Top tips from a leading UK psychotherapist on improving your digital health
Figures for the North West reveal an astonishing reaction to remote working - with a quarter working longer days than pre-COVID times and finding it difficult to find time for themselves to wind down or destress.
The move from the office to a work from home basis has not been without its problems.
From failing WiFi signal, to interrupted zoom calls, to the dog barking in the background, the adjustment has been fraught with pesky difficulties.
For the most part, we’ve managed to navigate them without any serious consequences. But what’s worrying experts is the role home working has played in our nation’s ‘digital health’: how we use technological devices and what patterns of use we follow.
New research from Microsoft Windows has revealed that lockdown has contributed to declining digital health in 2020.
Figures for the North West reveal an astonishing reaction to remote working – with a quarter working longer days than pre-COVID times and finding it difficult to find time for themselves to wind down or destress.
Again, one in four of those surveyed reported that they continued to check their devices throughout the night with 8.2% not taking any breaks from their screens during the working day.
Over half of the North West admitted to spending more time online than last year, with one in five British men confessing to greeting colleagues and friends online before their partner in the morning.
With lack of defined lunch and coffee breaks, and the absence of social interactions for a quick office catch up, a decline in digital health seems almost inevitable. But with unclear plans on returning to the office, remote working is something we will have to become accustomed to.
Leading UK psychotherapist Zoe Ashton, author of Your Mental Health First Aid Kit said: “Just like the crucial role of diet, exercise, sleep and relationships to our overall health, digital health is the fifth pillar we have to consider in our journey to improve our overall mental and physical wellbeing.
“Our world has changed more in the past 12-months than it has in the past five years and for many of us, our new reality has left us feeling overwhelmed and off balance.”
Microsoft Windows has partnered with Zoe to help people assess and address their digital health, offering some top tips to help people improve their digital well-being:
Make technology work for you
Just like a balanced diet, your digital use also needs to be varied. Score yourself daily from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) on how energised, productive, connected and relaxed you feel. If you are at the low end of the scale, use your technology in ways that create energy and make you focused. This may be silencing notifications, and regaining balance. Treat your digital health as a sliding scale and use your technology to help you achieve harmony.
Set yourself digital boundaries
Place limits on how late you respond to work emails, or the amount of time you spend on social media per day. Separate your work life from your home life. This can be done by creating two different desktops for work and personal use.
Notice your patterns
Do you have lunch in front of your laptop or wake-up reaching for your phone? What digital patterns do you notice throughout the day? How do they make you feel and what would you like to change? Begin to note down these unhelpful behaviours and consider how you might be able to change them. Think about reaching for a warming tea first thing, rather than your phone. Create reminders to scrap these bad habits.
Move your body
Consider your physical and digital wellbeing as one and the same. Move your body regularly allowing it to refresh, as you would your browser. You could take advantage of some of the online classes Microsoft 365 have to offer.
Unlock your imagination
Mindfulness is a simple practice of choosing where your energy is directed. If you are scoring on the high end of the aforementioned scale, use your energy and channel it into something creative. This might be digital doodling. Use the night light settings on your phone to do an evening sketch, transitioning you from an invigorated work mode into a relaxed state of mind.
With over 20% of Brits unsure what good digital health boundaries look or feel like, this checklist should assist in identifying and acting on bad digital health patterns.
“We need to take a deeper look at our overall relationship with tech so that we can feel fulfilled by it consistently – truly making it work for us,” Zoe added.
Visit Zoe’sInstagramchannel here to access the Digital Health Diary and Checklist.
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A sneak peek at the first pour: Greater Manchester celebrates the return of Boddingtons
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has every reason to drink and jubilate this Friday and toast the perfect excuse for an early dart as the first fresh pours in a new chapter for Boddingtons beer have been sunk.
And by’eck if ain’t still bloody gorgeous.
That’s right, in case you didn’t hear the latest news about ‘Cream of Manchester’, we can now officially and ever-so gladly confirm that Boddingtons Bitter is properly back on draught in the region.
With the iconic cask ale making a glorious return decades on from its glory days in the 1990s, the new and improved Boddies beer is flowing from the taps – just in time for the weekend, no less.
Yes, with local brewery and pub chain J.W. Lees taking over the manufacturing and distribution, leaving the Budweiser Group to take over the licensing, the updated recipe Boddingtons – which clocks in at a 4.0% ABV – is about to be rolled out across the 10 boroughs.
Better yet, with five native pubs having already reinstalled honey yellow and black pumps, and with Lees looking to deliver it to the ale-loving masses across the North West, this could be the biggest Manc comeback since, well, those two lads from Burnage…
Speaking of: we were invited along to Founder’s Hall on Albert Square (formerly Duttons and now home to every one of the brand’s beers, not to mention serving as a tribute to John Lees himself), for a special ceremony to celebrate the inaugural public pints of Boddies being poured.
Let’s just say we were honoured to be part of the grand resurrection.
Obviously, there have been some holdouts hanging onto the classic Mancunian brew, and we certainly had fun trying to track them down over the past couple of years, but we’re just glad we don’t have to do as much work to find one now.
Managing Director of JW Lees, William Lees-Jones, said on the relaunch: “When I joined JW Lees in 1994, Boddingtons was ‘The Cream of Manchester’ and we were in awe of their position in leading the cask beer revolution.
“We’re proud to bring it back home, starting with Founder’s Hall, and we’re planning to restore Boddington’s as one of the UK’s leading premium cask beers, particularly here in the North West.” Well said, sir.
Available from Founder’s Hall, The Black Friar in Salford, Stables Tavern; Sams Chop House, The Circus Tavern, Oxford Road Tap, Piccadilly Tap and Victoria Tap from today, as well as Corbières and Stockport pubs like The Crown and The White Lion, we can’t wait to see Boddingtons take over the nation.
In the meantime, why not look back at the storied history behind one of our finest exports?
Subway launches make-your-own jacket potato concept ‘Spudway’ across UK
Emily Sergeant
Subway is finally launching its viral make-your-own jacket potato concept ‘Spudway’ at all its restaurants in the UK.
That’s right – you can now walk into any Greater Manchester Subway and order a jacket potato instead of a sandwich, and you get to choose exactly what goes on top of it.
Britain has always been a nation of ‘jacket fanatics’, with almost half of Brits claiming the spud to be a British cultural icon, but according to new research by Subway, it’s been found that nearly a quarter (23%) of us have argued with family and friends over how to prepare or serve one.
So it’s fair to say that, yes, us Brits do love ourselves a jacket potato, and this is why ‘Spudway’ is launching nationwide.
The UK-wide rollout of Spudway comes after it was trailed in select sites earlier this year, and then proved so popular that the trail was extended to include more locations.
Now, those fluffy jacket potatoes are available everywhere.
You can choose topping options like the simple Cheese & Beans or Tuna Mayo, or you can opt for Subway specialities like Meatball Marinara, and Chicken Tikka, but the beauty of Spudaway is it’s all fully customisable.
This means you can pick, quite simply, from whatever you fancy at the protein and salad counters, and finish it with your choice of Subway’s wide selection of signature sauces.
“The nation’s love of Jacket Potatoes is unparalleled,” commented Cathy Goodwin, who is the Interim Director of Culinary & Innovation Subway EMEA.
Subway has finally launched its make-your-own jacket potato concept ‘Spudway’ all across the UK / Credit: Subway
“The enthusiasm we’ve seen on social media and the strong demand from our guests throughout the trial made it clear that Spudway deserved a permanent place on our menu.
“Made with British potatoes, Irish salted butter, a double portion of cheese, and fully customisable with any of our many toppings, Spudway is the perfect freshly-made, high-quality lunch choice.”
Spudway jacket potatoes are freshly baked in-store daily and can be enjoyed on their own, or as part of a meal deal – which includes a spud, drink, plus crisps or a cookie.
The Manc -
14th December 2020 
