sick day preparation check list ;)

I FINALLY started watching Abbott Elementary.

I CANNOT believe it took me this long to get into this show.

It's funny. It's wholesome. It's the exact kind of easy-to-consume show for when my brain is fried at the end of a long work day.

I just watched the episode where superstar overachiever teacher Janine calls out sick for the very first time EVER.

Leaving absolute DIVA / absent-minded principal Ava to cover her class for the day.

Hilarity ensues.

And under all the comedy, the whole episode is secretly a love letter to systems 🥰

Okay, so here's what happened:

Janine never planned to call in sick. Ever. EVER. But she still built a sub binder anyway, because she's a person who thinks ahead.

And that binder is a masterclass on what good documentation actually looks like.

Three things she nailed:

1️⃣ The binder has MIXED forms of instructions - written AND a DVD!

Janine knew that different people learn differently. And she had no idea who'd be subbing for her. So she made sure the visual learners AND the "just tell me with words" learners were covered.

Just like YOU don't know who's going to be on your team six months from now. A solid SOP has a visual component AND a written one. Not a wall of text in a Google Doc no one ever opens.

2️⃣ Janine documented the stuff that felt "obvious."

Ava scoffed at the very first instructions in the binder. Turn on the lights. Write the date on the board.

And then she immediately realized: she hadn't thought to do either.

Babes, THIS is the one that trips most of us up.

We think our team just KNOWS what's obvious to us.

But what feels obvious to you is a habit you formed years ago.

It is not obvious to a new hire.

It is not obvious to your VA.

It is not obvious to the person covering for someone who's out sick.

3️⃣ Janine created a culture around the binder.

At one point in the school day, Ava gets completely overwhelmed and tries to skip the binder altogether.

Enter: Jeremy - teacher next door - with the most beautiful little speech.

He tells Ava that when HE was a sub, he thought Janine's processes were silly too.

He thought kids could just wait for their real teacher to come back.

But now that he's a teacher himself? He gets it.

Those tiny rituals (like writing the date on the board) are what keep second graders in rhythm. And miss even one day of that rhythm and those kids fall behind. FAST.

Same thing in your business.

Deadlines don't pause because someone's out sick.

Clients don't pause.

Marketing content still needs to go out.

Sales still need to close.

When your team has real systems, processes, checklists, and documentation - they remind each other how to get the work done.

No one's Slacking you at 9pm to figure out the next step.

No one's standing around waiting on you to tell them what to do.

The work gets done at YOUR standard (even on the days you take off).

Janine built her thick binder because she cares deeply for her students.

Building documentation for your business is the exact same love letter:

To your team.

To your clients.

To future-you, who would REALLY like to call in sick one day without the whole operation falling apart.

It's so easy to push documentation to the bottom of the to-do list when you're buried in the day-to-day.

Which is exactly why it's non-negotiable in every single build I do with my clients🥰

If you have a team - or you're about to hire one - and you know in your bones that your business needs a Janine-level binder?

You already know where to find me.