This year hasn’t been to a good start, no matter how you look at it. I cannot think of anyone who might say otherwise. COVID-19 has bought the world to it’s knees, with thousands of deaths and many more who are falling sick. There are economic ramifications too, with many people losing their jobs and some being left unpaid.
Being in the software industry allows me to work from home. But seeing the world suffer does not make me happy. I also understand the emotional toll this might take. The least I could do right now is to help out others with some useful information and quick links to get you through this.
Some useful tips and links
Keeping up with COVID-19 and the latest news
1. Follow instructions recommended by CDC regarding social distancing and other preventive measures for COVID-19.
2. LastWeekTonight: A show hosted by John Oliver if you want to stay up to date with the latest news.
3. Layoffs: It’s better to stay informed with how different employers are reacting to the economic slowdown.
Finances
5. If you have a credit card, check with your bank if they allow skipping current payments. Apple Card is offering quick way of skipping your monthly payments. Chase & American Express US are offering similar programs too.
6. The IRS seems to have extended the tax payment deadlines from April 15th to June 15.
Common sense
8. Do not bulk buy. Even before the shelter in place orders were put in place, people have been panic buying like crazy. Toilet rolls, hand sanitizers, eggs, beans all are seeing shortages. There isn’t a shortage of supply, which should have been communicated and would have avoided panic buying. There should have also been a cap on the number of items any individual can buy at a time.
9. Tip generously. Some restaurants and coffee shops still have takeouts available. If you happen to order from any of these places, maybe tip a little more than usual. Every single restaurant is losing business, but they still have to pay rent. If you are getting stuff delivered, probably try to tip more than usual.
10. Local shops vs big chains. Your local grocery store or cafe won’t have the huge financial backing that Walmart or Target has. To keep them going, try to support them as much as you can.
11. Efficiency. Try to use your resources as efficiently as you can. For instance, I had bought a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and ended up making 5 different dishes. Reduce unnecessary shopping trips and buy perishable items (in appropriate quantity).
12. Help out anyone who is working in the healthcare industry. Give them a DoorDash gift card, or send them encouraging messages everyday. They truly need everyone’s support right now.
Stay in touch and collaborate
All of us have been advised to stay inside our homes, but that does not mean we cannot still socialize. Video chatting with friends and family or creating a livestream is a good way of staying in touch with the outside world.
Video/Audio calling apps
1. FaceTime: Works well for video/audio calls if everyone uses an iPhone.
2. Skype: Available on every platform and web, does not require a Skype account to join calls.
3. WhatsApp: Good alternative to FaceTime, if your social circle is a combination of Android/iOS users.
4. Video: Similar to Skype, as anyone can join calls with a shareable link. [Disclaimer: Zoom has a poor security and privacy record. Use it with caution.]
5. Signal, Google Hangouts, Google Duo: Good alternatives if none of the above work for you.
Collaboration Tools
1. Microsoft OneNote: It’s a great note taking app which is free on all platforms. Great for discussing school work or any kind of collaboration.
2. Evernote, Paper by Dropbox: These are not completely free, but offer a free tier and are enough to get the job done.
3. Notion: This is a freemium app, with multiple ways to create and share notes or tasks. Especially useful for project planning.
4. Google Docs: This is a default document editor for most and works great for multi-person projects.
Learn something new?
The silver lining is the opportunity to learn something new. If you have some free time, there’s tons of free resources available to learn a new skill.
Photography
1. Professional Photographers of America: There are multiple tutorials (free for now) on different aspects of photography. No matter what camera you have, you’ll find a good tutorial to improve your skill.
2. Tyler Stalman: He is a professional photographer with a few tutorials and many tips and tricks for photography. He also sometimes edits his photos live on YouTube. Check out his channel.
3. Peter McKinnon: Similar to Tyler, has a great YouTube channel where he posts not just photography tips, but Vlog tutorials as well. A great resource to improve your instagram game.
4. Photos and iMovie: These are great ways of editing your photos and videos for free on iOS and macOS.
5. Spark Camera & Video Editor: Great way to shoot and edit quick vlogs.
6. Final Cut Pro X — Free Trial — Apple: This is a professional video editing software by Apple normally costing $300 offered for a 90-day free trial.
7. Adobe: Unfortunately Adobe only offers a 7-day free trial, but offers every kind of photo/video editing tool you might need.
Streaming
If you want to show off your skills to a wider audience or just want to interact with a your followers/colleagues, there are multiple ways of starting a streaming channel. Since the last week I have been following photo editing streams, gaming streams and even cocktail tutorials.
Streaming falls into 2 categories:
A: Live stream where you are purely interacting with your audience. Requires just a phone.
1. Instagram Live Stream: Probably the easiest and the most popular way to live stream.
2. Periscope: Not many know about this platform, but it’s exactly how instagram livestream works but better. Unlike instagram live stream, you don’t need an account to watch a periscope live stream. All you need is the link to the livestream.
B: The other is where you want to share your screen content with your audience and chat simultaneously. Requires a fairly powerful computer or gaming console AND a camera/phone. The Verge has a great article on how to get started with streaming. ::UPDATED:: [How to start live-streaming in OBS — The Verge]
4. Twitch: Right now the most popular way of streaming amongst gamers.
5. Mixer | Interactive Live streaming: Comparatively small but offers similar features like Twitch.
6. Gaming — YouTube: This isn’t the most popular platform for streaming, but is unique since it offers the features from both A and B.
Streaming Software
Streamlabs is a popular app used for sharing game streams. This is a requirement if you are planning to stream on twitch or mixer.
Everything else
Skillshare and Duolingo are good resources worth checking out.
Entertainment
If you just wish to sit back and chill, here are a few shows/channels that I would recommend:
YouTube
Bon Appétit: Food show unlike any other.
MKBHD: Technology top to bottom.
Doug DeMuro & carwow: Car reviews.
PewDiePie: ~
SomeGoodNews: Former The Office start, John Krasinski is hosting a news show.
Joseph’s Machines: Just fun videos.
MrBeast: Challenges and other gibberish.
Mark Rober: Science and other experiments
Ali Abdaal: Day in my Life and other productivity tips
Ali Abdaal](https://www.youtube.com/user/Sepharoth64): Day in my Life and other productivity tips
Twitch and Mixer
1. Ninja: Fornite and COD.
2. Dr Disrespect: COD.
Books
1. Anna K
2. The Fountainhead
3. 7 habits of highly influential people
4. The subtle art of not giving a fuck
Podcasts
1. Accidental Tech Podcast: Technology and Apple.
2. Connected — Relay FM: Technology and Apple.
3. Schnitt Talk: Barstool Sports: Pop culture, relationships and dating.
4. PowerfulJRE: ~
5. Office Ladies: Revisiting The Office.
6. The Daily: Daily news breifing.
I will keep updating this post as things progress, in the meantime comment if I have missed out on anything. I wouldn’t say life will be back to normal soon, it will be a while. The only thing to do is to act responsibly and keep a positive attitude.
