Ask A Genius 685: Messed Up Covid Schedules
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2022/01/15
[Recording Start]
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: With the impact of Covid on everyone’s schedules, including mine in the publishing world, how has it affected your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly activities?
Rick Rosner: The pandemic has significantly altered my routine. Most of my work, to the extent that I do work, is done at home. However, my usual visits to gyms have ceased. Over the past few years, the number of gyms I frequented dwindled from six a day to none, especially now with the Omicron wave making them unsafe. I rarely go out, except maybe for dinner once a week if my wife persuades me, but we always eat outside.
My wife continues to work at her school, though I feel she probably shouldn’t, given the risks. The book I’ve been reading highlights how poorly people assess risks, a theme that resonates with our current situation. My wife starts her day early, leaving for work at five in the morning and finishing by the afternoon, leaving me with free mornings, often going back to bed. This pandemic setup has fostered an environment where it’s easy to accomplish very little, a sentiment echoed by many online, stating that just surviving the pandemic is an achievement in itself.
Jacobsen: That seems reflective of the current American situation.
Rosner: Is that very American?
Jacobsen: Yes, it’s similar in India and Brazil.
Rosner: Are you suggesting that people in other places are more productive?
Jacobsen: No, I meant that Americans, Indians, and Brazilians are among those significantly affected by Covid.
Rosner: Right, the pandemic’s global impact is unprecedented. In the past three days alone, there have been nearly 10 million new official cases worldwide, which is equal to the total number of cases in the first five months of the pandemic. The rate of new infections is at an all-time high. However, there are signs of improvement in places like Britain, where the number of new cases has halved compared to two weeks ago.
As for my schedule, I’ve always been somewhat unstructured. I didn’t have a commute for a remote job. I did have a city council position for a couple of years, which I managed to mess up. A lot of it was my own doing, though being the treasurer was a thankless task. The job required adherence to stringent rules for financial accountability, dealing with minor expenses and receipts, which was a hassle, especially considering actual corruption cases within the city council. In essence, my ability to maintain a strict schedule has always been a challenge.
[Recording End]
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