Let’s face it: Everyone in the USA, and most of the world for that matter, has their eyes on the election. If you’re like me and have been anxious and stressed out about it, then you will definitely want to check out this ‘election distractor’ from the New York Times.
There’s no talk of politics so it’s a safe space. They feature short, incredible facts and videos, some of which are interactive. If you’re not interested in something or are bored with what you’re watching, there’s a big next button you can press to move on. You can also choose to have the sound on or off.
RELATED: Why You Should Download the Calm App
There are a variety of things to watch, from calming chimes and falling rain to sneaky birds on a Mexcian beach, relaxing landscapes and tips for making decadent hot chocolate. Heck, you can even watch mushrooms grow. (Pretty sure they’re not the psychedelic kind so don’t get your hopes up!)
BTW: I learned about this fun New York Times feature from Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy who publish a great newsletter for media in the biz called Reliable Sources. It’s delivered in an old-school, mostly text format 5-7 days a week and offer a digest of the day’s news, mostly about politics, media and entertainment.
This is how they described the New York Times ‘election distractor’: “News orgs are picking up on the uneasiness settling in over the country. The NYT on Friday published an “election distractor.” After readers answered a few prompts, the site displayed images aimed at distracting and calming them. “As summer turned too fast to fall, we started to feel this whole world-changing year was channeling all its stress directly at Election Day,” Styles editor Choire Sicha explained to me. “For everyone — news consumers and news peddlers like us alike — it can get overwhelming. So the Styles team and our friends across the newsroom decided to make this — one safe space on the internet away from the tension.”
If you need more relaxation ideas for the next few days, the Reliable Sources newsletter also featured the meditation app Calm, which we’ve written about before here, but on Election Day, they’re partnering with NowThis for a relaxing livestream.
