A ‘new normal’ is here. With its unexpected arrival, everyone is marching on a different beat, and trying to regulate life’s tempo all over again. The biggest change in rhythm is probably re-defining the concept of home – where home is now a blend of working and living spaces. While you take a sip of your coffee (Dalgona coffee?), we put together some of the best parts of this new arrangement.

Momentarily, we departed from the humdrum of transportation – running after the bus, squeezing into the train cabin, and driving on choked roads. With less time spent on commuting, we now have more little pockets of time. A little more time to have a warm breakfast. A little more time to get on the yoga mat. A little more time for an evening run. A little more time for yourself.

Some of us are deservingly and literally letting our hair down. If a day could go by without any video calls, we are free to be more casual. The freedom to wear less make-up. The liberty to wear our favourite pajamas the entire day (and night). The joy to be dressed in our most natural self, and to relish in this occasional privilege.

We then realise the smallest things do matter. As we take sole ownership of our new workspace, we are left to our own devices on controlling the temperature of the air-conditioner, the volume of our music, but perhaps not so much on the seventy-fifth time that we have visited the refrigerator.

As we stow our laptops away after a hard week at work, the weekends beckon. There are only that many cups of Dalgona coffee that we can painfully make. That is when housekeeping strikes us. The storeroom that has been waiting to be cleared. The shoe rack that has been waiting to be spruced up. The wardrobe that has been waiting to be categorised. The potted plants that have been waiting to be tended to.

The new normal might leave as undeclared as how it reached us. One of the greatest learnings of this episode is that as you work from home, you become your closest colleague, teammate, boss, and mentor. You spend the most time with yourself. Before we re-enter the ‘old normal’, take time to appreciate the tune of this quieter, softer melody. It could very well be your new favourite song.

This article is written by Sennheiser Singapore, as part of a work-from-home campaign. No Dalgona coffee was served during the writing process.