I don’t know how it happened (well, I do know, but you get what I mean). I remember the days I had one device and I felt overwhelmed. Now I own 5 devices I use almost everyday. I bet you are on a similar boat.
We are privileged. God has allowed us to enjoy and use technology for His glory and the good of others. I love having that opportunity. But we need to realize that sometimes it’s just too much. Cool, we can tweet from our laptops, phones, tablets, and smartwatches, but we really need to do it?
As I said in a previous post, I am trying to simplify my life in every way I can, a little at the time.
And this time, it was my iPad’s turn.
What do I use my iPad for? Basically three things:
- Reading
- Displaying songs when I am playing
- Displaying notes when I am public speaking
So, what did I do? I simple deleted every app and file that didn’t serve for any of those purposes. No Twitter, no email, no YouTube, no Netflix, no games.
I get this might not work for you and your workflow, but the idea is this: do you really need all you apps in all your devices? Remember, just because you can do something it doesn’t mean you should. You might find out that having all those platforms is actually impairing your productivity. Having just what you need in each device can keep you focused on what you need to do at that moment.
So, why don’t you try it?
Give a quick look to each of your devices and be honest with yourself. What do you really need to use this device for? What’s only distracting you?
It could really make a difference!
Mickey says
That’s a great idea. I recently just wiped my tablet (Nexus 10) to load the new Lineage OS ROM on it, and didn’t load as many apps this time. However, I still think I loaded too many and I like the idea of trimming down further.
There’s really no need for quasi-work tools (like CodeAnywhere), since it’s easier on the laptop/Chromebook. No need for most of my games, since the phone is likely in my pocket while I’m on the tablet. Time to do some cleaning. Thanks for the tip!
Bevan Kay says
I have done this exact same thing in the last few months. Has completely changed my ability to stay focused when reading and also my personal devotional life.
Chris Wilson says
Interesting idea Ana but I’m going to be a bit different from everyone else here. I have quite a few work specific tools on my iPad as it’s easier for me than using a laptop or desktop (not always). If I have to take my bag with handouts or resources with me, then I want the lightest computer I can take. Adding in my inability to charge some days, I also want a battery life I don’t have to think about. Then there’s creating custom graphics and adding them into a document (a keynote or PowerPoint presentation) and that’s not even mentioning the joy of reading a PDF or book on the iPad.
So I can definitely see how in a different job it would be a much better and less distracting experience to keep an iPad as a read only device, but for me (personally) it isn’t.
Still, on social media, I’ve never had the facebook app on my apple devices (I had it on my first smartphone and never went back) and I block the facebook and twitter websites. I still keep messenger on my iPhone and have the group/pages apps on my iPad. That way I can focus on interacting with people and not get caught in the never ending scrolling of the news feed.