Archives: HBL review and live reaction to the Singapore lockdown

A quiet Singapore, under lockdown.

It's the first day of online classes in my locality. I've been quite curious about how people go about their day during a lockdown for quite some time now so today I got a taste of what it is like. This is my personal experience and I thought I would share it with you.

Note: This is just a precautionary measure to ensure that our public schools can transition into online mode should a lockdown actually happen, but for now we're just testing the waters.

Update while I was writing: They just announced a nationwide lockdown. All schools will close from next Wednesday onward and move to online mode. 

Previous night: I unchecked my usual alarm for six in the morning and set it to 7.20 instead. Online classes were scheduled to begin at 8, but I like to give myself a little more time to prepare in the morning. I went to bed after ensuring that everything is set up and ready.

0720 The extra 80 minutes of sleep was a godsend. I stared into space and counted to ten before I got out of bed, fresher than I normally would be had I needed to drag myself to the bus interchange for my morning commute. I picked some clothing appropriate for a class video roll call before heading off to wash up.

0745 I switched on my laptop and tried to get Google Meet ready. Unfortunately my laptop audio was extremely bad so I downloaded the app on my phone and got through at the very last minute. Lesson learnt: Don't leave the testing to the last minute.

0800 It begins! We start off with mundane tasks such as voting for our House Vice-Captain through our school portal. I finish everything in record time and within 15 minutes I could exit the room for breakfast with my sister. Food is a powerful motivator.

0900 I decide to finish both my video lectures by 12 so that I could go back to writing articles here as soon as possible. As it turns out... It's a herculean task to sit in a comfortable chair and stay awake while the lecturer sings a lullaby discusses the structure of an essay about the United Nations. Thankfully, I managed to keep my eyes open so that I could take notes.

1000 I take a break till 11. In school my break would have lasted 30 minutes more, but since I get to decide how I manage my time, I thought I'd just start early and finish before the usual dismissal time.

1100 I start up my second lecture. This time it went well. I'm just not an early morning person, perhaps. I'll have to work on that.

1200 I'm done for the day - Fridays have always been short anyway. After lingering for a bit, I head off to start on this article and fix a few back-end issues with the site.

While I initially had difficulty adjusting to studying in the comfortable area of my bedroom, I feel that this is something which I could eventually sort out once I establish a bit more routine. Today was more of a test drive than anything and thus far it's fine. However, I do need to work on my self-discipline - like not checking on my phone every 3 minutes!

Worldwide, over a billion people are on lockdown, which means that millions of us are currently working or studying from home. Is it as easy as some claim it is? Not exactly. I've tried it firsthand today. It takes effort and motivation to keep yourself focused and productive when absolutely no one is watching.

Immediately after online classes ended, I took out a Post-it note and made my plans for the weekend. It's actually the first time I'm doing this and I intend to make it a regular habit.

My schedule for the weekend.

In times of uncertainty, perhaps it's for the best that we add a little structure into our lives. It helps, maybe, to create a sense of normalcy.

Live emergency update:

Sh*t has just hit the fan here. The Prime Minister of Singapore has just announced a nationwide lockdown, starting next Tuesday. Schools will be closed. Sports, recreation, theme parks, museums, entertainment places will all be shuttered. Food establishments may only sell takeouts.

I'll need some time to process this. Many things are developing very rapidly and I have plenty of things to settle.

What do I even say at a time like this? As a final year student in high school in a country where your results in an examination are tied to your ability to secure a better position in society, I am lost. Many have expressed that I can simply rely on my decent writing skills and continue developing this site, but I should like to at least achieve a high school certificate. Now even that seems difficult, considering that the lockdown will stretch through the month where the bulk of our content knowledge would have been taught in a normal lecture and tutorial setting.

We're on our own and we will have to figure out how we can survive. I'll be leaving quite a few things behind, both bad habits and little parts of a fast-eroding childhood, but I will do whatever is necessary to ensure that I thrive in the long run. You can do it too. No matter who you are or where you're from, do not let this virus get you down.