Life At Slow-Mo

We have been on work from home mode for 5 weeks now. One thing I really enjoy about this situation is not having to start very early from home. I would have to start at 6.45 to arrive at work around 7.30. While working from home, 6.45 is the latest time for me to shower and at 7.30 I am already at the dining table enjoying my egg and coffee and my laptop while waiting for the daily 8.00 morning briefing on Zoom.

For me, it is bliss. Not having to fight traffic every morning and afternoon, being able to work simply in a shirt and a pair of shorts, not worrying about shaving nor to keeping my hair in place, I could go on with all the things that I love in this situation.  

But to be honest, this isn’t entirely the out of office work that I imagined.

I dreamed about having the choice of place to work. I saw myself in a coffeeshop, sitting in a quiet corner by the window, wearing my stone bleached jeans, faded t-shirt and old pair of Asics shoes, with my laptop on the table. I saw myself typing my time away, stopping every now and then to sip my handcrafted coffee and people watch. There was soft music playing in the background, chatters of other customers filling the void, and aroma of fresh brewing java in the air. 

There was no pandemic situation, let alone social distancing, in my dreams. There was no social restriction that would prevent people from going about their normal lives. There was no law that curbs businesses from operating as usual. There was no mandate that bans coffeeshops from taking dine-in customers. 

Yes, it is not as perfect as how I imagined it would be. Instead of being able to work hopping from one café to another, changing the scenery as much as I wanted, I am stuck to work in one place, from morning until evening, day in, day out. Not just on work days, I am home even on weekends. 

I can go on complaining about things that are beyond my control that ruin my ideal of how my work should be. Luckily, there are things that I can control. 

For a few weeks I had been working from the dining table on the ground floor. It was so hot even a full blowing fan could not help. I started to get itchy all over my body from the heat, and my arms and legs are scarred from the non-stop scratching. 

We have no children of our own, but my wife’s sister and her husband and two kids are living with us. Although having toddlers around makes the house feel more homey and lively, they could not help being kids and every so often throw tantrums. It is difficult to concentrate with all the ruckus, and even more difficult to have an online meeting. 

My bedroom upstairs is quiet and it has AC and a desk in it. I bought the desk with the intention of using it when I need to bring work home and to blog. But the only Wi-Fi connection at home was only available downstairs. That was why I chose to work downstairs and rarely used the desk. It fell into misuse as a dropping place for non-work related items like medicines, books, boxes, combs, hair straightening iron (that’s my wife’s), shampoo, hair dryer, belts, ties, lotion, papers and so on.  

I decided to take control and to make my stuck at home situation less miserable. I need to work in a more suitable place where I could concentrate and feel less itchy. My objectives were: 

1. Get a stable internet connection in the bedroom
2. Make my desk more work-friendly

I asked my friends about adding a Wi-Fi router. A friend shared his success extending his Wi-Fi from his bedroom to the living room on the ground floor. He said that he fixed an RJ45 cable from his existing router in his bedroom, out the window, down the wall outside, and back inside the house into the new router. Or I could buy a more powerful router that could broadcast its signal through the concrete floor. 

Okay, that sounded like a lot of work and too technical for a bookworm like me. I like easy way to do stuff. I searched the internet and found a simpler alternative called powerline network extender. It works by sending signal from one adapter to another through the electrical wiring. I ordered one set online, set it up, and voila! Instant internet connection in my bedroom.

Next, my desk. This took a little work and some determination. I spent two hours clearing the desk. I put away the medicines, the hair straightening iron, the belts in their rightful places.  I cleared the drawer to make room for storing my wireless keyboards when they are not in use. The new standard is when I am not working on it, there should be nothing on it except for the books that I keep on it.

Now I am happier. Although I do not have the luxury of working from places outside of home, I now have options of working from my desk or from the dining table. I have a place where I can be alone with my work with less distraction. As a bonus, my desk is right by the window where I can see outside, which helps me feel less confined. 

I took a photo of my desk and posted it on Instagram. Yes, I am proud of my new workstation. More than that, I am pleased that I decided to do something to make things better for myself.