Earlier this year, I was sick for two weeks. Unfortunately, I’ve had asthma since I was a kid. So when a respiratory illness hits, I tend to cough and suffer longer than the average person.

During COVID, my asthma flared up more often, likely due to the stress of having a baby during a pandemic.

It’s the type of breathing where you’re annoyingly conscious of every breath. You can never quite fill your lungs to 100%. In my case, it felt more like 75%.

On Wednesday, August 12, still sick, I decided to keep a previously scheduled consulting call with an FS reader. I had booked it assuming I’d be better by then. I wasn’t.

By the end of our 1 hour, 15 minute session, where I spent about 80% of the time talking, I was wiped out. My energy had dropped to maybe 30%. When you’re talking nonstop, you’re not breathing deeply or regularly.…