Updated 18th March 2020
It’s a tough time for people with uncertainty about the effect of Coronavirus and fear about jobs and potentially having to stay home. That uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that our control over our own individual worlds seems very limited.
But there are always things that we can do, actions we can take.
Health
Do not rely on a random ursine writing on the Internet for advice on health, instead go straight to the official guidance.
Personal
Some ideas on how to manage anxiety during the outbreak.
Another excellent guide to coping with anxiety.
If you are C of E then you might find this useful.
If you are a bear and therefore a Catholic then this will be useful.
A really useful Twitter thread for those worried about being in isolation with a violent partner
Work
These are sources of information and guidance for people and companies affected by the outbreak.
Federation of Small Businesses
Facebook Group for freelancers
Tools
If you have to work from home then there are tools that can help with collaboration and keeping in contact with colleagues and friends.
Working Remotely
Zoho are offering a complete suite of remote working tools for free until 1st July 2020.
Document Creation and Editing
Group Chat
Videoconferencing
Team Collaboration
Sharing Files
Family
If you have relatives or friends who are not very technically literate then you can keep in touch using Amazon’s Alexa devices or Google’s Nest devices.
The Amazon Alexa has a “Drop In” function which may be useful with vulnerable people but you must seek their agreement first.
Children
If you have an iPad, iPod or iPhone then Apple Arcade is a curated £5 a month service which provides over 100 mobile games and you can try it for free.
YouTube Makers Club. By kids for kids.
For bitesized children, the BBC CBeebies website is full of games and activities.
And there is the CBeebies iPlayer too.
For snack sized and older, there is the BBC CBBC website
And the CBBC iPlayer.
Archive.org has the Internet Arcade with classic arcade games you can play in your browser.
RaspberryPi have a whole site full of projects.
And if you need to keep children out of a room then why not use this useful sign:
Relaxation
It is important to find ways of feeling human (or ursine) even when working from home or if you are socially isolating yourself.
Everyone will have their own ways to do so, here are some of mine.
Reading
You can support local bookshops either directly or by using Hive.
Music
You can support bands and musicians by buying from Bandcamp.
Groove Salad from Soma.FM
Groove Salad Classic from Soma.FM
You will something for all tastes on Soma.FM, from ambient to synth pop nostalgia.
There are lots of playlists on Spotify and you can find some of mine here.
Spoken Word
For podcasts I use BBC Sounds and PocketCasts
Background
Sometimes you just want something on in the background
Mark O'Neill 