Director of Public Relations and Communications at Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta
As a Director of Public Relations and Communications and a mother of two boys, Rumman leads a busy life. Having to stay at home hasn’t dampened her spirit as she makes the best of the situation.
Q: Please share your tips on what to do to stay positive at home.
A: To be honest, the first two weeks were very hard for me. As much as I appreciate the fact that I’m able to work from home, the idea of not being able to be out there and really helping others took a toll on me. I started to manage my schedule at home, from just enjoying my morning coffee quietly before starting the day, to doing meditation every now and then, taking a morning or afternoon walk to keep my body moving, and most importantly, to not overthink the current situation, while doing what I can that is within my control. Another important thing is to keep your work time and personal time separate, or else you have no boundaries.
Q: What activities do you like to do now that you have to stay at home more?
A: I’ve always loved being in the kitchen and now I can cook as often as I want to! I’m starting to think I might want to do some gardening and plant some herbs, maybe. Other than working, my day-to-day routine includes helping the kids with their home-learning programme (trust me, now I know that being a teacher is really hard; I salute them), chilling on the balcony enjoying my coffee or wine (depending on the day), lots of cooking (sometimes I even cook while doing conference calls).
Q: What’s the silver lining in this situation?
A: I have all the time in the world to spend with my family. To be honest, before this, there was always work to do in the office, events to attend, meeting up with friends, and 1,001 other things to do. Now it has all gone and I get to spend time only with the family.
Q: Do you have any tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
A: I do watch what I’m eating, with occasional treats. Other than that, I spend 30 minutes on a daily walk. In times like this, it’s also important not to be too hard on yourself.
Q: Since you have to stay at home more, what do you miss most from normal life?
A: Meeting my friends and enjoying nice meals, honestly, you know, the small things.
Q: What is the first country you want to visit after the quarantine is over and why?
A: This is a hard one, there are too many on my wish list! But I think I might just be going to Bali, I miss it a bit too much.
