In praise of single purpose devices.

Issue #277 of the Better Humans Newsletter. Subscribe here for inspiration and knowledge. [Tony Stubblebine](coachtony?source=email-c7f27b30bfea-1664407732303-newsletter.subscribeToProfile-7038e003d060------------------------2077fc41_4f31_41af_9ba8_2ea22b01c83b--------de6e5ad096a9)[Tony Stubblebine](coachtony?source=email-c7f27b30bfea-1664407732303-newsletter.subscribeToProfile-7038e003d060------------------------2077fc41_4f31_41af_9ba8_2ea22b01c83b--------de6e5ad096a9) in [Better Humans](   ∙  2 min read   ∙  [View on Medium]( In praise of single purpose devices. Issue #277 of the Better Humans Newsletter. [Subscribe here]( for inspiration and knowledge. ··· I got enough responses from my “[a laptop for single-tasking]( newsletter to deserve a followup. A lot of people already do similar things which means that this is a trend that’s begging for a name. This isn’t a new concept per se. But it’s newly urgent because of the massive amount of distraction that technology throws at us. So one way to fight back is to choose focused tools. Unless there’s a better trend name, I think we should refer to this strategy as “single purpose devices.” Sometimes that’s built into the tool, for [example the Freewrite distraction free writing tool](. But more often you have to choose how you configure each device. I know this is a luxury, but I think many of us have accumulated many devices. That allows this common pattern: Work laptop; personal laptop; iPad for personal creative work. It’s been a game changer for me. And there’s definitely a cognitive shift when you close one and open another. ~ [Ben Werdmuller](. ··· Another example in my life is my [Garmin Watch](. It’s as expensive as an Apple Watch but I only wear it when I swim, bike, run or hike. It does receive text messages but I wish it didn’t. My goal is to use it for just a single purpose: exercise. By having a clear purpose, it ends up being a tool that feels under my control. That’s a very different feeling than being the tool myself doing the bidding of my watch. ([phrasing]( I also appreciate the cognitive shift. Wearing a single purpose watch puts me in a single purpose state of mind. ··· You have to be really intentional to turn a multipurpose device into a single purpose device. Here are some examples of intentional decisions. I no longer watch tv shows or movies on the computer, but only on the TV. And for writing articles, I put pen to paper first, then do some editing before I put it on the computer. There are just too many distractions when I get on the computer. ~ Ann L. ··· [Herbert Lui]( pointed me toward thinking beyond technology and having single purpose furniture. For example, insomnia advice often recommends doing less in your bed (i.e. no phone) so that your bed has only a focused purpose: sleep. [But how about a single purpose chair]( I do most of my work from home, and in my apartment I have a comfortable chair reserved for e-mail, checking status updates, and leisurely surfing the web. I call it my “distraction chair.” I try to reserve my work desk for actual work — writing, designing, and coding — and when I feel the inclination to read Twitter or check e-mail, I move to the lounge chair. ··· Other examples? Share in the responses. [Reply to this story](mailto:tony+newsletter@tonystubblebine.com?subject=Re%3A%20In%20praise%20of%20single%20purpose%20devices.)[View story]( Sent to {EMAIL} by Tony Stubblebine on Medium [Unsubscribe]( from this writer’s Medium emails [Unsubscribe from all]( newsletters sent using Medium Medium, 548 Market St, PMB 42061, San Francisco, CA 94104[Careers]( Center]( Policy]( of service](