Tech in the time of Covid-19
As the global situation is forcing almost everyone "online" and putting many in front of technology and systems that are completely unfamiliar, there are myriad options for making it through days of isolation and keeping us in contact with colleagues, friends and family.
Below is a set of tech tools that can help keep you connected and make the most of the self-imposed lockdown while staving off cabin-fever! Arranged over the course of my average day, there's hopefully something here for everyone - from some of the basics you’ll have heard of, to some stuff I’ve only started using during this lockdown.
07:00 - 10:00
Rise and shine! In a time where everyone is responsible for keeping their own schedule, structure and routine are essential. Using a "sun clock" that gradually brightens like the natural sunrise, your regular alarm is replaced with something far more gentle. Especially good for those who, like me, aren't "morning people".
Once up it's time to join work calls. Keeping in touch in a virtual office is easy using Microsoft Teams, with chat, screen-sharing and video calls all integrated into the platform it's certainly a lot better than Skype was and has plenty of great features.
Philips "Wake-up Light" : link
Microsoft Teams : link
10:00 - 12:00
Next up is to start trawling through and clearing emails! Whatever email service you use, Microsoft Outlook provides unparalleled functionality and integration with calendars, contacts and more. Not super exciting to praise the oldest hand in the game but with the additional Teams integration allowing you to set "Do not disturb" mode; messages, alerts and email notifications are silenced, allowing you to concentrate properly on getting that inbox sorted!
Microsoft Outlook : link
12:00 - 13:00
Now, as we keep being told, it's important that we all keep up physical exercise during "lockdown" and space / outdoor activities being restricted you can knock-up a make-shift home gym; dig out your old rusty mountain bike, couple it with a relatively inexpensive "turbo trainer" mount and you've got yourself a static bike. A basic bike computer to track your distance and a simple tablet mount and you've got the gym experience without having to shell out £2,000 on a Peloton bike!
Example "turbo trainer" : link
Basic bike computer : link
Tablet mount : link
13:00 - 16:00
Back to work and it's time to check in with projects. Using Microsoft Office 365 allows for real-time collaboration on documents so everyone can track where changes are being made and the online project management tool "Trello" provides an easy way to allocate and track tasks and projects in as minute detail as required. Arranging your Trello "boards" in a "Kanban" style means you can visually see the state of any project and identify any issues in good time.
Trello : link
Example Trello "Kanban" board : link
16:00 - 17:30
Now throughout the day it is also important to remember to take breaks. Where previously making a cup of tea or checking in with a colleague would mean social interactions, today's "office to kitchen" walk doesn’t tend to include many water cooler chats. Make sure you're still catching up in a social way with WhatsApp.
Creating groups for your usual in-person interactions ensure connections are maintained during the current situation and with cross-platform compatibility you can share with everyone. Just make sure sharing those memes doesn’t take up too much of your time!
WhatsApp : link
18:00 - 20:00
Dinner time! With many local restaurants now offering delivery services in lieu of being able to open for dining it is important - if you want to see these restaurants survive in the long term - that these businesses receive support. Using Deliveroo or Uber Eats you can order that same favourite dish from your local Italian!
Now, in addition to ordering in you can make the evening feel like you are still "going out" with friends or family by using "House Party" a video-chat platform that allows up to 8 to join a "room" meaning you don't have to coordiate individual calls. Set yourself up at a table and maybe all coordinate ordering from the same restaurant to make it feel like the real restaurant experience.
Deliveroo : link
Uber Eats : link
House Party : link
20:00 - 22:00
Ok, dinner done it’s time to relax in front of the TV. Netflix has never been so popular and with live sport sent to the sideline for the time being why not discover a new show or pick a film. With the "Netflix Party" plug-in available for the Google Chrome web browser you can watch the same film / show with a group of friends without having to synchronise pressing "play" and "pause" at exactly the same time.
Hook the laptop up to your TV with cables or any casting device such as Google Chromecast or Apple TV for a more authentic experience. Adding a "House Party" video call to the evening means you can chat and react to the show [almost] as if you were all in the same room.
Netflix Party : link
Google Chrome browser : link
Google Chromecast : link
Apple TV : link
22:00 - 23:00
All caught up with the latest episodes? Great, you've nearly survived the day but before bed, how about a quick game? Lots of video games consoles have games that allow for online multi-player but few are more "non-gamer friendly" than the Nintendo Switch, with Mario Kart 8 you can challenge friends as a "team" or individually. Work off that competitive energy before retiring for the night.
Nintendo Switch : link
Mario Kart 8 : link
Nintendo Online : link
