Singapore Buyers Guide

Summer is really a great time to have fun. In fact, it’s a perfect time for travelling and going on a vacation. But with money still being tight in many places, financing your trip might become quite challenging. Worry not though, for we listed down some ways on how you could save extra bucks and still go on your well-deserved vacation.

Book Free or Cheap Flights

Travelling requires a good amount of money, but with enough researching, booking a flight won’t have that much of an effect on your savings. If you’re resourceful and disciplined enough, then you’ll be able to find discounts and deals that could help you travel even if you’re not earning a good amount of cash yet.

Travel Off-Season

Ever tried visiting a particular place during its peak season? Sure, it was fun but the congestion is just unbearable. Aside from large groups of people touring the place, businesses also tend to jack up the prices of their products during peak seasons. So if you want to avoid overspending for your travel, schedule your trip when it isn’t peak season – you’ll also be able to spare yourself from the headache.

Plan Before Leaving the House

Spontaneity might be great when you’re going on a road trip, but it won’t be that good of an idea if it’ll only cause you to end up driving in circles in Singapore. To keep that from happening, ensure that you check out all the spots you want to see first before you start exploring your chosen destination. This won’t only keep you from wasting too much time, it’ll also reduce your gas expenses.

Opt for Dorm-Style Accommodations

Unless you’re planning to have an amazing hotel staycation, you’d likely spend most of your time touring your destination. What you really need is just a place to get some good shut-eye, and most of the time, you’d feel so beat that you’ll just past out instantly. For that reason, you don’t need to sleep somewhere fancy when you’re travelling. Dorm-style hostels are a perfect choice if you plan to spend more on meaningful experiences and not on hotel accommodations.

Stop Being a Picky Eater

You won’t be able to imagine just how much money you’ll save by filling your tummy with local street food. If you really want to dine like a queen, however, the trick is to splurge only on one meal. Research about one restaurant that’s worth splurging on, then eat to your heart’s content.

Going on a vacation while saving money is possible if you just use your resources right, and meticulously plan out your trip. Simply putting the aforementioned tips to work will help you do just that, so all that’s left for you to do is enjoy your much deserved break.

Favouritism in a company is never a good thing, as it creates an environment that’s no fun to work in. Not only does it lower the morale of everyone involved, it also lessens their productivity and even causes a high turnover rate as the employees get fed up with this office atmosphere. While it’s never fun to think that your boss is playing favourites, don’t let this atmosphere of favouritism get in the way of your career success. Here, we listed down some tips on how you could handle the situation with much dignity and class.

Act Normally

Behave as if your boss isn’t playing favourites in your office. The worst thing you could do is to react in a way that puts you on your boss’ bad side. Remember, making assumptions can be deadly. While you might believe that you’re not the favourite employee, that doesn’t mean that you’re the least favourite either. So avoid falling into that category by keeping yourself from reacting negatively to your manager’s behaviour.

Improve Yourself

The best thing that you can do with any type of boss is to clarify what he or she expects from you, do your best to reach (or even surpass) those expectations, and get his or her feedback regularly. Instead of stressing out with your boss’ negative behaviour, focus on bringing good results and improving yourself. Behaviours like favouritism are usually noticed by others, and all you’ve got to do is trust that your company has a system in place to correct these situations.

Promote Yourself

Advocate yourself by proposing new ideas for the team, requesting meetings, and showing appreciation and respect for your boss. Don’t let yourself get distracted by feelings of neglect, as it’ll only you and your career down.

Set Your Emotions Aside

When a boss starts playing favourites, it usually strikes an emotional cord in us. Our emotions then start clouding our vision – especially when we’re in the office. But instead of nurturing these emotions, take a moment to evaluate the favourite to see if there’s anything that he or she does exceptionally well that you’re also capable of doing. After all, nobody said that your boss can only have one favourite.

Take the High Road

Badmouthing your co-worker or your boss won’t help you, and could only make things worse. Any signs of bitterness or anger will only reflect badly on you. If there are tasks and projects that interest you, take the time to speak to your manager as to why you should take the assignment on, instead of focusing on the less-than-ideal situation on your office.

Learning that your boss is playing favourites is certainly not fun – especially if you aren’t the favourite. But instead of giving too much attention on the situation, continue improving yourself and delivering good results into the company. Who knows, your boss might eventually notice the efforts you’re giving!

It’s been about two months since the start of the quarantines in Singapore. By now, we can say that it is somehow affecting our mental and emotional well-being one way or another. This is what some would call quarantine fatigue. But then again, staying at home is necessary to fight the pandemic and help our frontliners the best that we can. So, here are some ways for you to cope with quarantine fatigue!

The cause of quarantine fatigue

Before everything else, let’s talk about why we get quarantine fatigue in the first place. For one, the easy answer is that we’ve had a sudden change of lifestyle. Towards the start of the spread of the pandemic, most people went to panic mode in an instant. Then, when safety measures started rolling in, our fear also receded. It’s these sudden changes in lifestyle that’s causing us to feel more mentally and emotionally drained. Another reason is that we simply miss human interactions which is another thing that suddenly changed because of the quarantines.  

Establish a routine

One of the best ways to cope with quarantine fatigue is to maintain a routine. Because of the anxiety, stress, and uncertainty, you may feel all over the place and that your life is spiraling down in chaos. By having a set routine, you can eliminate these thoughts because you are establishing control over your life. Schedule time for work, exercise, bonding with family, and the like. This is a healthy way to fight quarantine fatigue.

Set goals

Another thing you can do is to set goals for yourself. More often than not, you will have more time in your hands because of the quarantines. So, set goals for yourself whether it’s for work, self-improvement, for your family, etc. Overall, this will help you continue to have a positive mindset all throughout. You may even come out of the quarantine with new set of skills!

Try self-care practices

One important thing to have during this time is a way to practice self-care and relieve stress. For some it may be yoga, for others it can be meditation. It can even be something as simple as taking a warm bath or reading a book while drinking coffee in a quiet early morning. Find out what your go-to stress reliever is and practice it whenever you can or whenever you need to.

Acknowledge your negative feelings

Lastly, acknowledge your negative feelings. These are trying times and it’s really inevitable to feel negative from time to time. But, don’t bottle up those negative thoughts! Acknowledging them and naturally letting them flow will help you get over them faster. This doesn’t only provides relief, but also reduces the influence of negative feelings over you in general.

We have all had dreams of being famous or rich or successful, but when you maintain that belief even if the reality is different, it is different from just daydreaming. A serious condition called delusional disorder causes some people to have bizarre behavior and manners that it interferes with their daily function and relationships.

Types of Delusional Disorders

Delusion means belief in something that is not based on reality, although they are not almost always unreal. This means that their beliefs involve real life things and situations but are exaggerated or mistakenly perceived. Doctors classify delusional disorder as a type of psychotic disorder. A person with this condition can still function and socialize normally.

There are different types of delusional disorders based on the theme of their delusion such as grandiose, persecutory, somatic, erotomanic, jealous, or a combination of those types. Grandiose means that a person has a over-inflated sense of his/her identity. Persecutory is the belief that they are being spied on, mistreated, or in danger.

Somatic means that they believe they have a medical problem or defect. Erotomanic delusion is the belief that someone is in love with them. Jealous on the other hand is the belief that their partner is being unfaithful to them. There are some delusions which do not fall under any of those categories and are labeled as unspecified.

Symptoms and Causes

Most delusions, regardless of the type, involve non-bizarre delusions. This means that although the person might have weird beliefs, it is still based or grounded on reality. It is weird, but not definitely out there. The person will also exhibit an irritable or angry mood and sometimes hallucinations that are related to their delusion.

They are different from people with, say other psychotic disorders, because they can still function. The only problem is that their delusion disrupts their normal lives. If you know a loved one who has been showing those symptoms for at least a month, you need to seek help.

Delusional disorder is quite rare. Delusion in most cases, might be a symptom of another disorder, and not a disorder itself, but it can happen. For it to be classified as such, it must not also be caused by substances or medication. So, what causes it? There are many factors researchers are investigating, but the strongest evidence points to history of trauma, extreme stress, and genetics.

Treatment of Delusional Disorder

Because the person does not see the problems with their delusions, they will not be able to seek help by themselves. If there are other coexisting conditions, those should also be identified. Only then can treatment be created. It usually involves a combination of psychotherapy and medication. There is not standard treatment for everyone because it will be based on the needs of the individual. Hospitalization is not required in most cases unless the person is causing harm to him/herself or others.

In our time today, it’s become relatively easier to start a business. This is simply because of the ease provided by technology and the internet. Different industries in Singapore are already starting to have more and more companies and most of them are start-ups! Even so, what’s still difficult is making sure your start-up survives and grows. Here, then, are some valuable things you need to know.

Have a clear picture of what you want your business to be

Before you even start a business, you have to already know what you really want your business to be. Make sure you have practical and concrete plans both for the short and long-term. The easiest way to start with this, really, is to stick to something that you’re passionate about.

You’ll have difficulty envisioning the future of your business if you don’t even like what you’re doing. You’ll also have an easier time planning for products, services, and gimmicks this way.

Know that you don’t always have to take risks

No matter if it’s for business or life in general, people are always going to face risks. Though that is the case, you don’t necessarily have to take risks, especially as a start-up. Even when you have to take one, you have to make sure you have back-ups or at least have something left. Because risks come naturally, you don’t need to seek them thinking that taking risks will help you grow.

Listen to the customers

To any business, big or small, who are the most important people? That’s right, the customers? How will a company profit if others don’t buy their products? That being said, it would be very beneficial to your start-up if you could listen to your customers’ feedback. Listening to your buyers is one of the easiest ways to know what you have to improve one. So, take both praise and criticism well!

Take advantage of the internet

It’s become very easy for start-ups to promote themselves because of social media. So, there’s no reason for you not to do it too. Using social media not only helps you get a wider audience; it also helps you network and create relationships with other businesses as well.

If it is fitting, you could even have a website created for your brand as well. Your customers can browse your page for products and services and becomes easier for them to contact you as well.

Be flexible and learn to adapt

No matter what the industry, there will always be many ups and downs in the market. Mostly, they can all be affected by unforeseen circumstances. For example, if a certain product or service becomes in-demand, of course, it will be advantageous to those who already sell them.

However, that doesn’t mean that if you don’t have those, you can just let it go. Find ways to incorporate your brand’s identity to those trendy products and services and use it to your advantage!

Though Singaporeans are considered hard workers at the office, not many notice how much stress they’re already in. Though you could say stress is normal, there are still times when it already becomes a huge burden to many. That’s why it’s important to explore the different factors that cause workplace stress and how to deal with them effectively.

Clutter

Remember that one time you couldn’t find a very important document because your workspace was so messy? Think about the fear and stress that caused you. It seems like a subtle thing but having too much clutter can definitely add to more stress.

You’ll have difficulty finding and arranging things. You’ll also be distracted because there are too many things around you. Clutter can also mean other aspects as well, like your schedule. If you intentionally leave tasks unfinished, they’ll pile up and you’ll have to do everything all together. Clearly, this will put you under a lot more stress.

Misunderstandings

Having fights and misunderstandings are already common in the work setting. The problem is, misunderstandings cause stress not only to one person but possibly to an entire group. Fortunately, it’s also quite easy to avoid being misunderstood.

One is to be a better and humbler communicator. By using appropriate communication tools, you can make others understand what you expect from them and the other way around. For example, one thing you can do when giving instructions is simply to have the other person repeat what you said.

Lack of recognition

The simple fact is, humans crave praise and recognition. If a person’s work is always downplayed, the stress will take its toll on his/her patience and motivation. If this is happening to you, don’t give up too early!

You could always communicate with others about how much you’ve done or you could emphasize the significance of your work as well. It’s also important to see that maybe you really are underperforming. Try to take a step back and reevaluate yourself if this is the case. Then, you can slowly fix your mistakes and do your work better overall.

Sudden changes

In Singapore, and surely in all other countries, there can sometimes be huge age gaps in the workplace. When sudden changes happen in a system, for example, the older generations might have difficulty adjusting.

They’ll have to learn how to work on the new system again and doing so will delay their work. Or if they insist on using the old system, there’ll be conflicts on output. The younger workers might expect tasks from the older ones but they’ll have to wait longer. This can create an air of tension around the office.