthierforgood.com

Follow me on Instagram!
@MeganMeloMD