Technology that kept us sane during lockdown
By Matt Hayes | 15th September 2021
Regardless of your circumstances, the pandemic hit us hard. We were side swiped by an onslaught of swift and steep changes to our then ‘typical’ – and, in too many cases, the painful passing of loved ones.
For creatures of habit, where routine contributed to the foundation of our mental equilibrium, we were catapulted into an emotional storm, where it felt as if the only constant was change
Socialising up a storm
We’re back in the office now and socialising again, IN REAL LIFE. I couldn’t be happier.
2020 brought words into our daily vocabulary that turned out to be the most used phrases of the year. From social distancing, quarantine and remote, to Coronavirus, Zoom and Karen (yup, it’s on the list).
Seeing Zoom and Karen (giving credit to TikTok for that one), made me think of technologies that kept me sane during multiple lockdowns.
In the spirit of having our team back in the office, feeling energised and exercising our ‘never to be taken for granted again’, freedom to socially interact, we asked our team what technology became a mainstay in their lives to positively manage their mental wellbeing.
And will they continue to leverage the benefits of those technologies as life starts to return to the typical we have always known.
5 technologies that we can’t live without
- Podcasts
Taylor Ironmonger – Recruitment Consultant
“One technology in particular, that got me through lockdown were podcasts.
Either listening to the wonderful Tommy Fleetwood, and others on the BBC golf show or podcasts related to mindset, motivation and mental wellbeing. The latter were probably the biggest life-saver, allowing me to use techniques to get the through the tough time that was lockdown.”
- TikTok
Darcy Sims – Recruitment Consultant
“I genuinely can’t remember time before TikTok. Or maybe I don’t’ want to because it was a constant for me throughout lockdown. There are some incredibly talented, inspiring and downright funny people in this world. I’ve amassed a library of TikTok hacks that I regularly reference, my DIY skills have gone from zero to at least 20%, and I have tried a surprisingly large amount of crazy, quick cake recipes.
Let’s face it. When we start a sentence now with, I read somewhere recently, we know that means we saw it on TikTok”. ?
- PlayStation
Brandon Lobar – Recruitment Consultant
“I will never doubt the power of PlayStation again. I’m not even a massive gamer. BUT it was the only way to interact with my friends, at the same time, who were pretty much all furloughed. Zoom quizzes can only entertain people for so long!
A night on FIFA quickly became the substitute to all going to the pub on a Friday night”.
- Zoom
Chris Devonshire – Co-founder
“If you had asked me a year ago if working from home or flexible working would become typical across recruitment and indeed all industries, my answer of no would likely not surprise you.
With a significant percentage of our onboarding in 2021 has been remote, Matt and I faced some challenges that I am sure many businesses experienced. It was a steep learning curve that we enjoyed figuring out, with our employees. And a lot of the credit for our success goes to virtual technologies like Zoom and Teams”.
- Did somebody say Just Eat?
Chris decided he wanted two. I think this might have been his first choice. ?
“Never have I ever, eaten so much take-away in my life. Date nights with my girlfriend became synonymous with Just Eat. Because we couldn’t go out so, we made it our mission to try as many different cuisines, from the comfort of our home. Whenever I see Snoop Dogg now, I am immediately hungry.”
Wrap up
I’m with Chris. For me, it was Zoom
For the same reasons as echoed by Chris coupled with staying in touch with loved ones. My wife and I leveraged Zoom a lot during 2020 for a different reason. We were blessed to welcome our 2nd child, Harry, into the world in October last year.
I was constantly worried about my wife and baby’s wellbeing with hospital visits necessary in the middle of a pandemic. We were really learning as we were going. Having the regular virtual ante natal classes, speaking to mums and dads in the same situations, with the same concerns, really helped us manage those challenges positively.
Whatever working environment you’ve returned to, from fully office-based, hybrid or fully remote, we’d love to hear which technologies you’ve adopted as standard and why.
We might want to adopt a few in the future.
Co-founder at Devonshire Hayes