I kid you not, I鈥檓 writing this article with about 20% battery power left on my laptop.
For about a week now, the queues have resumed at petrol stations across Nigeria due to another fuel scarcity situation. To make it even worse, the power supply seems to have worsened. No light, no fuel. I asked some remote workers how they were coping because, to be honest, I wanted to steal hacks from them.
鈥淲ork every time you see light鈥 鈥 Dotun, 28
The truth is, even if you drop your laptop somewhere to charge, the battery will still go down when you pick it up and start working. So, if you don鈥檛 have money for a coworking space, carry your work with you wherever you see electricity.
NEPA has been doing a thing where they bring light for 30 minutes around 2 a.m. Once I feel the breeze from the fan, I immediately stand up and do the work I can do. That way, I can save a full battery for when my actual workday starts.
鈥淕uard your fuel jealously鈥 鈥 Funmi, 26
I divide my tasks according to how much time I think it鈥檒l take to complete them, then I try to do as much as possible without using my devices. Of course, that doesn鈥檛 always work because I still need to turn on my generator.
But I guard my fuel jealously. I only turn on the generator for 30 minutes at a time when it鈥檚 absolutely necessary. Even then, I only pour small fuel into the generator to somehow trick it into consuming less fuel. What kind of life is this?
鈥淏ribe someone to stand in fuel queues for you鈥 鈥 Josiah, 30
I don鈥檛 have time to leave work and hustle for fuel, so I bribe my brother to stand in queues for me. I think he charges me five times more than what I should actually pay, but I鈥檓 happy to pay. He鈥檚 saving me stress and getting me fuel, which is heroic in these times.
鈥淏efriend your neighbours鈥 鈥 Toke, 24
I鈥檓 the type who likes to keep to myself. I鈥檝e lived in my compound for about a year and have never entered my neighbour’s house 鈥 at least until this recent scarcity started. They tend to turn on their generator more because they have kids and their apartment has become my second office. Thankfully, they鈥檙e nice about it but I try to only go there when absolutely necessary so I don鈥檛 take up too much of their space.
鈥淐ommunicate with your employers鈥 鈥 Detola, 22
I always tell my employers when I have to be unavoidably absent because I don鈥檛 have fuel or power. They can鈥檛 say they don鈥檛 understand because we鈥檙e all in this country together. I try to limit the instances when that happens, but will I turn myself into fuel?
鈥淚nvest in an alternative source of power supply鈥 鈥 Fred, 27
I had to angrily drop almost 鈧1m to install a solar panel system last week when the fuel situation wanted to kill me. Of course, this was only possible because I had the money. But it was my emergency savings and I鈥檓 not happy about spending it on something that shouldn鈥檛 even be a problem. But I had no choice. My employers aren鈥檛 Nigerians and definitely wouldn鈥檛 understand. It was either that or losing my job.
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