Day 114: Minimalist Benefits of Working from Home

I have been a minimalist for a few years now. 

From travelling the world with 7 kgs (15.43 lbs) to spending less than 10 % of my income each month by living like a monk, I have tried to push the boundary of de-consumerism. I genuinely believe that we will gain more when we live with less.

Having worked from home (WFH) for more than a year during the pandemic, here are my surprising findings.

WFH’s Best Benefit is Avoiding Office Drama 

I used to think that regaining my commuting time was the best benefit, but I was dead wrong: My main source of mental fatigue, which I only discovered after not having to be in the office for a month, was the drama in the office. 

Although many research papers show the benefit of a face-to-face interaction, the downside of having to deal with your colleagues’ emotional baggage and ups-and-downs should not be overlooked. It’s especially the case in this polarized and strange political climate where everything can be deemed offensive and most people would rather take what they did not like to hear or feel seriously. 

Not having to deal with office drama gives enable me to focus on my tasks. In the era of hyper-connected social network and the fear of missing out (FOMO), who would have thought that staying away from people is the real source of contentment. Well, quite a few actually. 

Scheduling In Your Time for Self-Improvement

Reports show that people are listening to podcasts and audiobooks less before they’re no longer travelling to work during the pandemic. As an avid audiobook lover (about 200+ books a year), I felt that during the first half of 2020. My listening time dropped by half, but that wasn’t all because I no longer needed my earphones and audiobooks during my 2-hour-long commute but because the world was awful and I wasn’t in the mood to learn! 

There’s no excuse for not listening to meaningful things while staying at home as much as for not wanting to improve oneself while passively standing on the train to get to work. 

The pandemic hit us mentally, it’s just that. Now that we have learned how to live with the pandemic, I have regained my audiobook time. The trick is to schedule it in your day. 

Travelling on the train at 8am is a scheduling a time for self-improvement. If you could do it while you had to go to work, you could do it while you’re at home (although I know it’s harder). Schedule your time for self-improvement!

Less, but Only Better Food

I am now healthier than ever, dropping around 50 lbs since the pandemic. Before that, I regularly ate unhealthy stuff. Well, it’s lunchtime and it would be socially weird to not go eat with colleagues — even if they wanted junk food. I did what I could to stay with the group. 

I made my own food sometimes to make up for the junk food I had the day before (which was delicious by the way; why is all junk food so tasty?). 

But now that I spend most of my time at home, I only eat what I’ve learned to be healthy. I stick to one meal a day like a monk, which, as it turns out, is a good method for losing excessive weight. If the nutrition in your food is high enough, a meal a day is more than enough. Needless to say, fewer parties with alcohol is good for the liver as well as for your bank. 

Brisk Walking is the Gold Standard

Also, with more time returned to me, I use it to walk around my neighbourhood in a “brisk walking” fashion. It’s the type of fast-paced walking that get your heart to the level that promotes cardiovascular health. As for someone in my late 30s like me, I need to walk as fast as 7 miles per hour to get my heart rate above 150. 

In the beginning, I began with about 5 miles a day after 5pm (the end of my work hours). It’d take me about an hour and a half. I’d come home all sweaty. After a cold shower, I’d be ready to go to bed without having to take any pills (which I used to, such as Melatonin). Also, I listen to audiobooks while walking so I get to learn while exercising. 

Finding Your Hobbies

I didn’t know that I would enjoy playing with typewriters so much until I had some free time to study them. Out of my fascination with how these primitive machines had helped so many writers put their ideas on papers, I began to wander around the internet, asking for those who did not need them anymore to let me borrow them.

The response has been overwhelming: Most people told me that I could have them if I’d come pick them up myself. People wanted to get rid of these typewriters that bad! But, as for me, these machines have breathed new life into my boring day. I’ve always interested in the mechanics of basic machines — and the craft of writing — so I immediately. felt in love with these typewriters.