2020 for some may feel like a black hole, a year to be struck from the calendar and the annuls of history. While being asked to ‘stay home, protect the NHS, save lives’ can for some feel like their whole world has been put on hold, for me it has been a catalyst. 2020 has been the spark I needed to look at what I value in my lifestyle, that gives me a sense of purpose and wellbeing and what I need to let go of to move forward.
The first thing I started to address this year is increasing my agility to a constantly changing situation and my resilience to those sudden changes. I am not the type of person that naturally copes with sudden changes, it is a learned behaviour that takes an enormous amount of energy for me to handle. Agility in my home life is not something I have had to look at for a long while. Dealing with these this year has tested some of my assumptions about the direction of the Digital Age. I had thought that we now live in a ‘post PC era’ of tablets and mobile phones which have taken on a lot of the roles previously given to the humble desktop. Given their size, expense and complexity it is easy to believe their time had come to an end, relegated to the office where their origins began. Not so. For all their many failings, the desktop computer is still one of the most powerful and versatile digital tools available.
As the pandemic hit I was given a laptop to work from home and I quickly realised how much I easier it is still to work from a desktop. I put aside space in my house for a home office and gathered my peripherals from my old PC for work. Using a full sized screen keyboard and mouse on a desk made all the difference to me. I could come in, do a full day and not be frustrated by small screen, small keyboard and a track pad. For anyone still struggling I strongly recommend investing in these.
Lockdown created some interesting challenges for home as well. I could no longer visit my family face to face. Telephone calls become video calls which grew so long that the battery in my phone was drained by the end. As a one-off occurrence, I paid no mind to it but at the weeks marched on it became clear that a mains powered alternative is needed. My trusty desktop came to the rescue. I am fortunate that I was able to get a decent webcam and microphone at a reasonable price this let us all spend time together.
By the autumn, the PC had once more become the hub of activity it once was a decade ago, with it my interests around the PC. It has been an interesting year, a return to my roots and my interests that I have had not spent time on for a very long time. It has allowed me to focus on what can be done and move forward. This has helped me maintain contact with my family and work at a pace that left me satisfied.
With the new year fast approaching I hope this year has been kind to you and your family. I wish you & yours, health and happiness in the new year to come.
Benners.