Get More Done With Less Gadgets
“Reflect often upon the rapidity with which all existing things, or things coming into existence, sweep past us and are carried away.”
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations
Those of us who write for a blog, also read blogs. If you are serious about writing and your blog, then it stands to reason, you must be curious about what other people are doing. Blogging is about disseminating information, banal and bromidic or original and worthwhile. One of the most prevalent blog topics is how to get more done in your alloted time on earth, while simplifying your life. Until recently I’ve been a sucker for this paradox of do more, get more, buy more, but simplify.
Like most people, I read only blogs that have particular interest to me. Any time I see that someone has come up with a better way to get something done, my curiosity is piqued. Many times this involves either more software or a gadget i.e more hardware. Either way, a new element has entered the scheme to simplify, and adds yet another level of attention distraction.
About a month ago I gave up using a PDA. I have had two different PDAs in the last five years, and although they are invaluable for carrying about large quantities of information, they are also a pain in the ass. Many times I need to enter information quickly, make a note for something, and I have never mastered a way to do that with a PDA. I went back to a pocket calendar and paper. I no longer have the 200 plus contacts, the PDF and Word documents, photos, and other information available, but I find I rarely use these anyway. And I store contacts on my cell phone, so there was some redundancy already built in.
Choice is a good thing, but how many text editors, sticky notes, and small calendars can you use. Again, I have gone to a simple paper notepad, even a slip of paper stuck in the calendar will do just fine. I rarely use real sticky notes; they are well, sticky, and only useful to me to stick on a paper for someone else to read. I never use them on the computer, digital or paper. There is not much more disgusting than a perfectly good LCD monitor plastered with sticky notes.
As a Mac user I find widgets useful, only if they perform a function I use often. Again, how many clocks, weather, calendars and other assorted clutter do I really need? Things such as package tracking, however, are quite useful. If I leave a note on one of the gazillion note widgets, chances are I will forget about it.
If you didn’t know that markets are created for new gadgets, you do now. Software is one of the best examples I can think of to illustrate this. Consider Microsoft Word®, the word processor. If you have been around for a while, you know that it has gone through numerous iterations, each purporting to improve productivity way beyond its predecessor. You also remember WordPerfect® for DOS. As a writer, WordPerfect was the best word processor I’ve ever used. It was stable and reliable. It did one thing and it did it well – it worked similar to a typewriter, and got your words in print, albeit digital.
Now, your Word, word-processor does almost everything, and redundancy rules your world. Are you really more productive with much of the newer software? Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no. Do you need to jump on the bandwagon and upgrade whenever a new version of Windows is released? Of course not. The greater point is, if what you have works well for you, keep it until you have a compelling reason to change.
I call this blog Hal, Deliberately Basic. My goal in life has always been to simplify and KISS. New toys can be fun, but somehow I always return to the basics. Make life easy, enjoy freedom from too many things that own you, and always work in moderation.
