COVID-19 Update

Article
By Ollie Nicholas
24/03/20

Subtitle

Hello all, we hope you are well and looking after one another.

Contents

1. Support freelancers/creative community

2. Just keep going

3. We’ll do our bit

Clean Air Pod by Ant Farm @ UC Berkeley, 1970 on the first ever Earth Day. Selected by Tom McGrath: "Seems relevant right now..."

This has all been a bit crazy hasn’t it! Like many others, we have been affected by this recent pandemic, with a number of projects and features being been postponed. However, we’re cracking on (in insolation) to still bring our audience some positives in-spite of the growing cloud of doom.

Subtitle

Hello all, we hope you are well and looking after one another.

Contents

1. Support freelancers/creative community

2. Just keep going

3. We’ll do our bit

This has all been a bit crazy hasn’t it! Like many others, we have been affected by this recent pandemic, with a number of projects and features being been postponed. However, we’re cracking on (in insolation) to still bring our audience some positives in-spite of the growing cloud of doom.
1. Support freelancers/creative community

First things first, quick message to freelancers/self-employed people:

This is a particularly tricky time for our community, so our friends at UnderPinned have worked hard on providing advice and direction for those that may be struggling due to the current situation. At Dropout, we do find ourselves within the freelance community, but we’re certainly not experts. Like many others, we’re relying on those around us to help out, and it's a great to see people doing all they can to help others. Right now, we’re a community more than ever!

I met with UnderPinned co-founder Jack Williams a couple of weeks ago to discuss some of the issues surrounding freelancing, and he told me that whatever the query, either UnderPinned or one of their partners are working on the solution. The situation that we find ourselves in is unprecedented, but true to his word, Jack and everyone else at UnderPinned have made sure that they make all of the necessary COVID-19 advice and help available for the freelance community.

Follow the links in our bibliography at the bottom of the page for more information.

UnderPinned’s Virtual Office is free to use until September

2. Just keep going

When I think about how to overcome this crisis, I can’t help but think of that Bear Grylls meme, you know the one: “Improvise. Adapt. Overcome”… You’ve got to laugh at the situation sometimes, but I think the man might be on to something. You don’t have to go tree climbing and rolling around in the mud, in fact I actively advise against that. But you could think of an alternative way to run and develop your business, a particular project or whatever else you’re working on. I know it may seem that I’m just fishing for positive here, but it’s clear that we have time on our hands, and I think the restrictions that we face could even go some way in strengthening our ideas and practices. Take this as a chance to make your plans so solid that they will be unstoppable once we overcome this.

Sadly I know this message of positivity will be difficult for everyone to accept, particularly to those that were on brink of something great, on the brink of that breakthrough. All I can say to those people is that I am truly sorry. I was walking through Vancouver last week and saw a number of shops that were only a number of weeks away from opening, some even had the date of their opening written all over the front of the shop. I couldn’t help but stop and take a moment to think of those people that have put a lifetime of work into a project that has been halted by this pandemic. I can’t think of any words that may help, but instead can only fall back on the old sentiment that time heals all. On my way to Canada, I watch WWII comedy-drama; Jojo Rabbit on the plane, and it ended with a quote by poet, Rainer Maria Rilke:

"Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final."

At the time, I didn’t appreciate how important those words could be, I was too busy getting my monies worth in beer and pretzels. Personally, I am pretty gutted about how this virus has affected me. I finally planned a big trip to see the world, I work long hours for 6 months in a factory to save up, and I see little more than airport terminals and an all too brief glimpse into the beauty of Vancouver. Like I hope for myself, I hope that your opportunities, your ambitions and your big adventures are all still there to grasp when this passes. But for now, people have, and will continue to die. Follow the guidelines and do what YOU need to do to save lives and get everyone back on track. No feeling is final, let’s keep going.

NHS Advice:

NHS Advice: How to avoid catching and spreading coronavirus (social distancing)

3. We’ll do our bit

We’ll do our bit if you do yours! We've got some ideas, but feel free to email or message us to ask questions and request any kind of content you’d like to see. We’ll do our best to get back to everyone! And taking inspiration from the guys at UnderPinned, if we can’t help, we’ll do our best to send you in the right direction. Our message remains the same:

“Create the future” (together).

  • COVID-19 Update

Bibliography

NHS Advice: How to avoid catching and spreading coronavirus (social distancing) (www.nhs.uk)
UnderPinned’s Virtual Office is free to use (underpinned.co)

Social

UnderPinned freelancer help/advice on social media (@_underpinned)
NHS (@NHSuk)

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