Christopher Wijesinghe

Don’t forget to ZOOM IN and ZOOM OUT!

I was working on a design yesterday and had to keep zooming in and zooming out. Why?

ZOOM IN: I had to zoom in to examine the finer details. I was checking for unnecessary marks in the background image, small inconsistencies, and details I might have missed at first glance.

ZOOM OUT: I also had to zoom out to see whether the text and elements were aligned, the overall visual appeal, and what it would feel like for the viewer at first glance.

I think this goes beyond design to everything we do. Our perspective on everything around us. When you zoom in, you see the finer details, the real issues, the tiny mistakes you would have missed if you did not look closely enough. But we also have to zoom out to see the bigger picture, the surrounding factors, and understand how one thing connects to another.

Continuous zooming in and zooming out might give better results.

Does this make sense? Let me know what you think.

P.S. I’m not an expert designer, but I manage general stuff. Check out the first comment for another illustration of zooming in and zooming out.

The digital content era will peak. People will get tired of the noise. Offline skills and initiatives will matter.

What do you think?

💡 I got this idea in the middle of an exam!

Have you noticed that in most supermarkets, cashiers first scan and bill all your items, and only after that do they start packing everything into bags? This means the next customer in line has to wait until the bagging is finished, which often takes quite a while. ⏳

This came to mind while I was writing an answer on Lean Management and the 8 Wastes of Lean. Two of those are:

🔄 Motion — wasted time and effort from unnecessary movement
⏱️ Waiting — wasted time between process steps

So I thought, why can’t the cashier place each item directly into a bag after scanning, instead of leaving everything on the counter and then packing later? That would reduce both motion and waiting.

➡ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦:
Supermarkets could place three bag holders (like the usual ones, but positioned differently as in the “Proposed Practice” image) right next to the cashier. This way, items can go straight into the right bag as they’re scanned.

The bags could be categorized as:
🟡 Cold & Frozen
🟡 Fresh Produce
🟡 Other Items

This system could:
🟡Save time and energy for the cashier
🟡Reduce waiting time for customers in the queue
🟡Free up staff who would otherwise be bagging, so they can focus on more productive tasks

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to correct me if I’ve missed something, or share better practices already in use. If you have suggestions to make this idea stronger, I’d be glad to learn from you.

🖋 Side note: I’ve started sharing my ideas publicly here. You’re free to use them. And if they ever help you save or make money, I’d be more than happy to accept a reward 😉 Cheers!

Do you hate seeing your vehicle covered with bird p**p or baking under the hot sun?

Well, I personally hate it.

So here’s a thought: what if supermarkets (or even other parking spaces) created a simple roof or shaded area for their customers? (I know some places have this already, but many don’t).

It’s such a basic idea, yet not many have done it. I honestly feel that it could influence where a customer chooses to shop, especially for businesses offering homogenous products.

Value addition doesn’t always have to be about big things. Even something this simple can make a real difference.

Supermarkets can even get creative with it by adding flower and leaf creepers to bring a nice green vibe to the outlet. ‘Go green’ doesn’t have to stop with reusable bags or eco-friendly packaging.

Let me know what you think. Am I wrong, or do you think this can make a difference? Would love to hear your thoughts.

𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴

Don’t ever tell a teacher, “Oh, you get to finish work at 1.30pm, that’s great!” — big mistake.

(𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 - 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚)

Here are 2 things you should never tell a teacher, and I’ll explain why.

1️⃣ “Oh, you get to finish work at 1.30pm, that’s great!”
2️⃣ “Oh, you get 3 months of paid leave, that’s great!”

I’ve worked in both the education field and the business field (6+ years in each). Both have their own work pressures in my opinion.

The stress in the business field mainly comes from the 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞, strict deadlines, and client demands. But the pay is decent, career growth is visible, and you usually get benefits like insurance.

The stress in teaching, on the other hand, comes from 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧. Most schools have 30–40 students in one class, and only a teacher knows how much energy it takes to control a class, hold attention of students’ with multiple personalities and learning levels, and make lessons interesting and understandable. On top of that, teachers handle countless extra duties, lesson planning, and hours of preparation beyond classroom time.

Additionally, most classrooms aren’t air-conditioned (while most offices are), and teachers often have to walk around with heavy bags under the hot sun. A teacher finishing work at 1.30pm could easily be more exhausted than a corporate employee (I have a right to say this as I’ve worked in both fields, including a high-pressure sales job). That said, teaching is a bit slower-paced and doesn’t carry the same customer pressure as the corporate world (which is great!).

But the biggest issue is pay and career growth. Teachers get paid peanuts! Their workload, stress, and the value they create are on par with the corporate sector. Just ask your teacher friends how much they earn, you’ll be surprised. There’s little hope of significant income growth over the years, with annual increments often being just Rs. 500–5,000. Without proper performance evaluations or increment systems, many teachers end up doing tuition classes, basically working two jobs to make ends meet.

So this Teacher’s Day, remember what you shouldn’t say to a teacher when you meet them. Instead, try these two, and watch their reaction:

1️⃣ “That’s not an easy job. I wish you were paid more. Hopefully, the system changes one day.”
2️⃣ “Take a good break during your holidays. You truly deserve the rest.”

Oh, I have a lot more to say about teaching, and I will in the future. But I really wanted to share this as we celebrate Teacher’s Day. One day I'll do something to bring this change in schools.

A very Happy Teachers' Day to all the amazing teachers across the world. I pray that one day, you’ll be paid what you truly deserve. Much love ❤️

Note: This post is for all the hardworking teachers. Not the ice gahana or toxic ones who’ve ruined the lives of many.

I was honoured to be invited by the Mizpah Prayer Missionary Church to conduct a workshop on keyboard playing 😊