1 year 6 months.
If you were an NSF, right now you would be thinking about your ORD…
But that’s how long the world has been living with this pandemic situation.
In fact, our own prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is telling us to plan for a world where Covid-19 is a part of our lives.
I’ve been through the SARs pandemic when I was still a secondary school student… and the H1N1 swine flu virus when I was serving my national service… H1N1 we survived! (yeah terrible slogan, but I got the tee-shirt from my camp)
Both times… they lasted for a few months… then we were back to normal.
This time… it’s a global pandemic with no end in sight.
The Covid Repercussion
The thing is…
This whole virus situation has transform our entire modus operandi…
Work from home (WFH) is now a standard practice as companies are forced to send their workers home.
Some people love this idea… others hate it.
More specifically… the employees love it while their employers are constantly wondering whether their staff are lazing around or sleeping during office hours.
In fact, the Straits Times reported that 8 in 10 prefer working from home. And as someone who has almost always been working from home… I can understand the appeal.
There’s no travelling time… you don’t have to wake up earlier…parents don’t have to rush to their children’s schools… the family is closer together…
In a way… it’s an introvert’s dream come true.
But on the flip side… the social gatherings have taken a huge hit… and that’s a major bummer.
Not to mention…
Singapore being the warm, humid country we live in… makes the afternoons a living hell for anyone without a good air-conditioning unit.
On top of that… children running around the house exhausting their lung capacity does make video conferencing difficult.
With that said… here are some ways to make this Covid endemic and working from home much more bearable…
Snacking… Drinking… Or Any of Your Preferred Vices
Well… to start with… what your employer doesn’t know won’t hurt them.
So, that means you can snack as much as you want.
Feel like having an ice cold beer to quench your throat after a couple of hours sweating by your laptop? (yeah, who knew that was possible?)
Then go ahead.
Or you can go even more extreme…
Right now, durian season is back… that means everyone’s favourite heaty and unhealthy king of the fruit is back on the menu.
And since the bulk majority of us have lost the skills of picking and opening our own durians… just go with durian delivery services… freshly packed durians delivered to your doorstep.
Ordering is simple on most of these websites today…
- You check their online durian menu and pick the durians you love
- Select your preferred package weight
- Add your selection to the cart
- And just checkout
It’s no difference from any ecommerce store or online shop.
Most sites provide same day delivery… provided you complete your order before a cut-off time.
Personally, I like duriansellersingapore.com as it is simple and intuitive to use… plus the store owner is friendly and nice to talk to.
But you can choose your preferred stall… most of them actually get their durians from the same source… although from what I’ve learnt…
Their relationship with the supplier plays a large role in determining the quality of their durians.
Block Out the Sun and Stay “Cooler”
But there’s only so many vices we can engage in…
Not to mention that we shouldn’t be running our health to the ground eating and drinking…
After all, there’s only so much our stomach and liver can take.
Not to forget… there’s still the heat issue of working from home.
I do know of some people who leave their air-con running 24/7. And another group who refuses to switch it on to save electricity and the environment. (At least, that’s what they tell me – definitely not because they’re cheap)
For both of these groups… there’s a simple solution…
Add a good piece of solar window film that not just reflects the sun’s harmful UV rays… but also retains a room’s “coolness”…
While the market predominantly uses German and American grade of films… with China’s rapid industrialisation and technological improvements…
There are plenty of much more affordable solutions today.
The team at Resolvio is one such supplier as they carry a wide range of window films from what I understand after a chat with them.
The most popular brand they carry is the 3M window films which everyone knows have a large range of different household products.
But they also have other nano-ceramic films that leverages on the latest technology to block out heat for all apartment and housing types.
My room’s windows are benefitting from this… that’s how I can survive working from home for such a long time now.
Netflix, Youtube… and My Favourite… Spotify
Here’s another personal recommendation…
The employer’s biggest fear can oftentimes be true…
Working from home requires discipline. A huge… HUGEEEE… amount of discipline.
All it takes is just one “5-min” break where you’re surfing Facebook… you see a friend sharing a cute video of a puppy… or perhaps a scene from a drama series…
And that got you wondering what happened in that show… so you turn on Netflix or Youtube to “watch an episode”… and before you know it…
Several hours have passed.
Personally… I prefer to use Spotify when I’m working… since I’ve already gotten the premium package might as well make use of it right?
Just create a “hyped-up” playlist… hit the play button and it will force you to start moving.
(Unfortunately, I don’t get any affiliate commission for promoting them but I do love listening to music so a premium account is worth it for me.)
You could possibly create the same effect with Youtube… but there will be the ads every now and then.
Either way works… it depends on your preference.
Make Working from Home and This Endemic Bearable. Nay, Enjoyable.
Whether you’re an introvert or an extravert…
Working from home can be enjoyable.
No doubt there are its pros and cons… but this pandemic is becoming an endemic.
There’s nothing anyone of us can do about making it go away… other than staying at home, masking up, reduce social gatherings…
But at least, we can make it more enjoyable.
Good food… good drinks… cooler home temperature… work-hard music…
These are some of my personal recommendations. Perhaps you have your suggestions… do comment and let me know.
Together we can fight this pandemic and live in the new normal.
I’ve shared my thoughts… you can do it too.
… Unless you have small kids in the house… in that case… you’re doomed!
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