Its 2018, almost. And I still find it hard to compose long form content on a handheld phone (iPhone/android). Its just not comfortable to enough to get out of the way and allow the thought flow. iPad was better definitely, but I decided not to upgrade since the last one. Seemed too redundant to our lifestyle and given that my Mac Pro is not all that heavy, I end up composing all long form content on the Mac Pro. Overkill you say, I’ll bet right with you.
But then, am not a writer as such. My Mac Pro is my primary programming device for which I guess it is largely justified. I am not too sure about this either, in fact. After trying out light sail over the last couple of weekends, I guess a good iPad pro with a keyboard or a really lightweight MacBook air type device would be the best companion for most programmers. Perhaps, designers might want to stick with the pro devices.
I have been on a forced break from a keyboard which made me realise the number of thoughts that hit my head the first thing in the morning – those that I don’t ever give a cursory acknowledgement about. In the last few days, I picked up a notebook and pen and started jotting them down, without embellishing them with additional details. And am pretty impressed with what I saw, to say the least. So I wanted to make a habit out of it.
As usual, all I had was the iPhone in hand, so I installed Evernote back, enabled the account and started jotting down stuff. Boy is it painful or what!? So I quickly abandoned the idea and stuck to the notebook and pen. Perhaps analog has its benefits here, in terms of not interfering. Today, I got the chance to reunite with the mac and am trying to expand on the small notes from the notebook into bigger posts that I might appreciate over time.
But what do others do?
I thought I was a millennial and that all millennials live on their phones. Once I kicked Facebook, Instagram and linkedIn from my device, I don’t have much to do with it. I use it to respond to email, work or personal and mostly in a couple of lines. That really helps so I keep it that way. Do all people my age and demography suffer from these issues? Or perhaps they don’t have the time to realise this.
Maybe what is missing is a good discipline. I tried using voice memos briefly. But the problem is, once I start talking, I also start thinking and am not able to keep them separate. So what I talk on the voice memo is already processed to some extent. But what am writing down on the notepad seems much more raw – suitable for expansion at a later time.
Any suggestions on what I should do in these cases?