At 10 PM on 16 March 2020, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin made a televised speech and officially promulgated the movement control order (“MCO”) starting from March 18 to 31 under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Police Act 1967. – The Star
Malaysia has been on a restricted movement control order since last week due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Individuals like me were told to stay home for 2 weeks, and non-essential service businesses were also told to do the same.
So far, I’ve only gone out of the house once, and that was for groceries at Village Grocer. The Village Grocer that I went to was surprisingly crowded (I went on a weekday after lunch), and the shelves for canned food and biscuits were almost all cleared out.
Most of my friends are complaining about being cooped up at home for two whole weeks. But the introverted me is happy… I’ve been enjoying working from home so far. I guess extroverts can finally understand what introverts mean when they prefer not to go out and socialise.
Workwise, I find that I get more things done when I work from home. Sure, there are downsides to working from home, but as for now I still prefer the latter.
Upsides:
- Saving commute time to and fro from work -> more time for quality sleep!
- Ditching the hot and uncomfortable formal wear -> and time saved from washing and ironing them too!
- Getting more things done that otherwise could only be done during the weekend (spring cleaning, reading, washing bedsheets, blankets, curtains, etc.).
Downsides:
- Conference calls – some conversations are better done face to face.
- Knowing when to switch off – without the separation of going to and fro from a physical office, you’re now instead always connected or just a con-call away (I had a con-call at 10PM recently – like what?).
- Limited food options and more expensive too (as I don’t cook much!).
- More distractions – it’s your lair, your comfort zone. The comfy bed is just a step away; snacks galore; Netflix just a click away, etc.
- Lesser movement – I have been clocking lesser steps, and not closing my rings on my watch. It’s easer to forget to take a break when working from home. It takes discipline to get up and stretch, which you’d otherwise do normally when you are at the office.
- Can’t get a haircut (oddly enough these aren’t essential services).
As we navigate into the final week of the MCO (if there aren’t any extensions), please remember to stay safe, protect your health and practice good hygiene.
One Response
Hope you’re doing well! I feel you on the distraction thing – the only available workspace in my house is literally two steps away from my bed, so it’s been difficult not to roll around on it when I get up for water, and then I don’t want to leave the bed anymore lol.
What I do is try to follow a routine and stick to it so I make sure I get some exercise in the evening. Even walking on the spot following Youtube videos helps. Keep safe and healthy!