We’re back in lock down in Sydney. While a few major cities are enjoying the first taste of life post mass vaccination (hi NYC!) we’re still a little while off that locally, hopefully by end of the year that will be us!
I was going to write this post last year when we first entered lock down but this lock-down I thought it might be interesting to look at my ‘life stack’ or tech products that I use to keep me sane during this period.
A lot of these products apply to out of lock down too so this can be thought of as interesting snapshot of what someone uses in their daily life in 2021.
The purpose of this post is really a bit selfish. I like to record how consumer apps change over time but also I’m thinking this will get stored/crawled somewhere on the internet and who knows, maybe in 1,000 years or 10,000 years(!) someone will find it useful for historical reason.
I’m single but live with another housemate so lock down is not too lonely in that regard but none the less pretty dire for someone that usually has lots of face to face meetings and enjoys spending time with friends. I really feel for my single friends who live alone!
Currently:
- I work 100% remotely, start to think of things with the ‘work screen’ during the day and the ‘play screen’ (aka TV) at night when you try to switch off work…
- Stay at home rule applies, allowed out for 5 reasons which includes exercise and grocery shopping
- Gyms, offices and most cafes and restaurants are closed, apart from take away options
- Non-essential retail is closed, take away and click and collect are still operating
Music
- Spotify – Best streaming music and podcast app right now (oddly during lock down I stop listening to podcasts as much)
- Mixcloud – Best collection of DJ mixes and electronic music streaming app
- Soundcloud – Discovery, new artists, labels etc
- Apple Music – It has the most extensive streaming collection, its still a very average app that doesn’t work as well as Spotify
Media
- DisneyPlus – The new streaming entrant doing really well, great library
- Netflix – The original streaming app, and still the most new content but seems to be less quality these days?
- Stan – The AU streaming answer to Netflix, with some good original series filmed locally too
- Amazon Prime Video – Another Netflix competitor with some good (fun?) local series too
Fitness
- Freeletics – One of the top workout and virtual ‘coach’ apps right now, made in Europe! This one kept me sane during our first hard lock down in 2020 when pretty much everything closed
- Nike Run – Does what it says, good for tracking runs
- MyfitnessPal – Macros and food tracking, its not the smartest one out there but most extensive food library which makes it win (this stuff will get automated hopefully soon)
Communication: Messaging and video chat
- Slack – Work comms
- Zoom – Work comms (add in Microsoft Teams and Google Meet but prefer Zoom)
- Messenger – Mostly for friends
- WhatsApp – family and overseas friends and industry groups
- Instagram – Mostly local friends
- Snapchat – Friends from around the world
- Twitter – Mostly to participate in the tech echo chamber
Groceries
- Google Shopping List – I use this free app to track stuff I need to buy, mostly because it integrates with Google speaker
- WiseList – the best grocery comparison app out there! I compare prices and can order from the cheapest (Disclaimer: I’m an investor)
- Coles Online delivery – Used it a few times, but I live near supermarkets so mostly go for the walk and to get out of the house
Productivity
- Evernote – still, my fav note taking app even though there’s a billion out there now.
- Notion – Over hyped and annoyingly slow but great for a lite wiki for work
- Google Workspace – Gmail, Drive etc. all for remote work
- Airtable – Used as a core CRM for work
- Trello – Personal task management mostly
Books
I mostly read paper books! Still don’t like the eReaders unless travelling.
- Booktopia – The main online book retailer for AU
- Amazon
- Audible – LOVE audio books
Others
- Amazon – I’m a Primer subscriber, so often buy books, random things for the house or home office etc.
- ServiceNSW Check in app – Mandatory to use to check into any venue when out
- COVID Safe app – The tracking app for Australia that doesn’t seem to work
- Xbox S – This keeps me sane. Who else plays GTA5 online?
- Economist app – shoutout to my only really used news app, rest of them I just go to their websites. Mostly use it for its audio article feature or when I have spare moment to check global news (without the noise).