I had a few conversations lately to understand, where we are pivoting as a society. While still unclear on many, I want to share some trends that are obvious.
1.     Technology for wellbeing takes over
While pre-corona we spoke about tech life balance, now the discussion is shifting towards tech to control tech. Although digital wellbeing has gone mainstream, I haven't seen truly innovative solutions in this space over 5 years rather than “control your emails less often”.
Instead, this space is now increasingly taken by tech solutions to monitor and ensure well-being (whether those solve the problem, is a different question).


2.     Increase of surveillance technology on all levels, incl. workplace
Related to the above. Large companies are now looking for solutions to be able to check and control physical and emotional wellbeing of their employees. HR use apps to ask employees about their temperature, symptoms etc. to be able to quickly prevent the spread of the virus.


3.     Out of city communities/buying land
I notice trends both in investing in land in remote corners “just in case”, and in creating self-sustainable community with like-minded people. Mostly it's people who already are established professionals either able to work remotely for a company, or running their own business. They are still undecided though, as they appreciate the opportunity of being close enough to the city and where things are happening, and will likely be choosing to live in proximity of 1 hour.

Which trends are you noticing? 

This is an extract from a webinar by Dr Anastasia Dedyukhina about social media, fake news and loneliness in the pandemic times. The whole webinar is available here.

What if this whole mess we’re living through these days is a blessing? How different would your behavior be?

Before you start throwing tomatoes at me, please read on.

Yes, economy is shaky and our incomes are shrinking (my live speaking gigs have been postponed until September at least), we are endlessly worried about close ones, sitting at home is not much fun, especially if you are a parent… and yet, what if you tried to make lemonade out of these lemons?
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We have a unique, perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity to:

1. Slow down for once and therefore reconnect with our true selves. Have a think of where we want to be next
2. Take care of our bodies and diet
3. Develop resilience and trust in ourselves – because we will truly need it in the age of AI
4. Innovate our businesses in very limited time and low cost
5. Reconnect with our close ones and appreciate how deep human connections are truly valuable and how much we need physical contact, not just virtual one

 
What are we doing instead?

1. Working longer hours than before, trying to answers thousands of ‘urgent’ enquiries, and then having our family catch-ups and entertainment on the screens
2. Drinking alcohol and eating comforting food to reduce stress. Minimizing exercise and sitting in front of the computer all day
3. Worrying 24/7 about things outside of our control, reading social media non-stop and help spreading fake news without knowing them
4. Cutting all budgets for new developments and creating emergency survival plans (rather than thinking of how to use this situation to your company’s advantage and start rolling out pilots of programs that could take otherwise years for approval)
5. Shouting at our kids and close ones because you are stressed and tired of all of the above

 
Sounds familiar?

I have a solution (you won’t like it, but it works).

Ask yourself this simple question: how could you use the current situation to thrive, not just survive?

It’s the times when things can change very fast, for good and for bad. How can you use this opportunity to take care of yourself more? To make your business more resilient and innovative? You have only a few weeks to do that.
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The nature is already cleaning itself after a few days of reduced human intervention. The air above the cities has never been better in decades. Open your windows, and let’s also use this opportunity to clean ourselves. Wishing everyone to stay healthy, physically and mentally.

If you want tips on managing your digital habits, check out our upcoming events.

PS my additional practical tips to maintain sanity: establish a strict daily routine, stand up from your computer and stretch every hour, batch checking your emails and whatsapp notifications (do NOT keep your phone in the same room), do at least 30 minutes of physical exercise daily, keep your windows open as much as possible, do more things with your hands as this keeps you grounded, reduce alcohol and worrying as both impact your immune system 

There is a physical #coronavirus, but there is an even more powerful virus of misinformation and panic being spread via social media. And the latter is far more dangerous, since stress actually undermines your immune system.
So please, make sure that you are protecting yourself and your close ones from both these days. A few simple tips of how to do it:
1. Choose 1-2 credible sources of information, stop reading everything on social media (I'd say, stop reading social media altogether, but that's unlikely to happen)
2. Make sure you first check whatever you are sharing, as there is lot of information out there. Will take you 5 extra seconds to google it.
3. Focus on things you can control, and how you can help real people. Maybe ordering something for elder relatives online, or scheduling support calls, whatever it is.
Everyone, stay mentally healthy, it's as important as your physical health. We'll be adding more tips and explaining how 'social media viruses' get spread in the next few days here.