Looking on the bright side of lockdown
As we enter the second month of livin’ la vida lockdown, here are some positives our team has taken away from their time indoors.
Time to eat
By Nakita Carey, Junior Designer
Traditionally, I’m an-eat-at-my-desk-efficiency-expert (EAMDEE). Designing while digesting is a skill that takes years to master.
Working at home has saved me two hours of total commuting time. The extra couple hours means I don’t have to do the whole EAMDEE thing. I can spend some time cooking — I’m eating healthier, too — then sit down to eat away from my desk.
I feel more present and less rushed now. Plus, I don’t risk food spillage on the Wacom!
Switch off. Stitch on
By Kat Fischer, Writer
When I was younger, I desperately wanted to be in the local Scouts group. They got to do all the cool stuff. Go camping. Learn how to build fires. Wrestle wild animals with their bare hands. Pilot light aircraft. Etcetera.
Or at least that’s what I assumed.
Because I was a Girl Guide.
At Girl Guides, we learnt how to cross stitch. And I hated it.
Fast-forward a decade or two, we’re stuck inside, and screens dominate. Working? That’s a laptop and a monitor. Catching up with close personal friends? That’s via Zoom. Doing yoga? That’s me craning my neck into impossible positions trying to glimpse the TV and see if the class has moved on to their chaturangas while I’m still in downward dog.
Then I find myself dusting off an old, neglected cross stitch set bought on a whim years ago. And you know what? It’s simple. It’s screenless. You get to make something that you can keep forever. And if you’ve got an aesthetic anything like mine, a cross stitch goes perfectly hung up next to your souvenir spoon collection.
So, I haven’t learnt a new skill in isolation, but I’ve found a new appreciation of the ones I’ve got. And no matter what you’re doing in lockdown, we can all take a lesson from the noble art of needlepoint: slow down, count twice, stitch once.
FaceTime value
Amanda Szylo-Duncan, Strategy Director
I am definitely Team Texting, but this time in isolation has seen my oldest friends take it to the next level and jump onto semi-regular video calls.
It’s been good to chat (with faces and audio!) both about our worries and random stuff, so we can forget we’re stuck for a while.
In normal times, we can go months without actually talking or seeing each other, since we live so far apart. The semi-regular video call is something I hope we hold on to when we all get back into the busyness of the ‘real world’.
