Who would have thought I’ d be stuck not reading a number of articles for this month?

With the time I had for myself, I attended online seminars, some with certificates and some without:

Pro tip: When companies are offering their services for free, take advantage of those offers while they last. Just don’t be rude and feel so entitled when looking for a certificate when it’s for free. But of course, you don’t need me to remind you that, do you?

Now, the articles:

How do you decaffeinate coffee? (BBC)

Coffee keeps my motor running. Without at least two cups of coffee or one huge mug in a day otherwise, I’d be under a thick layer of blanket savoring the comfort of my bed. Reading this article made me think I could probably make better choices when it comes to my caffeine intake. Now that I brew my own coffee, I can probably decaffeinate it by myself! That previous statement is seriously wrong in different levels. Read the article to find out why and this article to find out more.

What we can learn from conspiracy theories? (BBC)

“Successful conspiracies always have the right villain.”

– Zaria Gorvett25th May 2020

Now that time is of abundance for some, they can freely think about their condition and what might have caused it. Overthinking has become a regular activity as people transition to this new normal. With information made available at the tip of our fingers, it is easy to come either to the right or wrong conclusions. Though it is fun watching these theories in Youtube, it is also a bit baffling that anyone can easily fool anybody with the right tool.

The mental hacks that level up your self-control (BBC)

One moment, you get a piece of advice that you have to live your life now and another telling you that you have to have plans for your future. It just really depends on how you put things in perspective and actually live your life.

The benefits isolation can have on your work (BBC)

That meetings are setup to annoy me is the first idea that comes to mind when I have one, particularly if it is with a large group of people, scheduled at 6pm but starting at 6:30pm. I’m not saying that working from home has made it better because Zoom meetings also take about the same amount of time, but it does prevent me from getting into trouble when colleagues don’t see my forehead screaming of boredom – yes, what an imagery.

This article focuses on advantages real people working in isolation have provided in their interviews including a boost in problem solving skills, idea generation, creativity and general productivity. When chitchat is minimized to burst of good communication to resolve issues, then teams can spend their effort and energy on actual work.

Extreme night owls: ‘I can’t tell anyone what time I go to bed.’ (The Guardian)

This perhaps is my favorite article this month as it encapsulates my struggles as a night owl. Though the greatest struggle highlighted in the article is the stigma night owls receive from their colleagues, being identified as ‘lazy for not getting to work on time, or early,’ what I struggle with the most perhaps is the constant reminder that I have to sleep on time because I can’t identify with what’s on time for most people. Sure I get tired and have to sleep at 11pm but if you leave me to my own devices, I’ll sleep at 3 or 5 am because I am too restless or there’s still stuff I want to do that doesn’t involve playing with my PS4 or watching videos in Youtube.

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These couple of months working from home have been action-packed for me and I have to say I’m enjoying every bit of it–not including the idea that a pandemic has caused it, mind you. I’d rather work from home without that complication but we make do with what we have.

How are you coping?