💾 Archived View for low-key.me › gemlog › that-x-button.gmi captured on 2023-11-14 at 07:52:38. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-17)
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We recently had a great post on intentionality from Rob [1], which was followed up by a response from ew0k [2] that got me thinking once again about how mindful I am when using technology. These two posts also reminded me of Solderpunk's post on the short-lived browser [3].
Like Rob, I too find my usage of software to be (relatively) more mindful when I'm on my computer than when I'm on my phone. When doing something means going to a specific place and sitting down, it doesn't creep into your life the way that an always-on, always-connected device can and does. This is the reason I uninstalled the apps for Telegram, Discord and Reddit, my casual scrolling trinity, from my phone. Not only has it reduced the amount of time I spend on these platforms drastically, I'm almost completely cured of Telegram and Discord at this point, something that would have been a lot more difficult had they been as accessible as they were on my phone.
The computer isn't a definitive solution in itself though. At first, moving those apps didn't change a whole lot. I actually enjoyed the larger screen and being able to use an actual keyboard and they kept on with their notifications until I realised what computers offer that mobiles make difficult. Quitting.
It's not as straightforward as you might want it to be, with apps "helpfully" offering to minimize to the tray instead of dying like you asked it to but that's usually a toggle that you can flip and then truly kill it. With that sweet, sweet X button at my disposal, I could finally be in control of the experience, launching one of these when I actually had something I wanted to do and then closing it and only thinking of it again when I wanted to, instead of running into it on the recent apps menu or just some workspace or taskbar, or being drawn back in with a notification.
This is what proved to be the game changer and felt like extending Solderpunk's idea of a short-lived browser to the more general principle of a short-lived utility. Open, do what you set out to, leave. I have now extended this to most of the software I use on, from my browser to my email client and IRC too. It means I usually only have the one thing I'm doing right now open and with how snappy it is to launch something when I need to, it's almost like having no tradeoffs. I'm aware that you could do things to mimic this experience on mobile as well with background restrictions and its like but I love that it's just one X button away on the computer and that has led to a much more focused and enjoyable computer experience for me.
[1] Deedum and Intentionality by Rob
[2] Re: Deedum and Intentionality by ew0k
[3] The short-lived browser by Solderpunk
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CC0 low-key, 2021-11-12