6 Essential Questions to Ask on Your First Day of Remote Work

Beginning your journey as a remote worker or working from home can be challenging. As you enter an uncharted territory, you probably have a set of questions to ask your new employer.

We have all been there before! You want to understand how the company operates to contribute a good output or to impress your new boss. Organize your thoughts and help set the expectations by asking these essential questions to your employer or hiring manager.

#1: WHICH FOLDERS OR FILES SHOULD I HAVE ACCESS TO?

Usually, remote companies have a shared bank of files and templates that you can assess. Review these documents and pay attention to the templates that you must use for your new position. Locating these files will save you hours of digging.

#2: WHAT ARE MY PRIORITIES FOR THE DAY?

It is easier to transition into a new position when you have a clear idea of what your essential daily tasks are. The sooner you ask, the more productive you can be. You can begin to have a better grasp of what management sees as your role by asking this question.

#3: HOW CAN I SHARE MY THOUGHTS OR IDEAS?

Do you believe that you are an asset to the company? Asking this question shows how eager you are to contribute to the workplace. As a new employee, you provide a fresh perspective. However, it can be challenging to share your thoughts. Since everything is digital nowadays, some managers may prefer to receive a private email or a group discussion through video conferencing apps. Ask your hiring manager or employer about this.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

#4: WHO DO I REPORT TO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?

It is harder to see the department divisions in the remote environment. As you are working from home, you may answer multiple people. Ask your hiring manager or employer who you will report to daily. This will prevent others from assuming that you are working with them exclusively.

#5: WHICH MEETINGS SHOULD YOU PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR?

Whether you are using Google Calendar or Calendly to organize your appointments, it is essential to know which meetings you should put on your calendar. Educate yourself about the company’s meeting procedures. Do you meet online on a monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly basis?

#6: WHAT IS THE USUAL PROCESS FOR THIS TASK?

Every team accomplishes things in their own way. Showing that you are open to learning from them can help you change your mindset earlier on. Find out how you can work efficiently to contribute to the company’s processes and systems.

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What to do when investing in volatile markets

volatile markets

The majority of investors are cognizant that the market goes through bulls and downturns. So, what transpires when the market is volatile?

To make it clear from the beginning, financial market volatility is the measurement of the size and speed of an asset’s price movements. Volatility exists in any asset whose market price fluctuates over time. The broader and more regular these swings are, the higher the volatility, and making a terrible move might wipe out earlier profits and much more.

When investing in turbulent markets, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Diversify

Volatile markets might expose that investments believed to be properly diversified, in fact, are not. If you haven’t recently reviewed your portfolios to ensure that you understand how each asset class is performing and that the mix fits your investing strategy, now would be an excellent time to do so.

Rebalance

Assets that have appreciated in value will make up more of your portfolio over time, while those that have decreased will make up less. Rebalancing entails selling positions that have become overweight in comparison to the rest of your portfolio and reinvesting the profits in underweight ones. It’s a sensible move to repeat this process frequently.

Go for long-term
aiming long-term

Image Credits: towardsdatascience.com

Markets fluctuate, and you’re bound to see multiple major drops throughout your investment journey. When compared to bull markets, even instances when the market plunged by more than 20% have traditionally been quite brief. Because it’s impractical to time the market’s ebbs and flows, all investors should tune out the buzz and fixate on their long-term goals.

Stay the course

If you’re retired or on the verge of retiring, your stance on investing in a volatile market can be a little different. Rather than attempting to chase high gains in the short term, your priority should be on safeguarding the assets you’ve amassed via long-term investment. To keep on track, create a retirement investing framework before you bid goodbye to your monthly paychecks, so you won’t make rash judgments about your assets during market downturns.

Keep day trading at bay

When you day trade, you purchase and sell investments quickly in the hopes of profiting from small price variations. While this may appear to be a simple, low-risk approach to making money, it is complicated and time-consuming. Day traders must build a system to track stocks, keep a constant eye on the markets, and have an uncanny ability to determine when the optimum moment to buy or sell is, which may feel like a full-time job. Day trading can potentially result in significant losses if you aren’t 100% sure what you’re doing.

When stock markets begin to plummet, daily doses of negative updates may seem inescapable. Even the savviest investors might worry, doubt, and make drastic judgments as a result of it. Panic, on the other hand, brings you nowhere. When markets get stormy, it’s critical to stay calm. Don’t be hesitant to speak with a financial professional if you’re concerned about market fluctuations. They can provide expert guidance, review your financial strategy, and assist you in determining the best actions to take.

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Is Daiso Creating Products as Minimal as Muji?

The trusty two-dollar lifestyle brand Daiso Singapore is going to increase its prices by May 1, 2022. From May 1 onwards, it will be charging GST.

Daiso posted a sign informing its shoppers that “we always strive to keep our products as affordable as possible. To continue improving the quality of our products, there will be a price change. All prices will be exclusive of GST from 1st May 2022.”

Let us compare how much you will pay in the coming years.

2022: At the current GST rate of 7%, you will pay S$2.14 for each Daiso product from May 1, 2022 until Dec 31, 2022.

2023: When the GST rate increases to 8%, you will need to pay S$2.16 per product.

2024: When the GST rate increases to 9%, you will need to pay $2.18 per product.

Its elevated prices do not stop there!

Image Credits:instagram.com/standardproducts_official

Daiso will soon debut its premium concept Standard Products inside its Jurong Point outlet. Based on the photos we have seen from the Standard Products’ catalog, you can expect dinnerware, bath essentials, and stationery in muted shades.

Like Muji, but less pricey

According to its website, Standard Products sells items ranging from stationery to tableware. It first launched in 2021 in Japan, and it will soon open its doors in Jurong Point around the end of May.

It was a hit with Japanese shoppers as it resembled the famous brand Muji, with its minimalist layout, neutral-colored goods, and clean ambiance. Prices will be cheaper as it starts from 100 yen (S$1.09), with some items going up to 1,000 yen (S$10.70).

Image Credits:instagram.com/standardproducts_official

When it comes to its products’ quality, they are bound to be more premium than Daiso’s regular collection. Better materials were used.

More Standard Products to come

Apart from its offerings in Japan, Singapore is the second country to launch the brand, said its spokesperson. It remains unknown if Daiso Singapore will roll out more Standard Products specialty stores across the country, but judging by how we love Muji, it seems highly likely.

Image Credits:instagram.com/standardproducts_official

What are you most excited about Standard Products? Are you ready to brave the queue? See you soon!

Sources: 1, 2 & 3

 

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Avoid these parenting mistakes when disciplining your kids

a displeased mom and angry child

When we think we’ve got it all figured out, our lovely children delight in turning our lives upside down with their erratic moods and behaviors. Nonetheless, we must remember the typical disciplinary blunders, particularly when correcting our children in unfamiliar areas, to guarantee that our actions and thoughts are beneficial and that we can stop harmful habits from blossoming.

Read on to avoid these parenting mistakes when disciplining your kids.

Bribing

You might be inclined to use the lure of sweets at the checkout counter to stop your child’s breakdown in the supermarket. This technique might succeed, but only for the time being. Bribing a child for poor conduct is essentially encouraging negative habits, so don’t be shocked if your kid starts whining the next time he or she wants anything.

Actionless

Set boundaries and stick to them, because leniency and counteroffers all imply that compliance is a choice. To encourage children to respect rules, set clear expectations, and intervene when those conditions are not met. Begin with courteous commands if you want your child to accomplish things like pausing computer games and finishing schoolwork. Compliment when they follow through and impose a “penalty” if they don’t.

High expectations
disciplining in public

Image Credits: parents.com

Young kids have yet to establish impulse control or the etiquette necessary in public areas such as restaurants and shopping malls. When your child deviates from the usual, consider the fact that they aren’t seeking to be a nuisance; they just don’t know what to do in the scenario, therefore exploding won’t help. Because children are born imitators, modeling or calling attention to something we would like them to do can likely help them succeed.

Long-windedness

It is not useful to give an extensive description of your child’s unacceptable conduct. Kids, especially those in primary school who are improving their attention spans, can quickly lose track of talks that go too far in-depth. Make things as simple as possible for your child by breaking them down into fundamentals. Clarify what the conduct was and why it was incorrect with younger ones and address what went awry with older children using various scenarios that may have resulted in better decisions.

Setting a bad example

You advise your teenager not to lie, yet you habitually do so to avoid joining a school volunteer event or attending an insignificant lunch meeting. You scream at your kids and implore them angrily to talk respectfully to one another.

The concern here is that we are frequently blind to our actions and forget that the little ones are watching and learning from us. Be a prime example of the conduct you want your child to mimic as often as possible. If you violate one of your standards occasionally, explain the situation to your kid, discuss how you could have acted differently, and respond with better grace next time.

Getting kids to obey might feel like an impossible endeavor since children are capable of pushing against the boundaries of their environment to learn what is tolerable and what is not. This may be perplexing for parents who feel compelled to constantly raise the stakes to turn every encounter into a teachable moment. Keeping the aforementioned missteps in mind, nevertheless, can assist parents in developing a disciplinary system that is fair, effective, and encourages a child to learn the right things when the opportunity presents.

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Drivers can now look forward to better EV charging networks in Malaysia

ross-border EV charging network

By now, it’s impossible not to know that Singapore wants to establish a greener and more sustainable land transport industry, lowering peak land transport emissions by 80%. As a result, the Singapore Green Plan 2030 comprises a significant push to electrify our car population, which would assist Singapore in achieving our goal of having much cleaner energy automobiles by 2040.

With all of the latest buzz around electric vehicles (EVs) and the reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia borders, drivers are questioning if their electric car road trips to Malaysia would go smoothly. If you’ve been keeping up with the news on Malaysia’s EV infrastructure, you will know that the past journeys taken by other drivers have been a bit nerve-wracking.

Situation last year

In March 2021, drivers on Malaysian highways revealed their frustrations with driving an electric car. Many people have discovered that driving an electric car in Malaysia was difficult due to the country’s lack of infrastructure to support the widespread adoption of EVs. There were only about 300 electric charging sites in the country at that time, with the majority located along the west coast and in the Klang Valley.

In addition, drivers were aware that there were insufficient garages or maintenance services dedicated to EVs in Malaysia should urgent servicing be required. Nonetheless, many people remarked that the scenario was developing, and there was hope that in the future that taking a road trip in Malaysia in an electric car will become a more practical alternative.

Better EV charging networks this year
map of charging points in Malaysia

Image Credits: City Energy

This month, we have good news. Local gas supplier City Energy partnered with a Malaysian firm to establish a cross-border EV charging network, improving accessibility for EV drivers in both Singapore and Malaysia. The EV charging service, known as Go, is accessible via a smartphone app that allows users to identify and access charging stations that are part of this collaboration in both nations.

The service is made possible by City Energy’s relationship with Malaysian firm EV Connection, which has a network that spans Johor, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur. There are already EV charging stations along the north-south expressway and the app will provide greater ease since consumers will be able to initiate charging and make payments across Malaysia using the same City Energy Go app.

By the end of this year, the JomCharge network will have deployed at least 50 more DC (fast charging) chargers. Drivers in Malaysia should seek EV charging facilities with the JomCharge logo, which are often located at gas stations. Users will be presented with a map indicating their current location as well as the numerous EV charging sites accessible after launching the City Energy Go app.

To begin, scan the QR code at the charging station or input the ID of the charging point. Next, choose between DC and AC (regular charging) and press the “start charging” button on the screen. Once you’re done, just pay for the final billing amount via the app and you’re good to go! Easy peasy, isn’t it?

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