A part of our Tester Community for almost 3 years, Olufemi from Nigeria is sharing with us how his freelance tester role changed during the pandemic and how he got from testing for money exclusively to testing for fun and doing what he likes. Take a look:

Test, get tested, and stay safe

My testing experience at forty-two has been interesting, to say the least. When I first started testing, I did it for the money. Today, I do it for the fun. It’s like a puzzle, looking for what’s what and what shouldn’t be and all that. In between then and now, there’s been good, bad, and neither-good-nor-bad days. This blog shares how I deliberately refused to allow my health to be affected while testing during the pandemic and especially the lockdown.

Did anyone notice that during the lockdowns, there was a barrage of test invites? COVID threw everyone into panic mode. And we panicked. Anyways, the torrent of test invites was mind-blowing. My devices were beeping all the time and with very little to do, it became natural to go to one of my most favorite things – testing. Little did I know that everyone seemed to be locked on to this too.

After accepting several test invites, I had to keep up. You know, trying to log issues before anyone else – that rush was addictive. Some tests were basically easy to comprehend and some test scripts needed zero distraction. And, some test overviews, you’d wonder if the Test Manager wrote it standing up. Well, what do you know, once I accept an invite I’m always committed to completing the test, even if sometimes I had to translate the test into my native language, juxtapose versus what the Test Manager is trying to achieve. Mind you, each test has its specific area, however, if you’ve tested several apps and websites, it’s almost impossible not to know what the general or specific areas of testing would be.

So back to my accepting several tests. I realized that most of my issues were logged and approved but I was clocking at least several hours of work every day. Most times I test on my bed. For days, my bed wasn’t laid and shower-time was either short or non-existent. If you add on top of that correspondence with the team, taking into consideration the difference in time-zone, you have a cocktail of you being awake for more than 32 hours sometimes, testing!

Then I checked my BP. It was over the healthy limits. Don’t forget that we were in lockdown- no walks/jogging, not enough physical activity, or fresh air. Even if it was allowed, I wouldn’t because I was scared stiff of the coronavirus. When I realized my blood pressure was tilting past the normal ranges, I had to pause and check what I was doing wrong. Without looking into a crystal ball, it was obvious. So I did the first and immediate responsible thing: I SLEPT.

I chose to give up tests that I couldn’t finish on time, given that I had now accepted the ‘sleep’ invite. Then, for the logged issues, I left the acceptance/rejection to fate; choosing fate over worry – approved test cases and issues is a better ranking and more money but then I preferred life. Thirdly, I silenced the alerts on my device – no interruptions during my newly accepted invite (sleep). When I had gathered about two straight days of sleep (and ignoring worries, alerts, and invites), I designed a new system of accepting invites: No more than 3 test acceptances per day. No more than 30 issues in a day. No more than 10 hours of testing. No less than 8hrs of sleep (every day)! This deliberate stance over two months period sent my health numbers back to normal. And so it has remained – both Tests and Tester.

Today, there aren’t that barrage of test invites like during the lockdowns but this one Tester is currently happier and would be testing in better health. There’s no gain in losing one’s good health and having a stash of cash. That’s my admonition. So, fellow testers, I hope this brings some feel-good sunshine into your day (or night) as you read.

Happy Testing, folks.
Olufemi