Cut yourself some slack
It's chaos all the way down. Give yourself a break. It's OK to take a breathe right now.
It’s chaos all the way down this week.
I’ve been inundated with article and interview requests all about remote work, work from home, and shifting everything to digital instantly. So the newsletter column is a fail this week.
But here’s my one suggestion. We all cut ourselves some slack.
This is hard. I feel tense all the time. I’ll do all the work while it’s here because in two weeks there might be none. But when things feel too much, just let yourself stop. It really is a lot right now.
I’m worrying constantly about being a good parent while the kids are learning how to learn all over again. How to be more self-reliant. How to be at home but not on holidays. I’m working long hours to get things done and ignoring them while they’re here feels awful.
But I have to keep reminding myself: this is not normal, it’s OK if it’s a bit crazy, it’s OK if it isn’t perfect. We’ll keep tweaking it as we go.
If this was just an economic collapse, maybe I’d be more worried. But the lesson right now is that our health is everything. That’s the priority. All else can be rebuilt and recovered. Life can be simplified.
In fact, there’s never been a better time to be stuck at home. So much to watch, play, and enjoy in our living rooms and studies. Good times await behind every screen.
Do not forget to breathe. Just stay safe and prepare for what you want to do with yourself when we all get to shed the cocoon and emerge fresh and ready for what’s next.
Good Luck. Stay Safe. Stay Home.
Byteside things
Byteside podcast: Services are blowing up in all kinds of ways, whether becoming the new hotness or collapsing under the weight of all this new work from home traffic.
Hearthstone's Year of the Phoenix!
The Scrapyard podcast: All the latest news about this year’s big changes to the great digital cardgame, Hearthstone.
Jetpacks podcast: A spoken version (with some extras) of last week’s column, if you’d like to hear my voice talk about things instead of just see the results of words coming out of my fingers.
Help
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How the 3D printing industry is stepping up to help the COVID-19 response
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Neighbors Are Reaching Out on Nextdoor - The New York Times
Homebound city dwellers are turning to a neighborhood app to connect, organize and help each other without risking physical contact.
Nope
‘Zoombombing’: When Video Conferences Go Wrong - The New York Times
As its user base rapidly expands, the videoconference app Zoom is seeing a rise in trolling and graphic content.
What it feels like to be laid off on Zoom during this crisis
Hundreds of tech employees are getting laid off amid the coronavirus outbreak — but now it’s all happening over Zoom. Never, ever do this.
Data
Hidden data is revealing the true scale of the coronavirus outbreak | WIRED UK
Satellite images, internet speed and traffic information tell a whole new story about Covid-19
COVID-19 and the Creative Economy: Takeaways from Patreon’s Data Science Team
In short, this moment in time is one of the strongest influxes of memberships that we’ve ever seen. And the message from the data is clear: membership works.
Houseparty, Discord, Zoom, and Marco Polo downloads explode amid coronavirus pandemic
Coronavirus quarantines have sent downloads soaring for social video apps as millions of people search for ways to connect socially and professionally.
More
Epic launches publishing label, signs creators behind Control, Inside, and The Last Guardian
Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced a new publishing label, which will include new games from the studios behind Control, Inside, and The Last Guardian.
Who Would Have Thought an iPad Cursor Could Be So Much Fun?
Apple’s new iPadOS 13.4 adds enhanced support for trackpads. And with that, a shiny new cursor.
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