Post-flu thoughts: Future-proofing?

I was hit by a flu bug a little over a week ago.

It came after a period of sleep anxiety, the effects of which I still feel every now and then. My immune system was probably pretty low after a few days of non-sleep, thanks to an inconsiderate neighbour from upstairs. Despite multiple attempts to communicate, they continue walking like elephants and randomly dropping items on the floor at all hours of the day and night, and early in the morning.

This isn’t going to turn into a rant about inconsiderate neighbours, as much as I’d like it to be.

I just wanted to write some of my thoughts down while I was ill.

I still had to go to work, though for 1.5 days, when the fever finally showed up, I couldn’t anymore.

Because of the vast amounts and varieties of remedies, the symptoms (apart from the fever) were very mild. Even the dreaded post-cough rarely comes up. I usually suffer from a post-infection cough for at least another week or two.

I was reminded, during the illness, that, though my colleagues were mostly understanding and tried to help, I cannot stay in a state of work responsibility forever.

I would certainly hope that I stay in good health for the rest of my life - and should probably be more proactive in ensuring that this is the case.

That said, there is an increasing urge to work in a less-stressful up-and-down way.

I actually asked an AI platform to analyse and make suggestions based on my preferences, skills, and limitations. Some of the suggestions are extremely useful. I intend to follow at least some of them.

Because I have not fully pondered and considered all the information, I’ll delay talking about it until a future post. This one is just an update - a much-needed one.

Make Money Because I Love Sleep? That's What I Did!

"How do I make money doing what I love, if what I love to do is sleep?"

I was a teenager then, and the concept of making money 'doing what I love' seemed impossible.

Who's going to pay me to sleep? A mattress company?

Some time later, I decided to dig a little deeper.

I asked myself, "Why do I like sleep so much?"

And my realisation was that having ideas buzzing around my head from the moment I wake up, and being bombarded by constant stimuli in my environment, I always have trouble keeping my energy levels up.

Sleep was the sweet relief from my cranial activity. And it was bliss.

This meant that I needed to do things as efficiently as possible, so I can avoid wasting my limited energy, and so I had more time to sleep.

And that was my A-ha moment!

I had learned to be highly energy-efficient when it comes to my work. Set a target, work towards it in as streamlined a way as possible, and end it once it's completed within expectations.

Perfectionism? No time or energy for that. I'd rather grab more sleep.

I had also learned effective ways to shut out (as best I can) external stimuli, and focus only on the task at hand, allowing me to enter 'flow' seemingly more easily than other people.

This doesn't mean I'm a productivity machine. Far from it. By Singaporean cultural standards, I'm horrendously unproductive.

But I'm productive enough that I don't work endless hours, need to, or want to.

And that's good enough for me.

Quote - Chapter 2 of The Introvert Teacher

“Grant a respite: A rested field gives a better return.
(Da requiem: Requietus ager bene credita reddit.)”

—Publius Ovidius Naso

Time to Get Moving

As my previous post has stated, this is a cooling down period for me. My major school projects for the beginning of the year are winding down, leaving a few weeks for me to do other things before I get busy at the end of May again.

So, what have I done? Honestly, not that much yet, because I've only just recovered from all the fatigue and settled all the piled-up administrative stuff that I've neglected for the past four months.

Starting this week, I will be ramping up the work that I need to put into my other projects, especially my book and my gem and jewellery stuff. I'm projecting to get as much done as possible before June, when I have projected my book to be sent for printing. I look forward to holding a physical copy in my hands!

On other fronts, I've been experimenting with Fiverr, I'm in discussion with a gaming company for a possible role as a presenter at their next event, I'm working on turning my ideas for education into realities and so on.

It's not all as hectic as running from school to school day after day, but it is mentally quite tiring. Thus, there must be time set aside for breathers and rest. 

Here we go!