#QuarantineLife: How to stay safe, sane & productive
Well… here we are. Alone, together. Adjusting to our “new normal.”
Lately, my friends and I end our Zoom calls with “Stay safe, stay sane.” We’re all figuring out how to navigate this uncertain new bunkered-in situation.
For our family, that means taking walks in nature whenever we can . Even though we are sheltering-in-place, we CAN go outside for exercise — and everyone on our walks has been vigilant about maintaining distance.
Tip #1 — don’t forget to get outside and exercise, it’s great for both your mental and physical health.
We’re also experimenting with new ways to stay connected. Like many others, we hosted Happy Hour in Zoom, & had a blast catching up with friends over drinks, from our kitchens & living rooms.
Afterwards, we gathered with friends & family from around the world to light the Shabbat candles & say prayers together. It was surprisingly meaningful & coherent. We felt CONNECTED by those ancient words we know so well and the comforting rituals that bind us together.
Friends of mine are moving “couples game night” and potluck dinners online, too. The common theme is that our familiar rituals CAN work remotely — with the right twist.
Tip #2 — find a ritual you know and understand, & share it with your loved ones online
It’s especially meaningful when I’m able to connect with inspiring and wise colleagues — like Nichol Bradford, co-founder of the Transformative Tech Lab. During a recent conversation, Nichol reminded me that crazy times are also an opportunity for positive change.
I connected with Nichol remotely — and by watching our videos. you’re absorbing her wisdom remotely too. All of us are remote workers now — and our job is to figure out how to make the best of this strange new normal, and turn lemons into lemonade.
Tip #3 — lean into positive change, especially in the face of adversity
So… what about you? If you’re in the early stages of launching a new product, your challenge is clear: you need to test your concept as early as possible on real customers, and design your product to drive deep customer engagement.
That’s where Game Thinking comes in. This system was inspired by best practices in the fast-moving games industry -where new ideas often start. But these methods aren’t just for games — they work across industries. I’ve helped hundreds of companies supercharge their innovation process — including teams working in healthcare, education, entertainment, beauty, finance, publishing, insurance, and (of course) tech.
Game Thinking is the fastest, most effective way to create a deeply engaging product. And best of all — this system is built from the ground up to work online — every step of the way.
We moved our business online almost a decade ago. We’ve learned how to get MASSIVE results working with distributed teams — and developed methods & practices that turn working online into a strategic advantage.
When you’re figuring out how to coordinate your team to get work done from home — it’s empowering to have a system that makes it easy to do product discovery with a remote, distributed team.
If you’re part of a newly “distributed team”, we want to support you by accelerating your learning & growth. So we’re offering a FREE training series on how Game Thinking can supercharge your distributed product team
Join us March 31 thru April 3 2020 at 10 AM pst. You’ll learn practical tips you can use right away — plus you’ll experience an online learning format you can reproduce and try out for yourself.
Signup now for the Game Thinking Design Lab
Hope to see you there — favorite drink in hand, ready to learn & have fun.
