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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Pep Guardiola hints at when Manchester City fans can expect to see their latest arrival
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given supporters a rough timeline as to when they can expect to see their new signing, or at least their latest arrival, make his first appearance.
The Blues wrapped up the January transfer window with four major signings: their new attacking number seven, Omar Marmoush (who has already bagged a hattrick on his home debut) promising defensive duo, Abdukodir Khusanov and Brazilian Vitor Reis, as well as their ‘mini-Rodri’, Nico Gonzalez.
However, the club has had another late arrival who was technically signed back at the start of last year but who has spent for the last 12 months or so loaned back to his previous parent club, River Plate in Argentina, waiting to make the move over to the Etihad Stadium – and now he’s here in Manchester.
Speaking on his touchdown in 0161, Pep said Claudio Echeverri won’t be thrown into first-team action straight away but did give a rough estimate as to when City fans could expect him to get involved. You can see him discussing the integration plan in his post-match press conference following the Spurs win.
The mention was only brief but there’s still plenty of reason for Man City fans to be excited by the late January signing.
“Yeah, he [Claudio Echeverri] is going to start to train and mainly will be for the end of the season, maybe the [Club] World Cup and as soon as possible [that] he arrives he can adapt quick for the future.”
As mentioned, the 19-year-old Argentinian attacking midfielder from Resistencia officially put pen to paper with CFG back in January 2024 and was quickly dubbed ‘the next Messi’.
Now, although the football world is often quick to jump the gun with these things and he isn’t the first and certainly won’t be last to be slapped with this premature title, he’s done more to back up these claims since then than he has rubbish them.
Starring at the 2025 Under-20 South American Championships, netting six goals in nine games to finish the tournament as the second highest scorer thanks to notable braces against Brazil and Uruguay as the young Argentine’s finished as runners up.
He also notched 48 senior appearances for River Plate thus far, netting four goals and grabbing eight assists in that time, not to mention having already captained his national team at the 2023 Under 17s World Cup, where he scored another five.
Safe to say there’s plenty of talent to be tapped in this lad.
Once again, Echeverri won’t go straight into the senior set-up for a little while yet, barring a major injury crisis, but he’ll be a more than exciting addition to the City Football Academy and for future first-team lineups for years to come.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be included in an FA Cup matchday squad? Nevertheless, you can expect him to not just come of the bench but hopefully show what he can do at the Club World Cup this summer.
City‘s first fixture as reigning champions of the competition will be against Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June 2025.
You can watch Echeverri’s first full interview as a Man City player down below:
The new Man City signing is excited to be finally be part of the club 13 months on from agreeing his contract.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
The Manc -
14th December 2020 
